The marriage of Ferdinando and Rita recalls to our mind the marriage of St. “Ferdinando proved himself an ardent wooer and after a short courtship, he and Rita pledged their marriage vows before the altar of God. Ferdinando was gifted, proud, haughty, surly in speech and the very opposite in character and disposition to the modest and gentle Rita. Her parents selected for their son-in-law a man named Ferdinando who was the son of well-to-do and influential parents. Having agreed to marry, as her parents willed, she also agreed to marry whomever they chose for her. The time had come when Rita Mancini would enter a new state of life-marriage. “In prayer the Lord confirmed that it was the will of God that she should submit to the will of her parents and that she would please God more by her submission than by following her own will.” (Fr. Rita sacrificed her will on the altar of obedience and consented to enter the marriage state. With tears and pleading, her parents told her that they did not desire the extinction of their family and since she was an only child, they desired her to be married. But when Rita shared her desire with her aging parents, they would not agree. Records indicate that Rita was twelve years of age when she made her choice to be God’s consecrated virgin, a true spouse of Christ by embracing the religious life and becoming a nun. Rita thoroughly understood the obligations of children toward their parents and judged that it was the will of God to give up her life of solitude in order to of service to her aging parents.Īt that time in Italy it was customary for girls to choose their state of life at the age of twelve. ![]() At the conclusion of that year, Rita saw that her parents needed her constant assistance as they were becoming feebler. ![]() During the year of solitude, Rita spent her time meditating on the sorrowful mysteries of the Passion of Jesus Christ. Rita consecrated her virginity to God and built a small but pretty oratory in a corner of her simple home where she remained for one year separated from the world, in union with God, except when her aging parents needed her assistance. Soon Rita’s reputation for sanctity spread beyond the little hamlet to the many towns and villages of Umbria. The people of the town began to see how different Rita was from the other children of the hamlet, “When they observed that as she grew in years her life became more holy and sacramental, they respected and revered her-not indeed as a child, but rather as a person grown old in virtue.” The mothers of the town would tell their little daughters to take Rita as their model. It was observed that little Rita had a great love for the poor so that when she was served a plate of food, she would eat half and preserve the other half to give to the poor. She preferred solitude, prayer, and going to Church with your parents to attending picnics and parties where other little girls experienced great joy. It is recorded that from the moment of her Baptism, little Rita Mancini possessed a mysterious power that inclined souls to God. It is recorded that one night, while Amata was praying in their humble home:Īn angel appeared to her, in a vision, and told her that it was the will of God that there would be born of her a daughter who would be, from her very birth, marked with the seal of sanctity, gifted with every virtue, and that she would be the helper of the helpless, and advocate of the afflicted, and a guiding star in the firmament of the Church. Their neighbors would murmur against the providence of God for this holy couple because of their poverty. Many times I have pleaded her help! Rita’s life is an amazing example of God’s triumphant merciful love operative in the imperfection of our troubled marriages and families.īiographers record that Antonio Mancini and Amata Ferri, parents of Rita, were filled with the grace of God and apostolic zeal for saving souls. ![]() When my friend became a priest and studied in Rome, he received a first class relic of St. Rita will be of some help to you and your family.” His statement has proven true. Rita when a friend who became a priest presented me with a beautiful framed picture of St. Rita lived her multiple and difficult vocations with her humble heart set on Christ first. Rita of Cascia was born in 1381 in the ancient city of Cascia, about seventy-five miles from Rome, in the southeastern part of picturesque Umbria. Rita of Cascia is a canonized intercessor for challenging marriages, difficult children, feuding relatives, spiritual mothers and multiple vocations. Known as the patron saint of the impossible and model of maidens, wives, mothers, widows and nuns, St.
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