Saint Rebecca, also called Rafqa, was born in Lebanon in 1832. Amid family conflict over who she would marry, Rebecca discerned a religious vocation. She joined the Lebanese Maronite Order, becoming an example of holiness to her community.
In 1885, she asked Our Lord to allow her to suffer like him. Saint Rebecca began to have headaches and eye pain. An American doctor traveling in the area recommended she have an operation. Saint Rebecca refused anesthesia, choosing to unite her suffering to Christ’s suffering on the cross. During the operation, her eyeball came out of its socket and fell on the floor. Saint Rebecca calmly blessed the doctor’s hands as he replaced her eye.
The operation did not stop her pain, and her body deteriorated over several years. During this long time of suffering and being bedridden, she remained joyful, praying, knitting socks, and sewing clothes.
Saint Rebecca is the patron saint of lost parents and the sick. Ask Saint Rebecca to help you to remain joyful even when you are not feeling well. She will help you to remember to offer your suffering to Jesus and to do it with a smile.