St. Fina
St. Fina lived in the small Italian town of San Geminiano around the year 1253 A.D. St. Fina was a person who lived a short life however she did many great things and had a strong devotion to God.
St. Fina lived in a poor family and ever since a young age she would take a small supply of food and she shared the rest with her family and friends to assure that they had food to eat. St. Fina would always occupy her self during the day with chores around her house and make sure that she would help as much as she could. St. Fina would also spend much of her day and evening in prayer.
St. Fina’s father died when she was young and she later got a bunch of diseases. The diseases she got affected her entire head, her eyes, her hands, her feet, her interior organs, and paralysis also occurred. St. Fina was said to change completely and she did not look the same as she did before her illness. She had a huge desire to be like Jesus on the cross, so for 6 years of her life she lay on a plank in one position, and she was not able to move. St. Fina would be left on her own for multiple hours but she would never complain because she understood it was her cross in her life, so she offered it up. Even when she encountered horrible pain, St. Fina would look at the crucifix and say “It is not my wounds but thine, O Christ, that hurt me". St. Fina’s suffering only got worse as time went on. St. Fina’s mother died a sudden death and St. Fina was left all alone. St. Fina was left without anything and it was pretty clear that she would not be able to live much longer on her own.
St. Fina later heard about the story of St. Gregory the Great who suffered from many different things. After hearing his story, St. Fina developed a very special veneration to him. She prayed to St. Gregory to intercede to God that she would be able to have patience in her affliction. St. Fina was actually visited 8 days before her death by St. Gregory who told her “Dear child on my festival God will give you rest". When her body was removed from the plank that she had laid on for many years the rotten wood was fully covered by white violets. During her funeral many miracles were reported to occur through her intercession. When she was laying dead she is said to have raised her hand and clasped which healed her healed her friend.
St. Fina demonstrated to us how important it is to foster a strong devotion to God throughout our lives so that we may be more patient through suffering and serve other people before ourselves even when it may be painful to do so. St. Fina was someone who accepted the suffering that God placed in her life and offered it up for other people and kept helping others. Her feast day is celebrated on March 12.
Prayer to St. Fina:
St. Fina intercede that we may find the courage we need to persevere when we suffer and to offer it up for other people. Intercede that we may be willing to help those who are in need and help us to accept a bigger cross so that their cross may become smaller. Help us to face any stress that we may encounter and instead of freaking out, help us to offer it up for those who are suffering. St. Fina, I pray that you may place your mantel of protection over all of those who are suffering so that they may find the peace they need to get through it.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord and Mary Our Mother Heaven.
Amen
Works Cited:
Information (read from, not taken):
Catholic Online. “St. Fina.” Saints and Angels. 2021. St. Fina - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online. Accessed 12 March 2021.
Images:
St.Fina. March 12, 2021.
St. Fina. March 12, 2021.
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