EVANGELIZATION OUTPUT

St. Rita of Cascia

I. Brief History

Saint Rita of Cascia’s Story

Like Elizabeth Ann Seton, Rita of Cascia was a wife, mother, widow, and
member of a religious community. Her holiness was reflected in each phase of her life.

Born at Roccaporena in central Italy, Rita wanted to become a nun but was
pressured at a young age into marrying a harsh and cruel man. During her 18-year
marriage, she bore and raised two sons. After her husband was killed in a brawl and her
sons had died, Rita tried to join the Augustinian nuns in Cascia. Unsuccessful at first
because she was a widow, Rita eventually succeeded. Over the years, her austerity,
prayerfulness, and charity became legendary. When she developed wounds on her
forehead, people quickly associated them with the wounds from Christ’s crown of
thorns. She meditated frequently on Christ’s passion. Her care for the sick nuns was
especially loving. She also counseled lay people who came to her monastery.

In the troubling political climate of the times, there was often open conflict
between families. Paolo was the victim of one such conflict, and he was murdered when
their sons were still young. The expectation of society at the time was that the boys
should avenge the murder of their father to defend the family honor. Rita, however,
influenced by the peacemaking example of her parents, pledged to forgive her
husband’s killers. She faced a steep challenge, however, in convincing her sons to do
the same. Tradition has it that she often pointed out to them the image of the crucified
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Christ and the fact that he forgave those who killed him. Within a year, however, both
sons succumbed to a deadly illness leaving Rita not only a widow, but also childless.
Following these tragedies, Rita placed her trust in God, accepting them and relying on
her deep faith to find her way. After eighteen years of marriage, Rita felt called to a
second but familiar vocation: to religious life in the Augustinian convent.

Beatified in 1626, Rita was not canonized until 1900. She has acquired the
reputation, together with Saint Jude, as a saint of impossible cases. Many people visit
her tomb each year.

Source: 2021, May 22. Franciscan Media. Saint Rita of Cascia.

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-rita-of-cascia

II. Expression of Moral Discernment

“Over the years, her austerity, prayerfulness, and charity became legendary. When
she developed wounds on her forehead, people quickly associated them with the
wounds from Christ’s crown of thorns. She meditated frequently on Christ’s passion.
Her care for the sick nuns was especially loving. She also counseled lay people who
came to her monastery.” Rita, however, influenced by the peacemaking example of her
parents, pledged to forgive her husband’s killers. Rita placed her trust in God, accepting
them and relying on her deep faith to find her way. After eighteen years of marriage,
Rita felt called to a second but familiar vocation: to religious life in the Augustinian
convent.
- (Franciscan Media, 2021).

III. Reflection

Saints are not exceptions, they are the standard operating model for human beings.
The term saint has changed greatly in the course of the centuries. In the New
Testament, it included all those who believed in Christ, who were reborn by Baptism,
and stood in the communion of the Eucharist — in other words, all Christians. However,
with the growing number of the faithful, the meaning of the word saint was narrowed
down, and more and more was used to denote something exceptional, which revealed
itself (through the call and guidance of God) in the form of an absolute devotion and in
greatness of experience and action in certain individual (Catholic Exchange, 2020).
Given the activity and the knowledge that saints are persons who have accomplished
significant miracles or realizations on earth, I felt spiritually uplifted after learning about
the influence of their lives and works on those who live the world. They effectively
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carried out the mandate to love God with all of their heart, soul, strength, and mind, as
well as their neighbors as themselves, therefore living not for themselves but for all of
humanity. I've also come to understand that Saints, like all of us, experienced trials and
tribulations in life that severely tested them. Like the Augustinian Saint St. Rita of
Cascia, she was a peacemaker and had a significant positive impact on her
neighborhood. St. Rita trusted God in the midst of the disasters she faced,
accepting them and relying on her strong faith to guide her. St. Rita received a
summons to a different but familiar vocation: the religious life at the convent of
the Augustinians. This alone shows the impact saints have on people and our
everyday lives, teaching us in whatever way they can through their lives and deeds that
should be realized by everyone.