Both of her sons fell sick and died within a year, and in a state of grace God intervened and prevented them from following the evil path of their father.Īfter the death of her husband and her two sons, St. She pleaded with God that he would prevent the evil swelling up in the hearts of her sons, or allow them to die before they had the chance to commit a mortal sin and be separated from God forever in hell. She did all she could to guide her children into forgiveness, but was unable to dissuade them from their evil intentions of violence and revenge. Rita's two young sons, in keeping with the vice of the day, talked of avenging their father's death. Rita mourned her husband's death and interceded for his soul with great earnest. Her husband was murdered as a result of the infamous rivalry between the aristocratic families of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Rita's family was caught up in this strife that was so entrenched in society at that time. In the 14th century, Italy was rampant with warring families caught in a vicious circle of assassinations and bloody vendettas (think Romeo and Juliet). She also bore two sons whom she loved deeply. After many years of prayer, patience, and trust in God, she eventually won her husband over to greater civility and kindness. Her husband eventually became physically abusive, yet Rita met his cruelty with kindness and patience. Adding to her disappointment, her husband was cruel and harsh she spent eighteen years in a very difficult relationship. Rita entered an arranged marriage at the age of twelve. Out of obedience to her parents' wishes, St. Rita desired to become a nun, but her parents insisted that she marry. Now she assists from heaven those who plead for her intercession for their own seemingly impossible and hopeless circumstances. Through her trials God used her in remarkable ways. She is the patroness of impossible causes and hopeless circumstances because of her difficult and disappointing life. Rita, an Augustinian nun from 14th-century Cascia, Italy. Remain in peace and fraternal charity.May 22 is the feast day of St. Remain in obedience to the holy Roman Church. As she breathed her last, Rita’s final words to the sisters who gathered around her were, “Remain in the holy love of Jesus. Thus, the saint of the thorn became the saint of the rose, and she whose impossible requests were granted her became the advocate of all those whose own requests seem impossible as well. Picking it, she returned immediately to the monastery and presented it to Rita who gave thanks to God for this sign of love. It was a small favor to ask, but quite an impossible one to grant in the month of January! Nevertheless, on returning home the woman discovered, to her amazement, a single brightly-colored blossom on the bush where the nun said it would be.
When asked whether she had any special desires, Rita asked only that a rose from the garden of her parents’ home be brought to her. One of those who visited her some few months before her death - a relative from her hometown of Roccaporena - was privileged to witness firsthand the extraordinary things wrought by Rita’s requests. She was, nevertheless, an inspiration to her sisters in religion and to all who came to visit her, by her patience and joyful disposition despite her great suffering. During the last four years of her life Rita was confined to bed and was able to eat so little that she was practically sustained on the Eucharist alone. In spite of the pain she constantly experienced, she offered herself courageously for the physical and spiritual well-being of others. For the next fifteen years she bore this external sign of stigmatization and union with the Lord.
Suddenly a small wound appeared on her forehead, as though a thorn from the crown that encircled Christ’s head had loosed itself and penetrated her own flesh. One day when she was about sixty years of age, she was meditating before an image of Christ crucified, as she was long accustomed to doing. With a pure love she wanted more and more to be intimately joined to the redemptive suffering of Jesus, and this desire of hers was satisfied in an extraordinary way. For the next forty years she gave herself wholeheartedly to prayer and works of charity, striving especially to preserve peace and harmony among the citizens of Cascia. At the age of thirty-six Rita pledged to follow the ancient Rule of Saint Augustine.
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