The Smell of Catholicism

The Roman Church loves to glorify people who induce and maintain self-wounds. The latest example was that recently sainted Italian priest Francesco Forgione, better known by his alias, 'Padre Pio.'

In the Christmas 2003 issue of 'The Goodnewsletter,' the life of another Catholic psychosomatic was examined in an article titled, "St. Rita of Cascia: Pierced by the Cross."

Rita was an Italian nun in the 1400s. One day while praying before a fresco of the crucified Christ, the article says, "A thorn fell from the Beloved Head of our Savior and pierced the forehead of St. Rita...She immediately began to bleed profusely, and the wound that kept bleeding has been accepted by all as the gift of the Stigmata of our Lord."

But - Rita had a problem. Unlike others with the stigmata, Rita's wound did not smell nice! The article continued:

"The wound had such a pungent, putrid odor emanating from it that she had to suffer the ostracism and rejection of her fellow nuns who at best, feared it might be infectious and, at worst, could not bear the smell."

In 1450 Rita wanted to make a pilgrimage to Rome, but feared for her smelly forehead! So she prayed for her forehead to be temporarily healed, and 'voila' it was healed. She went on the pilgrimage, and when she got back to the monastery, lo and behold, "Not five minutes passed when the wound opened, with all the accompanying signs."

(And please, this is NOT at all like Paul's thorn in the flesh of 2 Corinthians 12. Paul prayed for it to go away, not for it to be temporarily and conveniently "healed." The truth is Rita had a grievous sore that she picked at and nurtured each day.)

After her death, supposedly this spot on her forehead smelled much nicer, and looked like, "A ruby spot, like a kiss."

Only in Catholicism, with its perverse interest in dead bodies and body parts, would a body smell nicer after death than before! May God protect us from the stench of Romanism.