Saint of the day · July 6
St Maria Goretti
Monday, week 14 in Ordinary Time
Liturgical colour : Green
Saint Maria Goretti, honored today as both virgin and martyr, was born in Italy in the late 19th century. Her short life was marked by deep faith and devotion to God from an early age. Maria's family faced significant hardship and poverty, especially after her father's death, which required the family to share living space with another family. At the age of 11, Maria was attacked by a young man named Alessandro Serenelli, who sought to violate her. Maria courageously resisted, declaring that what he attempted was a sin against God. She suffered multiple stab wounds and died the following day, forgiving her attacker on her deathbed and expressing a desire for his repentance.
Maria's example of purity, forgiveness, and steadfastness has inspired many, especially young people. She was canonized in 1950 by Pope Pius XII in the presence of her mother and even her repentant murderer, who later experienced a conversion. The Church commemorates her, not only for her defense of chastity but also for the extraordinary way she embodied Christ's forgiveness. Maria Goretti's life and death testify to the power of grace, the dignity of the human person, and the call to radical holiness, even in the most trying circumstances.
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Mass readings
"I will make you my wife forever" — Os 2, 16.17b-18.21-22
Thus speaks the Lord:
My unfaithful wife,
I am going to allure her,
I will lead her into the wilderness,
and there I will speak to her heart to heart.
There, she will respond to me
as in the days of her youth,
on the day when she came out of the land of Egypt.
On that day – oracle of the Lord –,
here is what will happen:
You will call me: "My husband"
and no longer: "My Baal" (that is, "my master").
I will make you my wife forever,
I will make you my wife
in justice and in law,
in fidelity and tenderness;
I will make you my wife in loyalty,
and you shall know the Lord.
– The word of the Lord.
Ps 144 (145), 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Every day I will bless you,
I will praise your name forever and ever.
The Lord is great, highly to be praised;
his greatness is beyond measure.
From age to age they will glorify your works,
they will proclaim your mighty deeds.
I will recount the story of your wonders,
your brightness, your glory and your splendor.
People will speak of your awesome power;
I will tell of your greatness.
They will remember your boundless goodness;
everyone will acclaim your justice.
The Lord is tenderness and compassion,
slow to anger and full of love.
The Lord's goodness is for all,
his tenderness for all his works.
"My daughter has just died; but come, and she will live" — Mt 9, 18-26
At that time,
while Jesus was speaking to the disciples of John the Baptist,
behold, a leader came forward.
He knelt before him and said:
"My daughter has just died;
but come lay your hand on her,
and she will live."
Jesus got up and followed him, as did his disciples.
And then a woman
who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years
stepped up behind him
and touched the fringe of his cloak.
For she said to herself:
"If I only touch his cloak,
I will be healed."
Jesus turned and, seeing her, said:
"Take courage, daughter!
Your faith has saved you."
And at that moment, the woman was healed.
Jesus, arriving at the leader's house,
saw the flute players
and the crowd making a commotion.
He said then:
"Go away.
The girl is not dead: she is sleeping."
But they mocked him.
When the crowd had been put outside,
he went in, took her by the hand,
and the girl got up.
And news of this spread throughout the whole region.
– Let us acclaim the Word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org