Lilly of the Mountaintop – John via Flickr, licensed cc
One of my favorite Saints celebrates a feast today- St. Maria Goretti.
Maria is a contemporary, early 20th-century saint. She died in 1902, the same year that my grandparents were born. Yet her story is timeless because it deals with lust and the objectification of a young woman.
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Universalis web site tells us:
Maria impressed everyone with her radiant purity. She was naturally pious, kind, and helpful. She was also outstandingly beautiful – and Alessandro Serenelli was an outstandingly passionate and undisciplined man. She resisted his attentions, which only made her the more desirable, and narrowly managed to escape a serious sexual assault, which he made her keep secret by means of threats of murder.
A month later Alessandro arranged things so that he would be alone in the house with Maria; and he had a dagger. She tried to resist, begging him to have care for his immortal soul, but he thrust a handkerchief into her mouth to prevent her from crying out, tied her up, and threatened her with the dagger. She could, the theologians say, have consented then, with no danger to her soul; but her love of purity was too great. Alessandro, enraged, stabbed her fourteen times.
She did not die, though her entrails were hanging out from one of her abdominal wounds. She was taken to hospital, seven miles of bad road in a horse-drawn ambulance, and was operated on for more than two hours. She lived for twenty hours more, became a Child of Mary, received the Last Sacrament, and specifically forgave her murderer. She died in the afternoon of 6 July 1902, at the age of eleven years, eight months, and twenty days.
Another version of Maria’s story is here.
Quite a few feminists over the years have expressed their disgust at the Catholic Church for honoring a girl who decided it was better to die than to just give in to her rapist. They seemed to see her death as a defeat as if because she failed to survive, she was weak and unworthy of admiration from other young women. The reality is, she probably would have been killed anyway, if not that time, then at some time in the future whenever Alessandro became violent.
But I don’t see it that way. I was more impressed that despite her youth and inexperience, Maria stood up for what she believed, even in the face of death, and if she was going to have to accept consequences for what she believed -so be it. That she died on her own terms was a very real victory to my mind.
I think that’s something important to remember today. So many of us are facing division and heated arguments with family members and friends over the current events that challenge our beliefs as Christians and Catholics. Could we be as brave as Maria in standing up for what we believe? in living life according to our faith?
And frankly, the innocence of Maria Goretti, whom the church honors as a saint, stands out in sharp contrast to the very public scandalous behavior by self-proclaimed young Christian women. However, when they do stand up for their faith and standards, they are often publically shamed for maintaining those standards.
I think Maria’s feast day is an important one for young girls. Here is a saint who thought her purity was important enough to die for, and yet how many women just throw theirs away on less than worthwhile suitors? Something to think about.
I think Alessandro’s story is an important one for young men and illustrates the old Catholic adage of avoiding the near occasion of sin. I wrote about that here. Alessandro certainly couldn’t go down to the drug store and buy Playboy or watch internet porn, and yet he found enough to pollute his mind and darken his heart. He is the perfect example of why young men need to guard their eyes and ears, to protect their hearts and minds.
Fifty-Seven Saints (First Communion)
Maria is one of the incorruptibles. Her body is encased in wax.
This is also a story of redemption and forgiveness. Six years after the attack, Maria appeared to Alessandro in a dream and gave him 14 white lilies – one for each of the stabs she received at his hand. Alessandro took this to mean that she forgave him and that she was in heaven. He woke up with a converted heart. He confessed his crime and lived out the rest of his sentence as a model prisoner. He sought forgiveness from Maria’s mother when he was released from prison and they attended Christmas Eve mass together that year. Years later he attended Maria’s canonization. He lived out his life as a lay Franciscan brother and died in 1970.
Modern day VIRTUS training
One final thought as a mother – Alessandro was able to get at Maria because they were unable to be properly supervised. Alessandro had been looking at pornography and was never given proper guidance or supervision. Many people think that when kids become teenagers, parenting becomes easier, and in many respects it does. But it also becomes harder too because instead of protecting kids against strangers and their environment, they need to be protected from their own bad choices and even their friends and peer group. It is a very difficult cross for parents to carry.
Today anyone in the Diocese of Cleveland that works near children is required to take VIRTUS training and submit to a background check. That type of training is essential in helping parents and teachers learn to spot and derail a predator. Perhaps Maria Goretti could also be the patron of all the participating VIRTUS trained individuals who serve in our churches to keep our kids safe.
