Maria Goretti, who died at the age of 12 defending her virginity and is known as the “martyr of virginity” or the “Saint of Forgiveness,” is first and foremost a “Saint next door”, because she knew how to live her difficult daily life - her parents were sharecroppers who moved from the Marche region to the Pontine Marshes because of poverty - with a gaze of hope constantly turned toward heaven: when her father died, for example, she was the one who encouraged her mother, telling her: “Mum, don't worry, God will not abandon us”.
And it was precisely this “perspective” that enabled her final great act in life: forgiving her murderer, Alessandro Serenelli.
“You will go to Hell like this…”
So today, on the day the Church celebrates her feast, we want to remember her for one of the most beautiful (and most difficult) things she taught us: the strength to forgive what seems humanly unforgivable.
“Today I would like to emphasize that, at the moment when, mortally wounded, she made the supreme choice of her life, Marietta was no longer thinking of herself, but of protecting the person who was mortally attacking her: ‘You will go to hell like this…,’ she kept repeating to Alessandro Serenelli! We also know the words of forgiveness she had for him; on her deathbed, she said to the chaplain of the Nettuno hospital: ‘I forgive him and I want him with me in heaven’” (Pope Francis).
We immediately tend to think: “Yes, this is what saints can do,” almost as if to say that it does not concern us, “ordinary mortals.” But what we should learn to tell ourselves is that holiness concerns us, speaks about us too, tells our story as well, and must also be our horizon.
Like Maria Goretti, we too should be able to understand what a great revolution forgiveness brings with it, what a great force of love and hope.
Forgiveness sets free and heals
“Forgiveness is a force that resurrects us to new life and instills the courage to look to the future with hope” (Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus, no. 10). This is its beauty.
Forgiveness allows you not to remain anchored to the past; it lifts you up and sets you free: that offense, that resentment, that humiliation you suffered no longer have power over you if you manage to untie the knots in your heart and think, as a child loved and forgiven by the Father, that you are invited to do the same.
And you are invited to do so not only – and not so much – for the person who offended you, but first and foremost for yourself: if you free your soul from the burdensome weight of resentment, you will feel light and be able to live in the “here and now”, which is Jesus’ preferred horizon!
The “logic of heaven”
Certainly, it is by no means an easy path, and Marietta, as she was called by her family, teaches us that we must train ourselves to walk it: she knew and embodied humility, service, hope, purity… And her heart was ready for the appointment that defined the very meaning of her life: the encounter with her murderer and forgiveness, which also marked the beginning of a new life for Alessandro Serenelli.
This shows that the ways of the Lord are not our ways; it is often not easy for us to grasp the “logic of heaven,” but when we manage to do so for a moment, we glimpse nothing but light.
Let us pray to Marietta, that she may help us walk in her footsteps:
PRAYER TO SAINT MARIA GORETTI
Saint Maria Goretti,
Faithful Martyr
and a radiant example of everyday holiness,
made glorious
by the seal of the sacrificed Lamb,
help us all;
help young people above all,
who admire your heroism,
and wish to imitate you
in the fervor of faith
and in purity of conduct.
(Saint John Paul II)
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN
