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Prayer to Saint Maria Goretti for young people to avoid temptation | Maria Goretti’s story gripped the faithful in a strong way, as an innocent, unsophisticated country girl who died a modern martyr while forgiving her murderer.
Solicit the intercession of St. Maria Goretti for all young people, so that they may have the courage to reject temptations.
Today’s youth are tempted everywhere they go, particularly when using the internet. Any young person who resists the allure of vice and lives a good life is brave.
St. Maria Goretti is an excellent example for them, as she died defending a young guy who was addicted to pornography from sexual assault. Maria battled not just for her own innocence, but also for the spirit of her assailant’s soul. On her deathbed, she forgave him and prayed for him in heaven, and he was converted to a chaste life of prayer and service.
Here’s a prayer to St. Maria Goretti, with a special request for all young people to have the resolve to reject temptations.
Look gently on the wretched human race that has wandered far from the path of eternal salvation, O Saint Maria Goretti, who, bolstered by God’s Grace, did not hesitate even at the age of twelve to shed your blood and sacrifice life itself to maintain your virginal purity.
Teach us everyone, especially the youth, how to flee anything that can offend Jesus or taint our souls with sin with courage and promptitude for the love of Jesus.
Obtain for us from our Lord victory over temptation, solace in life’s afflictions, and the grace that we ardently beg of thee (stop, put special intention here), and may we one day share in the incomparable splendor of Heaven with thee. Amen.
Maria’s rags-to-riches beginnings
Maria was born on October 16, 1890, in Corinaldo, a small town in central Italy. Luigi and Assunta, her parents, were ordinary tenant farmers. On the surface, Maria didn’t appear to be particularly remarkable. She was pious, like other children, and said her regular prayers. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, was gently preparing Mary with remarkable graces for the horrors she would soon experience.
For most families in that era, life in Italy was challenging. The family’s financial position had become untenable by the time Maria was six years old. In that era, the Gorettis were one of three Italian families compelled to flee. Luigi, Maria’s father, was acquainted with people from the Agro Romano region of Lazio. He would have made a different decision if he had understood what lay ahead for him and his family.
JOURNEY TO ST. MARIA GORETTI’S HOME THROUGH PHOTOS HERE.
Poverty forces the family to flee to a lawless country.
In fact, it was during their first term in Palliano that the Goretti family met a father and son. The Serenellis came from the Marches as well. Perhaps their shared history or Luigi’s desperate need to work with other guys in the fields prevented him from judging their personalities. In any case, the two families were compelled to travel even further away from their country, to the Pontine Marshes, a terrible location south of Rome.
The term alone conjures up visions of the United States’ Wild West. The Pontine Marshes were regarded as a desolate wasteland where banditry flourished. Worse, because of its low height below sea level, it became swampy, giving it a sanctuary for the spread of malaria.
Death and adversity
Luigi succumbed to the disease and died two years after the family arrived. Assunta, Maria’s mother, was left to care for her five children on her own while her husband worked in the fields. Maria, the oldest of the sisters, willingly assumed responsibility for the domestic responsibilities.
Assunta had little faith in either of the Serenelli men: the father was an alcoholic, and Alessandro was a night owl. She was, however, stranded with them. She required their presence in the fields due to the arduous nature of the task. Their personalities shifted in the aftermath of Luigi’s death. In front of the children, the father and son began to drink more, quarrel, and curse. Worse, they evolved into predators. While the father flirted with Assunta, Alessandro flirted with Maria.
It happened three times in 1902, when Maria was 12 and Alessandro was 20. Maria repelled his onslaught the first two times, and he left. However, by the third time, Alessandro had made up his mind about what he would do if she stood in his way again.
An awl, a long, pointed, spike-shaped farm implement used to punch holes in wood, was the weapon. He stowed it inside the kitchen on a chest. He dragged Maria from the landing into the farmhouse while everyone else was threshing fava beans. He became infuriated as she continued to resist his sexual assault. Maria Goretti was stabbed 14 times in the abdomen and body by Alessandro Serenelli. Later, he testified that he did so “just as you do when you beat corn.”
Maria was transported to a hospital in Nettuno by horse and carriage. She was in excruciating pain for 20 hours. The physicians attempted surgery but were unsuccessful in helping her. She was worried about Alessandro’s soul the whole time, and she kept screaming, “Why?” Alessandro? Why? You’ll be damned!”
A saint and a martyr
Maria was given the Last Rites after a priest was summoned. She died of acute peritonitis and internal hemorrhage the next day, July 6, 1902. The legend of this child “martyr and saint” spread across Nettuno and the surrounding countryside.
Alessandro was sentenced to 30 years in jail with hard labor. He was unrepentant for the first three years. In a dream, Maria Goretti appeared to him. She was taking flowers out of a basket and tossing them to the ground. Alessandro’s life changed dramatically as a result of this. He got released after 27 years in prison. The first thing he did was go to Maria’s mother, Assunta, and ask for forgiveness. She went ahead and did it. Later, he worked as a gardener and handyman at a Capuchin Franciscan friary as a lay associate. In 1970, he died there.
In 1947, Maria was beatified, and in 1950, she was canonized. Her mother and siblings were in Rome for both ceremonies.
On many levels, the life of St. Maria Goretti reflects the Gospel. The tremendous virtues espoused by this young martyr — most notably, her anxiety that Alessandro not lose his soul by assaulting her body — are powerful in and of themselves. The cycle of forgiveness and mercy that followed her example is perhaps even more stunning.
Maria Goretti is the patron saint of virginity, adolescence, youth, rape victims, and forgiveness. On July 6, her feast is commemorated.
