Flora Cantábrica

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Alexandrina Maria da Costa (1904-1955)

Alexandrina Maria da Costa was born on March 30, 1904 in Balasar, Portugal. She received a solid Christian upbringing from her mother and her sister Deolinda, and her lively and well-bred character made her likable to everyone.

Her unusual physical strength and stamina also allowed her to do long hours of heavy farm work in the fields, which helped her family income.

When she was 12 years old, Alexandrina fell ill with an infection and almost died; the consequences of this infection would remain in her as she grew up and would become the «first sign» of what God was asking of her: to suffer from her as a «victim soul».

The consequences of sin

When Alexandrina was 14 years old, something happened that left a permanent mark on her, both physically and spiritually: it brought her face to face with the horror and consequences of sin.

On Holy Saturday of 1918, while Alexandrina, Deolinda and a young apprentice were sewing for her, three men broke into her house and attempted to rape them sexually. To preserve her purity, Alexandrina jumped from a window, falling four meters to the ground.

Her injuries were many and doctors diagnosed her condition as «irreversible»: the paralysis she suffered from was predicted to only worsen.

Until the age of 19, Alexandrina could still «crawl» into the church where she, hunched over, remained in prayer, to the great astonishment of the parishioners. However, with her paralysis and pain worsening, she was forced to remain immobile, and from April 14, 1925 until her death, approximately 30 years, she would remain bedridden, completely paralyzed.

Ella Alexandrina continued to ask the Blessed Mother for the grace of a miraculous healing, promising to become a missionary if she were cured.

Little by little, however, God helped her to see that her suffering was her vocation and that she had a special calling to be a «victim» of the Lord. The more Alexandrina «understood» that this was her mission, the more willingly she embraced her.

She said: «Our Lady has given me an even greater grace: first, abandonment; then, complete conformity to God’s will; finally, the thirst for suffering.»

Mission to suffer with Christ

The desire to suffer grew in her the more her vocation became clearer: she understood that she was called to open the eyes of others to the effects of sin, inviting them to conversion, and to offer a living testimony of the passion of Christ, contributing to the redemption of humanity.

Thus it was that from October 3, 1938 to March 24, 1942, Alejandrina lived the «passion» of Jesus for three hours every Friday, having received the mystical grace of living in body and soul the suffering of Christ in his last hours. During these three hours, her paralysis was «overcome», and she relived the Via Crucis, her movements and gestures accompanied by unbearable physical and spiritual pain. She too was diabolically assaulted and tormented with temptations against the faith and with wounds inflicted on her body.

Her human misunderstanding and disbelief was also a great cross for her, especially when those she most expected to «help» her—Church members and leaders—joined in her crucifixion.

An investigation by the Braga Curia resulted in a circular letter written by the archbishop containing a series of «prohibitions» regarding Alexandrina’s case. It was the result of a negative verdict issued by a commission of priests.

In addition, and as a spiritual consolation, after her spiritual director, a Jesuit priest who had helped her from 1934 to 1941, stopped assisting her, a Salesian priest, Father Umberto Pasquale, came to her aid in 1944. .

Nourished only by the Eucharist

On March 27, 1942, a new stage began for Alexandrina that would last 13 years and seven months until her death. She received no food of any kind except the Holy Eucharist, and at one point she weighed as little as 33 kilos (approximately 73 pounds).

The doctors were puzzled by this phenomenon and began to perform various tests on Alexandrina, acting in a very cold and hostile manner towards her. This increased her suffering and her humiliation, but she remembered the words that Jesus himself told her one day: «Very rarely will you receive comfort… I want that while your heart is full of suffering, on your lips there is a smile «.

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As a result, those who visited or came into contact with Alexandrina always found a woman who, although in apparent physical discomfort, was always outwardly cheerful and smiling, conveying deep peace to everyone. Few understood how deeply she suffered and how real her inner desolation was.

Fr. Pasquale, who was close to Alexandrina during these years, ordered Alexandrina’s sister to keep a journal of her words and her experiences.

In 1944, Alexandrina became a member of the «Union of Salesian Cooperators» and offered her suffering for the salvation of souls and for the sanctification of youth. She maintained a keen interest in the poor, as well as in the spiritual health of those who sought her advice.

«Don’t offend Jesus anymore!»

As a «testimony» of the mission to which God had called her, Alexandrina wished for the following words written on her tombstone: «Sinners, if the dust of my body can help you to save yourselves, come closer, walk on it, kick around until it disappear. But never sin again: do not offend Jesus anymore! Sinners, how much I want to tell you… Do not risk losing Jesus for all eternity, who is so good. Enough of sin. Love. Jesus, love him !».

Alexandrina died on October 13, 1955. Her last words: «I am happy, because I am going to Heaven.»