Today we celebrate St Maria Goretti.
And here at St Mary’s, her feast falls very close to another celebration.
This year marks 121 years since this church was opened and dedicated to the worship of Almighty God.
Think about that.
For 121 years people have come through these doors.
Children have been baptised.
Couples have been married.
Sins have been forgiven.
The sick have been anointed.
The dead have been prayed for.
For 121 years the Mass has been offered here.
For 121 years Christ has been present among His people in this place.
And that is fitting when we think about St Maria Goretti.
Because both this church and this saint remind us of the same truth:
Some things are sacred.
Some things are not to be treated casually.
Some things are worth protecting.
In our own day, that idea is often forgotten.
We live in a culture that tends to flatten everything.
Everything becomes ordinary.
Everything becomes disposable.
Everything becomes a matter of personal preference.
But Christians have always known that some realities are holy.
This church is holy because it has been set apart for God.
The altar is holy because upon it Christ’s sacrifice is made present.
The Eucharist is holy because it is Christ Himself.
And the human person is holy because he or she is made in the image of God.
That is the key to understanding Maria Goretti.
She was only eleven years old.
A poor girl.
Living a hard life.
Helping her mother.
Looking after younger children.
Nothing about her circumstances suggested greatness.
Yet she understood something that many adults never understand.
She understood that she belonged to God.
That her body belonged to God.
That her soul belonged to God.
That her dignity as a daughter of God was something precious.
The world often misunderstands purity.
It imagines purity is merely about rules.
Merely about saying no.
Merely about restrictions.
But purity is really about seeing the true value of something.
A person who loves a priceless painting does not leave it out in the rain.
A person who treasures a family heirloom does not throw it into the bin.
A person who recognises something precious protects it.
Maria understood that she herself was precious in God’s sight.
And so she defended that dignity heroically.
Not because she was afraid.
Not because she hated her attacker.
But because she loved God.
What moves me most about her story is not simply her courage.
It is her charity.
Even while she was being attacked she pleaded with Alessandro to stop because she feared for his soul.
And as she lay dying she forgave him.
That is not natural.
That is supernatural.
That is Christ living in a soul.
Today’s first reading helps us understand why.
God speaks through Hosea and says:
“I will betroth you to myself forever.”
It is the language of love.
The language of a covenant.
The language of a God who wants not merely our obedience but our hearts.
Maria understood that.
Her purity was not cold.
It was not negative.
It flowed from love.
She knew she belonged to Christ.
And the Gospel shows us what Christ does for those who come to Him.
A woman who has suffered for twelve years is healed.
A little girl who has died is restored to life.
Again and again Jesus restores what seems lost.
Again and again He brings life where there appears to be only suffering.
That is important because Maria’s story is not only about purity.
It is also about mercy.
The story does not end with her death.
It ends with Alessandro’s conversion.
The murderer repents.
The sinner returns to God.
The man who destroyed her life is transformed by grace.
And eventually dies reconciled to Christ.
Only the Gospel can produce a story like that.
Only the Gospel can hold together truth and mercy.
Purity and forgiveness.
Justice and redemption.
And perhaps there is a lesson here for us on this anniversary of St Mary’s Church.
Buildings matter.
This church matters.
We should thank God for those who built it 121 years ago.
For the sacrifices they made.
For the faith they handed on.
But ultimately the Church is not made of stone.
It is made of living souls.
What matters most is not simply that this building survives.
What matters most is that faith survives.
That children are taught the Gospel.
That families remain close to Christ.
That sinners return to Confession.
That people discover the mercy of God.
That saints are formed.
For 121 years this church has existed for that purpose.
To bring souls to Christ.
To make saints.
To prepare people for heaven.
St Maria Goretti never saw a cathedral.
Never wrote a theological book.
Never founded a religious order.
But she became a saint because she belonged completely to Christ.
And perhaps that is the greatest prayer we can offer today.
That after 121 years of worship in this church, God may continue to raise up saints from this parish.
Saints who love purity.
Saints who love mercy.
Saints who love the Eucharist.
Saints who love Christ.
For in the end that is why this church was built.
And that is why the Church exists.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 