Gail Demarest
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“I forgive Alessandro Serenelli … and I want him with me in heaven forever.”
St. Maria Goretti is unique in that she is the youngest canonized saint in the Church. She died tragically on July 6, 1902, at the age of eleven.
Born into poverty, her father moved the family when Maria was just six years old from the east side of Italy (near Ancona) to the west side (near Nettuno, about 40 miles south of Rome) in hopes of escaping the grinding poverty that was gripping the area.
Just three years later, when Maria was nine, her father died tragically. It fell to her at that time to raise her five siblings while her mother worked the fields to produce the crops with which they would both pay the rent and feed themselves.
This was a terrible time of trial and suffering for the whole family. For Maria it was especially difficult. Aside from having the responsibility of caring for her family, she had to also cook and clean for her two next door neighbors–Giovanni Serenelli and his son, Alessandro–who assisted her mother with the farm tasks.
It was also during this time that Alessandro began to develop an impure liking for Maria. The big 20-year-old would say rude and crude things to her, things that were inappropriate and embarrassing, and that would cause her to run away. However, at a certain point he began to make direct sexual advances towards her, demanding her virginity and threatening her with violence for non-compliance.
Finally, after many months of this, Alessandro forced himself upon Maria in an attempt to rape her.
As she once again rebuffed his sexual advance, shouting, "No! It is a sin! God does not want it!" Though she prevented him from violating her, Alessandro brutally stabbed her numerous times.
Maria died the next day in the midst of horrendous infection brought on by her lacerations. Her last words were, “I forgive Alessandro Serenelli … and I want him with me in heaven forever.”
Immediately after his brutal assault on young Maria Goretti, Alessandro was imprisoned temporarily in Nettuno and then transferred to Regina Coeli prison in Rometo stand trial. After vehemently denying his guilt, he finally broke down in the face of overwhelming testimony. Since he was a minor, he was sentenced to only thirty years hard labor.
A priest came to see him soon afterward, and he turned on the cleric in rage, howling like a maniac and lunging at him.
In the days which followed, Alessandro lost his appetite and grew nervous. After six years of prison, he was near the brink of despair. Then one night, Maria appeared to him in his cell. She smiled at Alessandro and was surrounded by lilies, the flower symbolic of purity.
From that moment, peace invaded Alessandro's heart, and he began to live a constructive life.
After serving his sentence, Alessandro took up residence at a Capuchin monastery, working in the garden as a tertiary. He asked pardon of Maria's mother and accompanied her to Christmas Mass in the parish church where he spoke before the hushed congregation, acknowledging his sin and asking God's forgiveness and the pardon of the community.
Forty years later, on June 24, 1950, Maria was canonized at St. Peter's basilica in Rome, with Alessandro's heart now firmly converted to the Lord. A miraculous fruit of Maria's life, indeed!
Alessandro Serenelli died on May 6th, 1970 in the Capuchin convent of Macerata. He left the following testimony, dated May 5, 1961, as his spiritual legacy:
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My girl graduated from Mount de Sales Academy today. I am grateful to the Nashville Dominicans for their powerful witness to Christ.
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SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE
Auschwitz. Block 13. 1941.
A prisoner escaped.
Nazi protocol: ten men die in his place starved to death in an underground bunker.
A man with children was selected.
He wept: “My wife. My children.”
A Catholic priest stepped forward from the crowd.
“I am a Catholic priest. I have no family. Take me instead.”
The Nazi commandant who had never allowed a substitution paused.
Then nodded.
Father Maximilian Kolbe walked into the death bunker in place of a stranger.
For two weeks, instead of screams guards heard singing.
Hymns. Prayers. The Rosary.
One by one the men died.
Kolbe was last.
On August 14 the eve of the Assumption of Mary they injected him with carbolic acid.
A witness said his face was radiant.
The man he saved Franciszek Gajowniczek lived until 1995.
He spent the rest of his life telling this story.
Greater love has no man than this. John 15:13
🕯️ Say a prayer tonight for those who gave everything.
Who taught you about Maximilian Kolbe? 👇
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If you are a person of prayer, I could really use your prayer. I've been dealing with a myriad of health issues while recovering from kidney cancer and lately they have compounded to where it seems my best days are behind me and few left at that. I need strength, courage, wisdom, and guidance on what medicines to take to not complicate things further.
No matter what, Christ Jesus is amazing and worthy to be praised!
Soli Deo Gloria
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Truth+++!!! In the End….Under Mary’s Feet Permanently+!!!
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Peter Foley, who will be ordained to the Catholic priesthood for the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, this month, is the son of former Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Mike Foley.
Image: Mike Foley
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Double mastectomy is scheduled in a few weeks. Asking for continued prayers.
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. 🩷
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