Homily
for July 6, 2017
Born on October 16, 1890 in
Corinaldo, in Italy, her farmworker father moved his family to Ferrier di
Conca, near Anzio. When he died of malaria, Maria's mother had to struggle to
feed her children.
Maria's mother, brothers,
and sisters worked in the fields while she cooked, sewed, kept the house clean,
and watched her youngest sister Teresa. Though the family's circumstances were
extremely difficult, they were very close and loved God.
On July 5, 1902, Maria was
sitting outside the steps of her home sewing a shirt. As she concentrated on
her sewing, her neighbour Alessandro, surprised her and grabbed her from her
steps.
When he tried to rape her,
Maria cried that it was a mortal sin and warned he would go to hell. When
Alessandro persisted, she fought him and screamed, "No! It is a sin! God
does not want it!"
At her words, Alessandro
began to choke her and she said she would rather die than submit. Upon hearing
her words, Alexander pulled out a knife and stabbed her eleven times. When she
attempted to reach the door, he stabbed her three more times then fled.
Teresa woke to the sounds of
her sister's cries and began to cry. Maria's family returned home and found her
bleeding on the floor. They quickly took her to the nearest hospital in
Nettuno, where she underwent surgery without anesthesia.
Unfortunately, her wounds
were beyond the surgeon's ability to help. Halfway through the surgery, the man
asked her, "Maria, think of me in Paradise." As she lay on the table,
she looked up at him and said, "Well, who knows which of us is going to be
there first?"
She did not realize how terrible
her situation was, and the surgeon replied, "You, Maria." She said,
"Then I will think gladly of you." She also mentioned concerns for
her mother.
The next day, Maria forgave
Alessandro and said she wanted to see him in Heaven with her. She died that day
while looking upon an image of the Virgin Mary and holding a cross to her
chest.
Shortly after Maria's family
discovered her, Alexander was captured and questioned. He admitted Maria was a
physical virgin as he was unable to assault her and he was sentenced to thirty
years. He also admitted he had attempted to persuade her to accompany him to
bed on several occasions in the past and had attempted to rape her before.
Maria Goretti was beatified
by Pope Pius XII in a ceremony at Saint Peter's Basilica on April 27, 1947. Three
years later, on June 24, 1950, Maria was declared a saint and Alessandro was
present in the St. Peter's crowd to celebrate her canonization.
Saint Maria is called a
martyr because she fought against Alessandro's attempts at sexual sin; however,
the most important aspects of her story are how she forgave her attacker - her
concern for her enemy extending even beyond death - and the miracle her
forgiveness produced in his life.
That
Maria Gorretti would not consent to sin despite the pressure from Alesandro
shows how much faith she had in God. Her faith can be likened to the faith of
the young men who brought the paralytic to Jesus on a stretcher through the
roof of the house where Jesus was.
Again
for accepting to die rather than sin, Maria Goretti gave the only thing she had
for the sake of God which was her very life. Abraham was tested by God and he
was willing to sacrifice the only thing he had – Isaac.
Like
Maria Gorretti, Abraham and the four men in today’s Gospel passage, we need to
pray for an increase in Faith and total commitment to God with all our hearts,
minds and bodies.
Let
us pray: Lord Jesus, give me purity of thoughts, words and deeds and the grace
to treat my body as your temple. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. (Thursday of the 13th Week
in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Genesis 22:1-19 and Matthew 9:1-8).
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