Santa Rita to the rescue

Dear friends! There is also another saint who has helped me a lot in my life, and to whom you can turn with confidence: Saint Rita of Cascia, who lived during the 14th century, in the midst of the Italian Renaissance. She is the patron saint of hopeless cases, the saint of impossible situations, the one who intercedes when she seems to lose all hope.

Many years ago, I was faced with a sudden and difficult change in my life, and the world around me was turned upside down. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t accept the direction my life was suddenly forced to take and the emptiness that descended on me with all its cruel weight and force. First I fell apart, and then, slowly getting used to being in pieces, I became numb to the world. Like an automaton I walked and did what I had to do, but joy no longer lived in my heart. I switched to survival mode, simplified my life to a minimum; at night I waited for the sun to rise, and during the day I waited for it to set. I desperately wanted my old life back, filled with the joy I was used to but obviously didn’t appreciate. Of course, at that time I was not aware of my ungrateful spirit; only later did I realize how ignorant I was of the good things that had been given to me, of the comfort of a sure heart, of a life without complications and without blemish. And then the bomb was dropped, and it exploded, sharp splinters piercing the soft veil of my comfortable existence. The more I sank into darkness and tears, the more I knew that only a miracle would save me; the human powers could no longer pull me out of the despair into which I spiraled. All day I was theorizing about what had happened to me; Hundreds of interpretations swirled through my head, my thoughts like fragile branches, reaching out in a million directions only to latch onto one terrifying conclusion: I was no longer loved. I was like a scavenger crawling across the sandy bottom of the sea, far from the light of the world, feeding on the remains left by other, happier creatures.

And then one night, in a rare hour of sleep, I had a dream. In this dream, I saw a shiny golden disk hovering over my face, and in a language I don’t remember but could only understand telepathically, he told me: “Things are not what they seem”. Startled, I immediately woke up and knew that this was no ordinary dream; This was a message from above. Someone in the divine spheres realized that I reached the limit of despair, took pity on me and decided to send me a ray of hope. It was little to hold on to, but I began to build my existence around this divine sign. Of course, I later learned that a divine sign is all we need to know that our future is about to change. As to when, that of course he didn’t know; Time is, as always, in the hands of God.

I would love to tell you that shortly after this dream my life changed, the misunderstandings were cleared up, the stars aligned and everything was back to normal. But it was not the case; there was no sign of change at all. Of course, my life went on, but no resolution presented itself to my aching soul. And during these years of emptiness I realized that the miracle I needed had to come from above, so I turned to God. No one else would have understood me, and there was certainly no one who could perform the miracle I longed for. My gold record dream was my invitation, and since I had no choice, I opened up like a flower and soaked in all that God allowed me to see of Him. I studied him, I spoke to him, I searched for him and I buried myself in his love. However, there was still no change, and God remained silent.

Well into the second year after my dream, I spent the summer in Hungary, where every day I went to my favorite little church where there is, to this day, a small shrine dedicated to Saint Rita, the saint of impossible things; only sacred to me, I thought. One day, when I was completely alone in the church praying to her, always for the same thing, never giving up, I suddenly felt a strong aroma of roses surround me. He felt strange; I was alone and this divine smell, strong and deliciously pink, descended on me like a cloud, enveloping me in its soft folds, comforting me and bringing tears to my eyes. It lasted about a minute, and as suddenly as it came, it was gone, leaving me alone in the musky church, pleasantly confused and filled with tears of hope. I didn’t know what it was then, but I sensed that it must be a sign, a divine pact, an auspicious herald that my life would soon change. I felt that Santa Rita had listened to me and her intercession, after so long, finally won God’s favor.

Once again, I would love to tell you that shortly after this rose-scented minute, the pieces of my life suddenly fell into their proper and most auspicious places. However, for long months there was still no change, and God remained silent. I returned home and continued to pray to Santa Rita to make sure he would keep me on his side and keep interceding for me.

In the third year after my dream, I learned a lot about God and his divine systems. I researched Him day and night, and the more I learned about Him and the more efficiently I prayed, the stronger my faith grew. My life became solid and happy again; I rebuilt myself into a weaker version of earlier times, but it was a habitable version nonetheless.

In my third year of faithfully praying for the same thing, when my faith grew stronger and my life was much stronger and happier, suddenly, in the most ordinary of moments, my wish came true. When I least expected it, God granted my wish and wrapped it up in circumstances so favorable that they exceeded all my expectations. My wish materialized and I was presented with solutions that I could never imagine. After testing me for so long, God decided to come out of the clouds and show me his divine face.

This was many years ago, and since then I have learned a lot. I have learned that He waited for my faith to grow strong before granting my wish. He wanted him to feel the impact of his love and generosity to ensure that he became the guiding light in my life, the axis of my existence and my work. He made sure that my experience became life changing for me, so that through it I could change the lives of others. He expected from me perseverance in faith and unconditional love, growth in spirit and understanding of human conditions. And when He felt that I was transformed into a loving receptacle of His will and ready to receive and see His divine face, He gave and gave generously, perfectly, more than I expected, and perhaps more than I was willing to handle. I also learned that the golden record in my dream was the Holy Spirit descending on me with the divine message from him.

Years after my scented pink minute in that little Hungarian church, I also learned that Saint Rita on her deathbed in the Cascia convent asked for a rose and a fig to be brought from the garden of her former home. This was a strange request in the middle of January when all the gardens were covered in deep snow. However, the saint’s cousin went to the garden and she found a single rose in full bloom and a ripe, fragrant fig which she promptly brought to Rita. Since then, roses and the scent of roses in impossible places tell us that Santa Rita is present and her intercession for us was successful. Saint Rita shares this beautiful symbol with Saint Teresa of Lisieux.

Although my wish was not granted right away, I now know that that pink scented cloud in that little church was in fact a divine sign sent from above: And the Lord spoke: “You have earned my good will, and I know you by name.” (Exodus, 33.17).

It was a sign that God never breaks His promise to us: ask and you shall receive.

You must be getting ready to go to work soon. Remember, you also have Santa Rita on your side in times of trouble and despair. Persevere patiently; even making you wait for a long time, God has the divine purpose of it that must be fulfilled.