St Rose of Lima
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Rose of Lima. St. Rose of Lima was born to parents who were of Spanish descent and they lived in Lima, Peru, during that time South America was in its first century of evangelization. St. Rose is actually beloved to have taken St. Catherine of Siena as a role model during her life, in spite of the objections and ridicule of parents and friends.
St. Rose loved God so much that she decided to get rid of anything that might endanger her loving relationship with God. So, due to the fact of her beauty which was so highly admired, St. Rose decided to rub on her face pepper to produce disfiguring blotches. Later on, St. Rose had wore a thick circlet of silver on her head, studded on the inside, like a crown of thorns.
When St. Rose’s parents had fallen into very large financial trouble, she had to work in the garden all day and she also had to sew during the night. Ten years of struggle against her parents began when they had tried to make St. Rose get married. They also refused to let her enter a convent, and out of obedience she had decided to continue her life of penance and solitude at home and she became a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. So deep was her desire to live the life of Christ that she had spent most of her time at home in solitude.
During the very last few years of her life, St. Rose had set up a room in her house where she was able to care for the homeless children, the elderly, and the sick. This was the very beginning of social services in Peru. Though they had secluded in life and activity, she was brought to the attention of Inquisition interrogators, who could only say that she was influenced by grace.
St. Rose had a large love for God so that it was able to withstand ridicule from temptation, and lengthy periods of sickness. After she had died at the age of 31, the city turned out for her funeral. Prominent men took turns carrying her coffin.
St. Rose’s feast day is celebrated on August 23 and she is the patron saint of Florists, Latin America, Peru, Philippines, and South America.
Prayer to St. Rose:
St. Rose intercede that we may be able to serve others out of love, kindness and compassion. St. Rose help us to be a better example of our faith by serving others before ourselves and help us to lead others to Heaven.
Amen
St. Rose pray for us
St. Joseph pray for us
May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.
Works cited
Information (read from, not taken):
Franciscan media. “Saint Rose of Lima. ”Saint Rose of Lima | Franciscan Media. Accessed August 23, 2021.
Images:
Saint Rose of Lima. August 23, 2021. Saint Rose of Lima - Google Search.