St. Rita鈥檚 Parish sponsored a pancake breakfast to celebrate the mothers of Medstead and area May 13.
The village hall filled with families celebrating the maternal figures of the area.
St. Rita is the namesake of the Catholic Church of Medstead. Located just south of the school, the white church hosts its services on Saturdays at 6 p.m. St. Rita is a noted maternal figure within Catholic lore.
According to Catholic Online, St. Rita was born surrounded by white bees and left unharmed. Rita became a wife and mother at the age of 12 and is said to have had an abusive husband with many enemies. It is said that Rita鈥檚 influence served to soothe his nature. Her husband died because of a blood feud between families. Rita declared publicly a pardon to the killers.
Her sons, on the other hand, wished to continue the feud and avenge the death of their father, under the influence of their uncle. Rita appealed to her children to not succumb to the lure of vengeance, unsuccessfully. She then turned to the Lord in prayer, asking Him to take her children before they succumbed to the mortal sin of murder. Her prayers are said to have been answered a year later when the children died of dysentery. It was due to the bubonic plague that the feud was finally ended and, at the age of 36, St. Rita was allowed into a monastery. She died on May 22, 1457, was beatified in 1627 and canonized in 1900.
The story of St. Rita, whose parish sponsored the event of Mother鈥檚 Day, is a reminder to all mothers and their children of the struggles of motherhood and the rewards which it brings.
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