6 July 2022
Optional Memorial of Saint Maria Goretti, virgin and martyr
Today is the memorial of Maria Goretti. Maria died at the very young age of almost 13. She was stabbed by a would-be lover angry at her for rejecting his advances and would die of the wounds inflicted by her attacker. Before she died, she was heard forgiving her attacker, who was soon caught and put in prison for his crimes. Years into his sentence, Maria visited him in a dream to forgive him again, and through this forgiveness, to invite her killer – Alesandro – to come back to the Lord. Miraculously, due to this vision of Maria, Alesandro had a profound change of heart, made public amends for his act of killing, and reformed his life. He died as a Franciscan brother, after many years of humble prayer and service.
Maria exemplifies two things for our prayer today: sainthood is not about great deeds, but about radical love and secondly, that a mark of Christ’s grace in our hearts is shown in our ability to forgive our enemies. Maria’s life was, in the eyes of the world, unremarkable. Yet, her twin acts of forgiveness – while alive and from heaven – reveal a saintly love that the Church holds up for us. Like in the Gospel, she proclaimed Christ’s kingdom: one of purity and one of forgiveness of sin. Her killer did not deserve her forgiveness. In offering it, she not only was modeling for us how to have a heart like Christ, but she was also sowing a seed of conversion in the heart of her enemy.
Let us pray today for the grace to be sowers of seeds of Christ’s kingdom through radical acts of love to those we meet, even if they are our enemies.