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St Maria Goretti Novena

Example of Mercy, Forgiveness and Love

June 28 through July 6

Please join us this week as we celebrate the life of St Maria Goretti, reflecting on her quick willingness to forgive at age 12. The novena starts on June 28, ending on her Feast Day of July 6. The Daily Novena Prayers are offered below.

In the eyes of the world, Maria Goretti was unremarkable. Young, poor, and uneducated, she could not even read or write. Yet, her heroic purity and forgiving spirit have made her great in the eyes of God and the Church.

Did you know St Maria Goretti was born the third of nine children into a poor peasant family at Corinaldo, Italy. When she was 6, her family were so poor that they gave up their farm, went to work as farmhands and shared a home with other families. At 9, St Maria’s father died from malaria. Maria cared for her younger sister and handled the housework so that her mother and older siblings could work in the fields. Her family had very little, but they were close knit and deeply religious.

During this time, it transpired that another farmhand had been making regular sexual advances to St Maria which she spurned, acknowledging that to do so, was a “mortal sin”. One day while others were in the fields working, she again refused his advances but in his anger, he repeatedly stabbed her.

Maria’s family returned home to find the young girl bleeding on the floor. They took her to the hospital in nearby Nettuno, but the surgeon was unable to repair the damage that had been done. Remarkably, as she lay dying, Maria forgave her attacker, saying that she wanted to see him in Heaven one day. She was just 12 years old.

Alessandro was apprehended shortly after the attack, and sentenced to 30 years in prison. During his incarceration, he saw Maria in a dream. She gave him a bouquet of lilies, but the lilies burnt his hands. He awoke a changed man, repenting of his crime and committing to living a reformed life. Upon his release from prison, he went immediately to Maria’s mother seeking her pardon, which she granted, saying, “If my daughter can forgive him, who am I to withhold forgiveness?” Alessandro became a lay Franciscan and lived the rest of his life in a monastery.

St Maria was canonized a Saint in her mother and her attacker’s presence in Rome by Pope Pius in 1947. St Maria’s Feast Day is the 6th July. She is Patron Saint of victims of chastity, rape victims, purity and forgiveness.

Day 1 – St. Maria Goretti Novena
O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of purity, you defended your virginity unto your death. Even at the age of 12, you held dear to your heart what is dear to our Lord’s heart: your purity. Pray for me that I may do the same, especially when I am tempted.
Please pray that God will give me the strength to avoid sin and say, “yes” to a life which will lead to eternity in Heaven with you and our Lord.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
Amen.

Day 2 – St. Maria Goretti Novena
O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of love, your love for God was so clear in how you cared for your family during such hardships and in how you loved your enemies — even while you were dying.
Even at the age of 12, you understood what it meant to love the Lord and to love your neighbor as yourself. Pray for me, that I may be able to do the same.
Please pray that I will truly be able to serve my family joyfully, and others who need my help and love. And most of all, pray that our Lord will come first in my heart.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
Amen.

Day 3 – St. Maria Goretti Novena
O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of forgiveness, pray for me.
Even at the age of 12, you did not withhold forgiveness from your attacker. You didn’t wish him unwell. On the contrary, you wanted Heaven for him. You loved him in that way. Pray for me, that I, too, will be able to love my enemies like you did. Pray that I will want Heaven for them.
Please pray that it will become easier and easier to forgive those who have hurt me and those who will hurt me.
Please pray for my own healing from these past hurts so that I can move forward and offer forgiveness.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
Amen.

Day 4 – St. Maria Goretti Novena
O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of chastity, you guarded your virginity with such fervor. Even at the age of 12, you knew the value of the virtue of chastity.
Please pray that I will become better at practicing chastity in my own life.
Pray that I will learn to live a life in which desire is subservient to reason. Please pray that I will be able to love as Jesus does: selflessly.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
Amen.

Day 5 – St. Maria Goretti Novena
O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of mercy, pray for me.
God’s mercy is the only hope for mankind. I know we are called to imitate our Father’s mercy to those around us, but it is hard, and I often fail.
But you, even at the age of 12, were strong and courageous enough to offer mercy to your attacker, the one who hurt you the very most.
Please pray that I will be able to do the same to those who hurt me. Please pray that I will not consider their unworthiness, but that I may consider our Lord, as you did.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
Amen.

Day 6 – St. Maria Goretti Novena
O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of living a holy, everyday life, pray for me.
I often feel as though my life must be extraordinary if I am to be a saint, but you show me another way. You show me that I can be a saint if I love our Lord with all my heart, and if I serve my family and put them before me.
Please pray that I may be selfless as you were, and that I can learn to deny my own desires so that I can fulfill our Lord’s will.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
Amen.

Day 7 – St. Maria Goretti Novena
O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of christian suffering, pray for me.
You carried your cross so courageously while you suffered through surgery without anesthesia. You thirsted and were not able to be given water, and you accepted that cross because you loved our Lord.
Pray for me, St. Maria Goretti, that I will become better at carrying my cross.
Pray that I will not complain about my cross, and that I will remember to offer it up to our Lord, for I know that He does not waste any ounce of suffering given to Him.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
Amen.

Day 8 – St. Maria Goretti Novena
O St. Maria Goretti, patron of youth, please pray for the children in my life and the youth across the world.
Please pray that their faith may be as strong as yours was when you were 12 years old.
Pray that I may do what I can to support children in their faith, and to encourage them to love our Lord, to put Him first in their lives, and to follow His commandments.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
Amen.

Day 9 – St. Maria Goretti Novena
O St. Maria Goretti, patron of victims of rape, please pray for all those whose dignity has been attacked.
Pray for their healing, for comfort, and for peace for them.
Please pray that we, as a society, may be able to better protect those who are survivors of sexual assault.
And please pray for justice for their attackers, but most of all, for their contrition and conversion.
Also, please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
Amen.

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Our Beliefs

We the Catholic community of Holy Child Parish, baptized into Christ Jesus and confirmed by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, commit ourselves to:

Worship God in spirit and in truth through the celebration of the Eucharist;
Come together as a vibrant and faith filled community focusing on the spiritual and temporal needs of all;
Proclaim in word and deed the Good News of Jesus Christ to all persons, inviting them to share our faith and mission;
Teach the saving message of Christ so that all believers may come to a deeper understanding, conversion and personal witness to Christ.