Often in legends, saints are portrayed as if they were born perfect and holy. Today we see the lives of the Saints, and especially that of Saint Rita, differently. She was searching her whole life long. This searching was accompanied by a yearning. We could say this yearning was her thirst for God. It was like a red thread running thoughout her life, connecting it and giving it meaning. Saint Rita embodied Saint Augustine's opinion well; "Our hearts are restless, Lord, until they rest in You."
Are YOU searching and yearning for God too?
This yearning for God was her attraction, her staying and holding power in life. She was always listening to God and responding to Him. By this, she was encouraged to risk the next step in her life, whether it was in her youth, her marriage, her widowhood or later in her religious life. Her times of solitude and pain were threaded with His presence and voice.
Is God encouraging YOU? Do YOU find yourself listening and wanting to respond?
This inner attitude of standing before God and being ready to respond to Him, to do His will, was visible throughout all the stages of her life that Saint Rita traveled. All roads led to Him and through Him. She sought Him on her road to the Scoglio and felt Him close in prayer. She found the road to Him in the winding road to the Augustinian hermits whom she asked advice. She found Him in the path from her home in Roccoporena to the Augustinian nuns in Cascia. She found Him in the many people that she walked alongside of during her life, who needed her help.
Where do YOU find God in your life?
It is fascinating that this woman who was always searching, found no way or road too long or difficult for her to follow, with God in her heart.
Maybe YOU know this experience from your own life, a searching with no immediate answers, yet a deep yearning in your heart.
