Blessed Margaret of Castello

Dearest Ones,

As a child, I looked to the saints as my friends in heaven helping me and I still do. St. Therese, saint of the Little Way, helps me to see the will of God in all that happens. St. Anthony helps me to find lost things. I pray to St. Isidore the farmer, to intercede and send rain to the farms and gardens, especially now, with the dryness. I pray to St. Joseph when someone is looking for work, he'll help them through the hard times. I ask St. Rita 's intercession when people ask me to pray for a difficult marriage and St. Jude is the Saint of impossible cases! When I had cataract surgery, I prayed to St. Odilia and St. Lucy, patrons saints of eye problems. St. Peregrine is the patron saint of those with cancer. I have no doubt those in heaven hear our prayers and pray for us. Why wouldn't they? Just because our loved ones aren't here doesn't mean we aren't together in our hearts. We ask our friends on earth to pray for us, why not ask those who have gone before us? We don't worship the saints, we only worship God, but we honor them, just as we honor loved ones in this world.

I want to tell you about a little known, yet a very powerful little saint. Her name is Blessed Margaret of Castello, who lived over 500 years ago in Italy. She is now in the canonization process in the Catholic Church. Margaret's parents enjoyed an easy life of wealth and everything seemed to be going wonderfully for the young couple, until they conceived their first child. Of course, they expected the child to be a perfectly formed, perfectly behaved infant, whom they could show off to their friends. They did not know until she was born in the year 1285, that she was a badly deformed, blind child with a huge hump on her back. The parents were shocked. Where did this ugly child come from? The parents were so upset, they decided to hide the child forever in their castle and tell no one about her. They gave her into the care of a servant, who taught the child to pray and love God. As she grew older, her parents were afraid she would be discovered, so they asked a priest if they could build a room attached to his church, which would always be locked. It was here that Margaret was taken to live. So at the age of 6, blind little Margaret was locked up in the little room beside the Church. Through a window, the priest gave her Holy Communion, food and anything else she needed. The priest was very good to her and taught her many things about God. Sometimes, he took her out of the room and carried her through the woods, singing hymns and praising God. Little Margaret memorized all 150 psalms from the Bible because the priest taught them to her. She was always happy and never complained. Although she knew her parents didn't want her, this didn't make her bitter towards them. She even felt it was her fault, as she was such a bother to them. At the age of 18, she had to leave the room and became a beggar with other street people. Margaret was so loving and kind, that soon the poor people flocked around her, as she was always so happy. As people learned that Margaret would not speak a harsh word against her parents but always said she loved them, the people began to regard her as a saint. Families even let her come to live in their homes. Finally, some Sisters asked her to come and live in their convent. Every day she took food, clothing and medicine to prisoners and many of them returned to the Catholic Church. In 1320, Margaret died at the age of 33 - the same age Our Savior died. When she lay in her coffin, a mother placed her crippled child in the arms of Margaret - she was instantly cured. This caused the people of the entire city to look upon Margaret as a saint. An overflowing crowd attended her funeral. Although Margaret has been dead for over 500 years, her body has never decayed and is now what the Church calls "incorrupt". Her little body looks like as if she is alive and can be seen today through glass under a high altar in the city of Castello, in Italy. People come from all over the world to visit and pray at her tomb. Through Blessed Margaret's intercession, many miracles have occurred. She, who was so deformed and crippled, became a powerful intercessor for those who are crippled or deformed. Although she has been a forgotten saint, who also ministered to the forgotten, today she is the popular, well-known patron saint of street people, the crippled and the unborn. What an example of unselfish love and forgiveness she is! Often, I find myself praying to ask her to intercede with our Lord and I am not disappointed. I don't think you will be, either. It's a pretty safe bet that, had Blessed Margaret been conceived in the 1990's we would never know about her. Why? Because her parents would have chosen prenatal diagnosis and aborted her. Although Margaret was unwanted and unloved, she is truly a favorite saint for these times, when so many babies are unwanted. So, if you feel ignored, left out, unloved or unwanted, just pray to dear little Margaret and she'll understand. She knew Jesus loved her even though her body was imperfect, just as He loves us, even though our souls are imperfect.

Love you,Sister Francelle