We are connected to Jesus in many ways in our lives of faith. As our Lord and our Savior, we receive our salvation through him through the new life we receive in the waters of baptism. We are connected to Jesus through the Eucharist we receive. We are connected to him through our membership in the body of Christ, the Church. As Jesus is the vine and we are the branches connected to him, he gives us life, nourishment, and support.
Another way we are connected to Jesus is through the community of saints. Many of the faithful turn to the saints for inspiration, to saints we can identify with, to unite our prayers with their prayers. I find it interesting that the saint we celebrate today was born way back in the 14th century, but she remains a very popular saint today. St Rita of Cascia was born to a peasant family, its only child. She longed to be a nun, but instead followed her parents wishes for her to marry. She actually became a wife and mother at the age of 12. After a violent, abusive relationship with her husband, after the murder of her husband through a feud with another family, and the death of her two sons by dysentery, she was finally accepted into the Augustinian convent as a religious sister. Rita was well known for being obedient. She was made a saint in the year 1900. At her canonization, Pope Leo 13th named her Patroness of Impossible Causes, while in many Catholic countries, Rita came to be known to be as the patroness of abused wives and heartbroken women. St Rita, we united our prayers with you today, even those prayers that may seem impossible to be answered.
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