Saint Rose of Lima’s Story (from franciscanmedia.org Saint of the Day)
The first canonized saint of the New World has one characteristic of all saints – the suffering of opposition – and another characteristic which is more for admiration than for imitation – excessive practice of mortification.
She was born to parents of Spanish descent in Lima, Peru at a time when South America was in its first century of evangelization. She seems to have taken Catherine of Siena as a model, in spite of the objections and ridicule of parents and friends.
The saints have so great a love of God that what seems bizarre to us, and is indeed sometimes imprudent, is simply a logical carrying out of a conviction that anything that might endanger a loving relationship with God must be rooted out. So, because her beauty was so often admired, Rose used to rub her face with pepper to produce disfiguring blotches. Later, she wore a thick circlet of silver on her head, studded on the inside, like a crown of thorns.
When her parents fell into financial trouble, she worked in the garden all day and sewed at night. Ten years of struggle against her parents began when they tried to make Rose marry. They refused to let her enter a convent, and out of obedience, she continued her life of penance and solitude at home as a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic. So deep was her desire to live the life of Christ that she spent most of her time at home in solitude.
During the last few years of her life, Rose set up a room in the house where she cared for homeless children, the elderly, and the sick. This was a beginning of social services in Peru. Though secluded in life and activity, she was brought to the attention of Inquisition interrogators, who could only say that she was influenced by grace.
What might have been a merely eccentric life was transfigured from the inside. If we remember some unusual penances, we should also remember the greatest thing about Rose: a love of God so ardent that it withstood ridicule from without, violent temptation, and lengthy periods of sickness. When she died at 31, the city turned out for her funeral. Prominent men took turns carrying her coffin.
In 1952, Rev. John Fagan was appointed to be the pastor of a new parish in Massapequa. He named the new parish St. Rose of Lima, in honor of his mother. In March of 1965, our church was opened and dedicated in her name. Seventy-three years after its founding, our parish continues its mission through the intercession of our patron saint. HAPPY FEAST DAY!
PRAYING FOR PEACE – Last week, as he left his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo to return to the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV, in response to journalists’ questions about the Ukrainian conflict, said, “There is hope, but we still need to work hard, pray hard, and seek the way forward.”
At the end of the general audience last Wednesday, he invited the faithful to a Day of Prayer and Fasting for peace. He announced,
“Next Friday, 22 August, we will celebrate the memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary is the mother of believers here on earth, and is also invoked as Queen of Peace, while our earth continues to be wounded by wars in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, and in many other regions of the world.
I invite all the faithful to devote the day of 22 August to fasting and prayer, imploring the Lord to grant us peace and justice, and to dry the tears of those who suffer as a result of the ongoing armed conflicts. Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede so that peoples may find the path to peace.”
While you may not have been aware of the day, I invite you to pick a day this week for which you can offer prayer and fasting. Our particular prayer should especially be for an immediate end to violence. The notion that parties can negotiate a lasting peace without first ending hostilities is absurd and will only result in more death and violence.
BACKPACK SUNDAY – On Sunday, September 7 at 10:00 am, our Family Mass will resume for the school year. All school-age children are invited to attend the Mass with their backpacks. The Mass will include a special homily for children and the blessing of the children and their backpacks.
Peace,
