Saint Who?
Saints Who Had Family Challenges
Saint Rose of Lima
Virgin († 1617) Feast: August 23
When Isabel de Flores was born in Lima, Peru, in 1586, a household maid commented that the baby was as pretty as a rose, and the nickname stuck. Rose remained both beautiful and devout throughout her short life. Rose was still a child when she decided she wanted to give herself completely to God, just like the famous mystic Saint Catherine of Siena.
Rose’s parents, however, thought she should marry. To deter prospective suitors, Rose refused to dress up and even disfigured her face by smearing pepper on it. Although she was careful to obey her parents—and her spiritual director—in all things lawful, she also quietly practiced extreme physical mortifications, including daily fasts and long hours of prayer. Her family continually criticized her devotion, even though she uncomplainingly worked to help support the family when her parents’ business venture failed. Near the end of her life, she moved into the home of a wealthy friend who better understood her piety.
In many ways, it’s easy to sympathize with Rose’s family, who simply wanted her to live a happy, ordinary life. But God had called her to something far greater, and devotion to Saint Rose has spread all over the world. In 1671, she became the first canonized saint from the Americas.
Lamb of God, teach us how to sacrifice
our own wills to yours.
