From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   May 22nd - St Rita of Cascia   
      
   Born in Roccaporena in the Apennines near Spoleto, Italy, in 1381; died at   
   Cascia, Umbria, Italy, May 22, 1457; canonized in 1900. Rita was born to   
   elderly parents and showed an early vocation for religious life. She wanted   
   to enter an Augustinian convent, but she gave into her parents' wishes and   
   married at the age of 12.   
      
   Her husband was a cruel and brutal man, well known in the neighborhood for   
   his rude manners and violent temper. For 18 years she lived patiently with   
   her contemptuous and philandering husband, forced to watch her sons becoming   
   tainted by his influence. There came a point where he repented, however, and   
   begged her to forgive him for his ill treatment; he was murdered shortly   
   afterward in a vendetta. When her sons vowed to avenge their father's death,   
   Rita prayed that they might die rather than commit murder. Both fell ill,   
   and she nursed them and brought to them a spirit of forgiveness before they   
   died.   
      
   Rita applied three times to the Augustinian convent at Cascia but was turned   
   away because its rule permitted only virgins. But in 1413, as a result of   
   her persistence and strong faith, an exception was made, and she took the   
   habit. I much prefer the version of the story that I learned in my youth:   
   When the convent repeatedly denied her entry into the convent, Rita   
   continued to pray until one night her prayer was answered. Miraculously, she   
   was transported into the convent at night despite the locked doors. When the   
   sisters found her inside they decided that it must be God's will for Rita to   
   be accepted.   
      
   Once professed Rita enforced hard austerities upon herself, becoming known   
   for her penances and concern for others. She cared for the other nuns when   
   they were ill and worked to return Christians who had neglected the faith   
   back to observance.   
      
   In 1441, she heard a sermon by Saint James della Marca on the Crown of   
   Thorns. Soon afterward, as she prayed, she became conscious of pain, as if a   
   thorn had become embedded in her forehead. The location developed into an   
   open wound, and it became so unattractive that she was separated from her   
   sisters. The wound healed enough for her to attend a pilgrimage to Rome in   
   1450, but it reappeared after her return and remained with her until her   
   death of tuberculosis, necessitating that she live in seclusion.   
      
   Several miracles were attributed to her after her death. In fact, her body   
   is said to have remained incorrupt until recent times. The earliest   
   biography of Saint Rita was not written until nearly 150 years after her   
   death; thus, it should be recognized that the details of her story are not   
   well attested (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, White).   
      
   In art, Saint Rita is depicted as an Augustinian nun praying before a   
   crucifix, a thorn from the crown wounds her brow. She may also be shown   
   receiving a crown of roses from the Virgin and a crown of thorns from the   
   saints (Roeder). Rita's emblem in art is roses, which are blessed on her   
   feast day (White).   
      
   She is patron of those in desperate situations (perhaps an allusion to her   
   own life), of parenthood, and against infertility. In Spain Rita is known as   
   "La Abogada de Imposibles", the patron saint of desperate cases,   
   particularly matrimonial difficulties. An Italian poll showed that her   
   popularity is greater than that of the Madonna (White). Rita is especially   
   venerated in Cascia and Spoleto (Roeder).   
      
   Reflection. "Thy cross, O Lord, is the source of all blessings, the cause of   
   all graces; by it the faithful find strength in weakness, glory in   
   humiliation, life in death." (Saint Leo)   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   If priests could be formed, afire with zeal for men's salvation, solidly   
   grounded in virtue-in a word, apostolic men deeply conscious of the need to   
   reform themselves, who would labor with all the resources at their command   
   to convert others-then there would be ample reason to believe that in a   
   short while people who had gone astray might be brought back to the long   
   neglected duties of religion. We pledge ourselves to all the works of zeal   
   that priestly charity can inspire... We must spare no effort to extend the   
   Savior's Empire and destroy the dominion of hell.   
   --Saint Eugene de Mazenod   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   18 And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in   
   heaven and in earth. 19 Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing   
   them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 20   
   Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and   
   behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.  (Matt   
   28:18-20)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   A Mother's Plea   
      
   Oh, Mother of Perpetual Help,   
   To you I send my plea,   
   Look down upon my beloved son.   
   Take care of him for me.   
   And when he's blue and sick at heart,   
   Discouraged and oppressed,   
   Give him the will to carry on,   
   In heaven's grace to rest.   
   Show unto him a Mother's love,   
   As you have shown to me.   
   Bringing comfort to his lonely heart   
   Is mine, his mother's plea.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)