St. Rose was born in Lima, the capital of Peru, in 1586. Her parents were from Puerto Rico and had humble backgrounds. Following in the footsteps of her inspiration, St Catherine of Siena, she lived a simple life devoted to prayer, fasting, and self-discipline, all while using her talent for delicate lace and embroidery to help provide for her family. She built a small sun-dried brick cell in her backyard with her brother. She would pray and rest thereafter, helping the poor. Despite a decade of family opposition and ridicule, Rose finally attained her long-desired goal of becoming a religious. As a Dominican tertiary at 20, Sjister Rose of St Mary redoubled her penance. She partook of almost no food, wore an iron chain around her waist, and a spiked metal crown concealed in her hair.
She had multiple encounters with Our Lord, leaving her in peace and joy for hours. This happened after she successfully resisted diabolical temptations against purity and faith. In return, she would offer all her mortifications to Him as an act of expiation for the sins and evil she observed around her and for the souls suffering in Purgatory. "I beheld great scales in our Lord's hands," she once wrote, "and with minute care, he distributed among the souls as many blessings as he had loaded them with affliction. You must know that in the true scales of Paradise, grace corresponds to tribulation! No one would complain about the weight of his cross if he knew of the scales in which it has been weighed!" After passing away at the age of 31 on August 24, 1617, many miracles were reported to have occurred through her intercession. Pope Clement IX beatified her on March 12, 1668, and she was later canonized by Pope Clement X on April 12, 1671, becoming the first saint born in America. She was declared the Patron Saint of Latin America and the Philippines.
St. Rose of Lima, let the fragrance of thy virtues diffuse itself in our lives. May we aspire to follow in your footsteps of divine righteousness and find the courage to carry out acts of penance with fortitude.
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
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