April 27th - St. Zita, virgin, mystic.
(Also known as Sitha, Citha)
Born at Monte Sagrati, near Lucca, Tuscany, Italy; died in Lucca on April
27, 1278; liturgical cultus permitted locally by Leo X (early 16th
century);
canonized in 1696; name added to the Roman Martyrology in 1748 by Benedict
XIV. For two hundred years before and after the crowning of Charlemagne
as
Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day in 800 AD, female saints were obscured
by time and cir***stance. Thereafter, in the Age of Mysticism from about
1000 to 1500, we witness the re-emergence of saintly female mystics, such
as
Hildegard and Catherine of Siena.
Christian mysticism is an endeavor to reach a knowledge of and union with
God directly and experientially. The mystic renounces his senses and the
images they offer of God, seeking instead to wander down a negative road.
Often, this type of contemplative prayer leads to abnormal psychic states
that culminate in ecstasy, which is sanctified when perfectly united with
God. The individuals who reach this state normally exhibit extraordinary
self-knowledge and become fully free, unique human beings. The heightened
mystical sense also leads to an ever more passionate love of God.
As will be shown frequently in these biographies of the saints, the
mystical
life in no way conflicts with the duties of any Christian state of life:
married (e.g., Francis of Rome), avowed celibate (Saint Teresa of Avila),
or
domestic servant.
Saint Zita was born in a mountain village near Lucca into a very devout
family. Her elder sister became a Cistercian nun and her uncle, Graziano,
was a hermit who was locally regarded as a saint. From the age of 12, Zita
was a domestic servant in the family of Pagano di Fatinelli of Lucca, a
wool
and silk merchant. This devoted woman, who was deeply religious, remained
with this family all her life. She served it for 48 years-as maid servant,
then housekeeper, and governess-and every member of the family had the
deepest respect and affection for her.
There are numerous stories of her attention to household duties, of her
care
for beggars, of her devotion to religious practices, and of the fidelity
with which she attended Mass each day of her adult life at the Church of
San
Frediano. The good food she was provided by her employer, she would
distribute to the poor. More often than not, she could be found sleeping
on
the bare ground or lost in prayer, after having given up her bed to a
beggar. Her work was part of her religion, as it should be for us, a way
of
serving God in our neighbor. At first her fellow servants mocked her
piety
and kindness. Zita paid no attention, and in the end they grew to admire
her. But her master was often irritated that she gave away so much. During
a
local famine she secretly gave away much of the family supply of beans.
When
her master inspected the kitchen cupboards, to Zita's relief the beans had
been miraculously restocked (recall the similar story about Saint Frances
of
Rome). Another story tells that angels baked her bread while she was rapt
in
ecstasy. A characteristic story of her generous nature is of how one
Christmas Eve, when she was setting out for the early morning service, the
cold was so intense that her employer, seeing her in her thin gown,
wrapped
his own fur cloak round her shoulders, and insisted on her taking it. "But
take care of it," he said, "and be sure to bring it back." At the church
door, however, Zita saw a poor man in rags, numb with cold and begging for
alms. She could never resist a beggar and on the impulse of the moment she
took off her master's cloak and put it round him. "It will keep you warm,"
she said, "and you can return it to me when the service is over." But when
she came out of the church, the man had gone, and in great distress she
returned home without the cloak. Her employer, naturally, was angry, but
what troubled Zita most was that, out of pity for another, she had abused
his kindness.
The story had a happy sequel, for the next day a stranger came to the door
and restored the missing cloak. People later decided that the poor old man
must have been an angel in disguise, and so the door of the Church of San
Frediano, Lucca, where he first appeared, is called the Angel ****tal.
Zita was always moved by generous impulse, and endeared herself to all by
her compassionate nature, and all her life long she was sustained by a
simple and strong faith in God. Zita was embarrassed by the veneration in
which her employers and neighbors held her later in life. Nevertheless,
she
was happy that some of her domestic duties were relieved because it gave
her
the time to tend to the sick, the poor, and prisoners. She had a special
devotion to criminals awaiting execution, on whose behalf she would spend
hours in prayer.
Zita died peacefully at the age of 60, having sanctified herself in a life
of humble domestic tasks, and as the little Maid of Lucca is numbered
among
the saints. Immediately, a popular cultus developed around her tomb at San
Frediano. Her cultus spread to other countries in the later Middle Ages,
as
testified by chapels in her honor as scattered as at Palermo, Sicily, and
Ely, England (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Farmer, Gill,
Encyclopedia, Martindale, Walsh, White).
In art, Saint Zita is depicted in the working clothes of a maid servant
with
her emblem: keys. She may be shown (1) with a rosary, bag, and keys; (2)
with a rosary; (3) with two keys and three loaves; (4) with keys and a
book;
(5) with a basket of fruit; (6) with a bag and book; (7) with a book and
rosary; or (8) praying at a well (Roeder, White). She appears in mural
paintings (Shorthampton, Oxon.), in stained glass (Mells and Lang****t,
Somerset), and on rood screens in Norfolk (Barton Turf), Suffolk
(Somerleyton), and Devon (Ashton) (Farmer).
Saint Zita is the patroness of housewives and servants. In England, she
was
known as Sitha and invoked by housewives and servants searching for lost
keys or crossing raging rivers (White). She is still venerated at Lucca,
where her body is housed in the Cappella di Santa Zita in the church of
San
Frediano (Jepson, Roeder).
Saint Quote:
Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions
speak. We are full of words but empty of actions, and therefore are cursed
by the Lord, since he himself cursed the fig tree when he found no fruit
but
only leaves. It is useless for a man to flaunt his knowledge of the law if
he undermines its teaching by his actions.
-from a sermon by Saint Anthony of Padua
Bible Quote
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his
sheep.
12 But the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep
are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and flieth: and the
wolf catcheth, and scattereth the sheep: (John 10:11-12)
<><><><>
Short Prayers
Let not the partaking of Thy Body, O Lord Jesus Christ, which
I, all unworthy, presume to receive, turn to my judgment and
condemnation, but through Thy loving kindness may it be to
me a safeguard and remedy for soul and body. Who livest
and reignest world without end. Amen.
Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof;
but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.
The cross is my sure salvation.
The cross I ever adore.
The cross of the Lord is with me.
The cross is my refuge.
|
