We celebrate this feast day of our sister in faith, Saint Maria Goretti, an 11-year-old Virgin and Martyr of the Church who died in protecting her purity, writes Dawn Hausmann, pictured below, serves as the Director of Young Adult Ministry and Consecrated Life at the Diocese of Lansing. Her greatest gift to us is her teaching on how to live radical Christ-like mercy and forgiveness that she showed to her attempted rapist, Allesandro.
As we know, as Catholic Christians, we should look different than the rest of the world in the ways we live, love, and show forgiveness, following our Beloved Jesus and embodying what he taught us to do through his own life.
In the Our Father that we recite, at least a few times a day as Catholics, we pray these words: “…forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…”
I don’t know about you, but I question myself sometimes if I really know the weight of these words of forgiveness that I pray…
Take a short moment right now to ask the Lord how you are doing with that part of the Our Father prayer and see what he shows you… I find this is a beautiful examination of conscious that we can do daily.
Our sister in faith, Saint Maria Goretti, embodied this Jesus-like forgiveness in her life and words for Allesandro who sought to kill her after not giving in to his sexual advances: “Yes, for the love of Jesus, I forgive him…and I want him to be with me in Paradise.” This is radical forgiveness that the world does not offer. Let’s keep learning how to offer this in our own lives in the ways that Jesus asks, by his help and divine grace. Let us also seek mercy from others as well in the ways we need Jesus’ forgiveness through someone in our lives. In this, we and all people will see Christ lived through you and me.
Saint Maria Goretti, our sister in faith, as you showed up to Allesandro in his prison cell with 14 lilies of forgiveness for the 14 stab wounds you received from him, please pray for us in our relationships in need of deep love, mercy, and forgiveness.
Saint Maria Goretti, pray for us!
