Our Friends the Saints

The Saints

The Catholic Church has recognized thousands of Saints from all walks of life and from all over the world.  Young or old, rich or poor, there is a Saint who has lived a life similar to yours and struggled with something you struggle with.  One of the coolest things about the Saints is that they are actively seeking to assist all of us who remain on Earth and those in Purgatory.   

My First Saint

I received the Sacrament of Confirmation in High School.  Part of the preparation was to choose a Saint who we could relate to and who would keep an eye out for us and pray for us during our lifetime as full member of the Body of Christ.

I choose St. Cecilia.  I choose her because I like to sing and she is the patron Saint of Musicians, and because my Baptismal godmother shares her name.  As a teenager that was all the thought I put into choosing a Confirmation Saint. 

The First Saint who Choose Me

I have read, and believe to be true, that Saints go out of their way to find souls on Earth they can relate to and desire to assist and try to gain their attention.  They try to gain our attention because souls on Earth and in Purgatory must ask for heavenly assistance.  Assistance from God and the Saints is not automatically granted to us on Earth unless we give our consent to receive that assistance, otherwise it would be a violation of our free will.  Even the Angel Gabriel had to ask for Mary's permission before the Holy Spirit could come upon her.  

Since Saints are not often granted the ability to simply appear to souls on Earth they have to reach us in more subtle creative ways.  Such as placing a book about their lives in our path, or a prayer card or leading us to a particular church that is named after them.  

The first such Saint that reached out to me in this way, was St. Therese of Lisieux.  When I was a teenager my grandma, Florance, gave me the book The Story of a Soul which is St. Therese's biography.  I read it and I did not like it.  I thought St. Therese was crazy and strange and I could not relate to her at all.  Her humility and little way seemed very unappealing to me and I promptly lost the book somewhere.  May years later after graduating from collage and going through a sort of falling away from the faith and a reversion back to the faith, I was visiting my parents and my mom gave me the same copy of The Story of a Soul my grandma had given me years before.  My mom had kept it for me, not knowing that I had not enjoyed it before.  I took it with me and decided to read it again.  I could not believe the difference, I loved it!  While I had not been spiritually ready to understand or accept Threse's teachings before, I loved everything about her this time around. Her spirituality is so simple in idea yet difficult in practice, she gives the world a great example to live by with her holy life.   

I also learned of two interesting things that made me realize it was no accident that St. Therese had an interest in helping me draw closer to the Lord.  She and I were both born on January 2nd and we were born 111 years apart.  Also, one of St. Therese's favorite Saints was St. Cecilia and she had visited her tomb before joining the Carmelites.  I found this particularly interesting since I had chosen St. Cecilia seemingly by chance as my Confirmation Saint years before without knowing this.

   

Such a Large Family 

The Kingdom of God is filled with thousands of Saints and Angels.  Since my first realization that the Saints desire to be a part of our lives, to pray for us, and to walk with us, I have had many other Saints who have prayed for me and helped me out during my lifetime.  They have made themselves known in different ways, such as Saint Medals I received, stories shared by faithful friends, books, etc.  Here are some more of my favorite Saints I want to give a shout out of thanks to:

Mary Queen of Heaven & number one Saint

St. Martin de Porres 

St. Raphael the Archangel

St. Elizabeth

St. Monica

St. Franciss of Assisi

St. Faustina

St. Philomena

St. Padre Pio

I'm sure there are probably many more Saints who deserve my thanks as well, and I certainly hope to meet them and thank them all someday.  I would love to hear their side of the story and how they had a hand in the events all around me. 

The Saints can Help

As former Earth dwellers, the Saints know all about what life is like and the struggles and sufferings we all must endure.  God loves to see His children working together and distributes some of His graces to the Saints so they can share them with us.  Of course we can always ask for God's grace directly from God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  But it never hurts to ask our friendly and loving Saints for help too.  The Saints do not have any power on their own to assist us, but receive all graces from God.  God is a community of three within His own being, thus He understands the meaning of friendship and fellowship more than anyone.  He is honored when we cooperate with his children, the same way any parent is lifted up when others see their children getting along rather than fighting. 

So keep your eyes, ears, and heart open to heaven, because a Saint may be trying to get in touch with you.  If you're not sure which Saint to talk to, ask Our Mother Mary for guidance, because she has a special interest in all of humanity.  Once you have found a Saint or two you can relate to, ask them to pray for you and to help you figure out how to love the Lord our God even more everyday.