2011 Connections, Intercessions and Miracle Stories
Janet wanted to let me know ...
.. the "connection" between me and St. Emmeram.
His feast day is September 22. My oldest son Benjamin went home to the Lord on that day in 1985! Benjamin had a lengthy chronic illness and died a week before his 9th brithday. I have felt St. Emmeram's assistance already in the week since he chose me--with my son's help, no doubt!
Thank you for this ministry. It confirms what I received in prayer last month: "Do not think that in this hour of darkness, my children will be abandoned. On the contrary, I will be with them in a special way as the days darken, and the angels and saints are ready to assist those who call upon them."
I too have a blog. It consists of excerpts from my Scriptural prayer journal, I think you will find this blog entry from Dec 2009 confirms your ministry. God bless.
Corinne emailed me about her connection ...
... I wanted to write to let you know the wonderful connection I have with the saint that chose me, St. James de la March. I am a mother a four month old son, who has still not slept through the night and wakes up at least 2-3 times a night still. I have been praying for the past two months (before I received my patron saint) for patience with all those around me as I am really a grouch and don't function well when I have not slept. It has been so inspirational to have St. James as a patron saint because he would not allow himself to sleep more than three hours a night. My goodness, if he can function on only three hours of sleep a night and become a saint, well I can certainly be less grumpy with my family. Not only that but St. James' feast day is the same day that my son was baptized! It is just amazing. Thank you again.
Alisha was shocked when she received St. Joseph as her patron saint ...
... Marianne, I am in shock about the Saint you sent me! My husband and I have been married since 2006 and right away we started to try and get pregnant. We never could, so I went and got tested and everything was clear.....We just decided to stop trying because we were always stressed and it was taking over our lives. We told God whatever His will for us was, we would accept, even if it meant not being parents. About 4 months after that, I got pregnant!! We were so Happy and beyond thankful. We were in complete love from the moment the test came positive! We had a perfect prgnancy and had everything ready. We had just had our baby shower and went to Target with all of our gift cards and got all the last things we needed.
2 days after our shower I noticed I wasn't feeling Peyton moving in my stomach. I thought maybe it was because I was getting so big and he was running out of room to move. I waited for my husband to come home and told him that all day I haven't felt him. He said for us to eat dinner and then lay down and see if he starts moving. He never did. We went directly to the hospital to find out we had lost our beautiful baby. I went through labor for 36 hours and we got to spend time with our angel for 6 hours. He was perfectly beautiful! It was an umbilical cord accident that took his little life. We were so completly devistated! We had his funeral a few days later and it was beautiful and the church was filled up with all of our friends and family.
I just wanted to let you know that the Saint you sent me is Saint Joseph and his Feast day is the same as Peyton's Birthday March 19! I have also been praying to St. Joseph lately and have been saying novenas to him for the last 6 months for our home to not be foreclosed on. So when I opened this email and saw who you sent me, I knew God and Peyton had a HUGE part in this!
(as a side note, Alisha emailed me again to let me know that she is now 12 weeks pregnant!)
Margaret wrote after she received her saint ...
... Thank you Marianne, for my patron saint, Saint Pamphilus..... I wasn't anticipating an obscure saint, however, as I read about him I see why he would choose me. I have had many barriers on my path to the Lord, some by no fault of my own and some because I made poor choices. I can see that the Lord wants me to persevere and to have victory over my battles as they come when I choose HIM. I feel some supernatural things that could be occurring. For example, I looked into what kind of offerings a local university would have for me and I found that if I chose I could get a masters in Catholic Studies. St Pamphilus was a smarty pants, so maybe he is leading me in this direction. I am an RN and this sort of thing I think would enhance my practice.
Vicente received a "blessed" this year and wanted to ..
... thank you very much for introducing me to Blessed Rudolph Acquaviva. On my research over the past 2 days with the help of my sister, I have found certain instant connections.
I grew up in a Jesuit school and was under the Jesuits' wings for about 11 years. I find my Jesuit formation instrumental in getting me where I am now and where I need to go further in the future.
Morevover, it appears that he was instrumental in using music as a means of bringing the faith to Goa. I am currently a music minister in our church and have been looking more closely into the liturgical music of the Jesuits.
Also, I currently live in Albuquerque. I found out that Alfonsus de Albuquerque conquered Goa, where Blessed Rudolph did his ministry until he died.
I will continue to get to know Blessed Rudolph better and pray for his intercession to live my life according to God's will.
Louise emailed me for her new saint and said ...
... Last year was the first time that I wrote you for a patron saint for the year. I do feel there was some connection. My saint was St. Vincent de Paul and I know he worked to educate. For the season of Lent, I put myself forward to hold weekly meetings at my home to discuss the Sunday readings and reflect. I felt that being accepted to do this was a sign of St. Vincent's help.
I can't say that I called on him a lot during the year but I appreciated knowing that I had this connection with a saint, that he was there for me. I really like the idea that it is an old custom. And I look forward to this year's saint
.
Lupita contacted me about her saint ...
... Hello Marianne, I don’t think I ever got back with you, but I did decide to keep St. Vincent Ferrer- I don’t know why he picked me, but I know that it is for a very good reason- just had to share- on July 4, our Deacon Luan Tran invited us to supper at his home- we have been there on several occasion and I had noticed the altar in their living area and they have 3 saint statues- well- I felt called to ask again- “now Deacon refresh my memory on who this saint is- well much to my surprise- it is St. Vincent Ferrer and he starts telling me about him- I tell him this is the saint that picked me a few year ago- I asked where he had bought the statue- and he said, his father in law made it in Vietnam many years ago- I just felt the friendly reminder that St. Vincent Ferrer was reminding me that he is there for me- especially at this time- my husband will be going tomorrow for a complete knee replacement on his left knee, he had his right knee done 2 years ago- and I guess I’ve just felt overwhelmed with work and taking time off and the surgery- so I have pulled some information on St. Vincent Ferrer and will be learning a lot more about this wonderful Saint that has picked me- thank you for all you do- in my prayers- blessings- luv ya!
And then, I got the good news that ...
... surgery went really well and his (husband's) rehab time was great- St. Vincent Ferrer story is very interesting, I learned that he fasted rigorously from his childhood every Wednesday and Friday- which is I try to do- but sometimes I fail so maybe that is why he picked me- so I could be better at my fasting- also- one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that I have not rec’d is the gift of tongues which St. Vincent had, maybe one day- if it is truly God’s will- then I too will receive this gift- I will continue praying to St. Vincent Ferrer for his intercession- blessings !
Heidi only intensified my belief in the angles and saints when she told me ...
...I need to thank you. You may have saved my life and my baby's ...
... My patron saints are the archangels....Michael, Gabriel, Rafael. I had been saying short prayers to them since you 'gave' them to me, well it ends up after many medical errors and an emotional day, our son was born 1 month early, along with a uterine rupture! I bled internally for 2 days before the hospital knew - all I remember is every time I could think was " St Michael, St Rafael, St Gabriel, watch over me". I was told that people do not usually survive this trauma; much less letting their blood levels drop to 1/3 of what it should be! The Dr.'s have all said that it was a gift from God that I am here....so thank you for this! We are continuing to heal 3 months later - baby is now fine too - after O2 being cut off for a bit, miraculously he is defying all odds too!!!!
(no thanks to me, Heidi, it truly was a heavenly intercession! Praise God and His angels and saints! Marianne)
David made me chuckle when he thought he knew who his saint would be ...
... Marianne- no, I was not expecting St. Tarasius. But like you say, I have no reason to be disappointed. To the contrary! Recently, and for some time now, I have been struggling with discerning my vocation. I feel called to live a very holy life. I am a single 24 year old young man. So I have struggled with whether I am to be a priest, since that seems a natural way for a single young man to serve God and live a holy life. Only I have never desired to be a priest, nor felt called to be one! But in the back of my mind, I would always wonder: gee, you don't hear of too many lay saints do you? Well, here is my new patron saint: a layman, who, of all things became a bishop without every being ordained! How encouraging!
And our father's are both named George, how about that? Actually, there are other interesting aspects of his life I need to get into, but suffice it to say I can see why St. Tarasius took an interest in me. I was suspecting St. Francis de Sales, but now I can pray to them both!
Thank you so much, Marianne, for this ministry of yours. God bless you and yours. Yes I will remember you in my prayers.
Goodnight, and God love you!
Norma wanted to give me a little feedback after she received her saint ...
... I sing in a classical choir, and we are planning to go to France to sing two masses from a French composer in August. We will have a concert in the Cathedral of Reims, la Madeleine in Paris and other two cities.... There is not much about Richard Leigh, but he studied in Reims and Rome..........this mean a lot to me.... already I feel he is protecting me and reassuring me that the trip is fine.... it might seem very little but it is A LOT! Thanks again!
My name is "M"...
... and I visited your blog in which I found wonderful testimonies. I would love to know my Patron Saint for 2011. For many years I was away from my faith in 2007 I recommitted my life back to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In 2008 I emailed you and Gemma Galgaini was my patron Saint which helped me in reconciliation on a regular basis. Healing started to happen but much healing had yet to be done. The following year 2009 I emailed you again and St John the Silent was the saint that chose me that year. His dedication to prayer truly was a wonderful teacher for me. I felt he lead me into deeper prayer which has opened up my heart to God's abundant love which only draws me deeper in prayer. It is only through that deep dedication to prayer, reconciliation along with the Eucharist that God's healing has transformed my life. Then in 2010 I did not email you (I did not have the new email and could not find your blog), but the patron saint that picked me was Maria Goretti. I learned the beauty of forgiveness through the love of Jesus and embraced His love to forgive the person who raped me when I was younger. So the many years of sin and bitterness was slowly destroying my life until God's healing started in 2007. I thank the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for healing and Mary, along with all the angels and saints in helping on that path. God's eternal love does not change but I am changing from His eternal love.
Tanya received her saint and said ...
... Thank you! This is the same saint that I picked out of a basket at a prayer group meeting 3 years ago, the only other time I received a patron saint. I gasped when I saw who it was. This is already miraculous! Praise the Lord!
Linda received her saints and was excited to tell me ...
... Thank you so much! I am so excited to receive Sts. Abdon and Sennan!! From what I read, they are Persian Martyrs. In 2010, my boss was let go from our company and a new boss was brought into the company. It has really been a struggle for me to 'get on the same page' as this new boss. The amazing thing is that he is Iranian (Persian)!! Now I know that my Saints will be with me to help me in this relationship with my new boss. How amazing!! Thank you so much for your help and for your wonderful ministry!!
Michael contacted me for a saint and I believe this says it all ...
... My mom has already gotten a saint, I too was hoping to have a saint to help me, someone to talk to, someone to take my thoughts, requests, questions, and prayers to Jesus... to God. (They will, Michael, they will ... )
Carolyn received two saints this year and wanted to say ...
... Thank you for sending me the two Saints that have chosen me St. Anthony, and St. Benedict-Joseph Labre, 04/16!
I have known, and depended on St. Anthony, the find me Saint for many years, and told many family members. I do not follow the Catholic religion, but I believed that all of the Saints are highly elevated souls, I am a Christian. I don’t think the labeling, is as important as LOVE, I love all those who have truly dedicated their lives to serving Christ. My children went to Catholic school KG-8. They got very good solid beginnings. They are doing very well in their careers, and the catholic school, and Church are very proud of them as individuals. One day as my youngest, was participating in mass, lighting the candles, my heart came full as I silently prayed, God please help me so I can afford financially to keep him in that school. Their father, an abusive man had left us, just after I had back surgery, and at the lowest point financially, I had been waiting for months for approval of disability social security. When I returned home, and checked the message on my answering machine, I screamed out with Joy! During the same hour I was in prayer at Mass that morning, the caller from Social security stated, Your disability from us was approved!I am trying not to make this so lengthy, understanding you have many of these to read, but I really need you to take the time to understand what has unfolded to me since you sent me my Saints. I had just written to St. Anthony, a list of all that was taken from me, my financial struggles, botched up surgery, lawyer and Doctor teamed up and took away a settlement of money. Husband left, now doing very well financially, and I am still struggling. All of it, you didn’t know I had just made a list to St. Anthony. This is God’s work you are doing.
St. Benedict- Joseph Labre, for the first few days, I became very restless as to why had he chosen me! As I researched him, two night in a row sleep would not come. All this new year, when I was out, it seemed like a male figure was over my right shoulder, feeling uncomfortable, suddenly I would turned, and no one was physically there!. Today and just today, I am understanding some of it, and even more as I write to you. I now feel liberated and powerful in my health problems I had been dealing with for quite some time. I believe St. Benedict may had similar physical problems that the world did not understand. Maybe I can give it a voice, to the physical, and not so much as to what some claimed as mentally. I love him even more now that I understand some of his footsteps, and rejections.
The summer of 2010, was one of the hottest summer we have ever lived thru, scientists says since record keeping. I have been sick for years. Dizziness, muscles gets heavy at times, difficult in walking and driving. I have had over 15 CT scans of my head, and nothing shows up. Running from doctors to doctors, all specialist, many trips to the ER, and no one seemed to know what was making me sick. I returned to School at 51 years old, sick the entire time, not knowing how I was going to walk out of each classroom. Four years ago, at the age of 55, proudly graduated with my BS in Psychology. The heat of the past summer brought my condition into what I can now pin point to causes. It happened one day in July, since I had long ago stop driving into heavy traffic because of dizziness. It was easier for me to take the Turnpike, to the next appointment, when I got on the Turnpike, it all came down on me, dizziness, heaviness in my body, the same complaints I was trying to get the medical professionals to diagnose. It was because of the fumes from the trucks and cars. From then on I became more attentive to my surroundings, an environments. And yes, every time I was around fumes I felt the same sensations. While planning my summer visit to families in the South, I knew the Airport is fume city, could not go by car, nor bus. Therefore, I called the train station, and ask if the train I was traveling on was diesel, his quick response was, “ no Ma'am, we did away with diesel years ago.” Well, 3 hrs into my trip, the conductor announced that the train was to switch to diesel for the next 9 hrs of my trip. It was the exposure of many hrs under that condition, that has changed my life as I knew it. I am now allergic to all fumes, perfumes, cleaning chemical. If my neighbors cut their lawns with gasoline lawn mowers, or cookout, use pesticides on the lawn, I get very sick. I live in a twin home, if my neighbors cooking beans, greens, or use pesticides in their home I get very ill, my walking is now crawling. Finally, after searching, and praying for answers, as St. Benedict walked searching, being rejected. This Monday, January 24, I will be going to a Healing Center with doctors that are aware of my condition. It ’s called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). In my research of this condition, patients are often told they have a mental condition, rejected by the health care profession, and health insurances. Patients live their lives in isolation, many have thought of suicide, families and friends can’t relate, so they stop coming or calling. It is the same condition that many of the soldiers of the Gulf War are trying to get the Government to declare as an illness. Researchers said more than 850.00 soldiers are homeless, from this condition. I have three health plans, and none would cover this condition, yet it was covered when it didn’t have a name. St. Benedict, and St. Anthony will help me to find the answers, so that I can go among people again, and if not, from my home and my computer, I will be guided in doing God’s work. I need your daily prayers, and I will keep you, and the work you are doing in prayers. We will see what great things unfolds as I am being guided by my great Saints. Just a few hours ago, I was reminded of another great spiritual leader that is by my side, Paramahansa Yogananda. His message, was not to worry, it will all turn out just fine.
Carolyn contacted me a few days later to tell me ...
... My saints are working, this week, our First Lady Michelle Obama, was on the Oprah Winfrey's Show, and she talked about our soldiers that are homeless. In my writing to you last week, and you recently posted on the blog, I wrote about the thousands of US soldiers that are now homeless, trying to get the Government to take care of them. Many are suffering like I am, (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity) also recognized as Gulf War Syndrome. Mrs. Obama stated that this should never be said of our Government, and this will be fixed! Praise God! God is working through us. I pray that through your blog, many will read about this condition, and will get the medical help they need. This is powerful! My saints are working, speaking to Jesus! I saw the doctor on January 24, at the Healing Research Center, And the doctor assured me, and my sons that I came to the right place. He, and his nurse made me feel so normal. As I reflect on the life of St. Benedict, rejected, labeled as not normal, yet, he is now known as a great Saint. He labored for the homeless, the poor. He only kept what he need for one day, some saw him as a beggar. I see him as not wanting to take more than he needed, only what was needed for that day. In Matt 6: 25-27, Christ teaches us not to worry about what we will eat, drink or wear. I am so happy to have my two saints. Another relationship with St. Benedict, and myself, one writers stated, he smelled bad, people avoided him. The flip side of it, I get sick and if I am around people who are all perfumed up, I must avoid them. Yes, we need to help with the poor, the homeless, the oppressed, those rejected by health insurance companies, and the uninsured. May Jesus pour his blood upon us, I pray, as He uses the power of the Internet in a positive way.
Mary Ann contacted me for this year's saint ...
... What a blessing this is ALREADY… and I just received your email…I have such a love for dear St. Francis of Assisi…the last year and a half I have read so much about him and my appreciation for his love of God has grown deeper. And I just opened my email and saw that you listed St. Francis of Assisi as my patron saint…I am so excited…I cried out with excitement when I read the email…my husband was like is everything ok? I had to tell him what a blessing this was…
... and then Mary Ann requested a saint for her husband ...
... Thank you Marianne…I just found out the patron saint you picked for my husband has the same birthday he does… the neat thing about this is that he is not catholic but he likes to hear saint stories… I just told him and he said…did you tell her when my birthday was? Too funny…I told her you don’t know me or anyone else you just pray and pick…Thank you again.
Lisa contacted me ...
...I'm writing you with an update for a saint request:
I'm sure with the help of his patron saint, Anthony of Padua, Rob and I were married December 12, 2009! My husband's middle name is Anthony and he choose St. Anthony at his confirmation, also. Then, with your help, St. Anthony again confirmed that he is looking out for Rob.
God is good!
Thank you so much for your wonderful ministry. You are a blessing. I wonder if you could see which saint chooses me this year? I think we'll stay with St. Anthony for my husband as that seems to be both their wishes!
Thank you and God bless you,
Lisa
PS Before I was married I had also written you to find a patron for my boyfriend at the time. St. Michael the arch angel chose him. He is a fire fighter. How can people deny God when He shows us His presence ALL the time?!
When Kathleen wrote for her family's saints, she told me that ...
... You have given us the names of our Saints the last 4 or 5 years and we look forward to this tradition. My Mother passed on October 2nd, 2010 (The Feast of the Guardian Angels) and was buried from the Church on October 7th (Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary). She would have been 90 years old on Oct. 26th, 2010! This is the first year she is not on my list for a Saint! I know that if she is not yet there-she's well on her way to Heaven! I also have a special request for my family who live away and have fallen away from the Church. If a Saint has chosen them, I would like the names, as I will pray in their place for them. Over the years I have done this and I have to tell you - 3 of them are starting a journey back since my Mom passed away! Thank you Saints!!!
... and then, after receiving the saints for her family, Kathleen contacted me to tell me that ...
...my sister was picked by St. Thomas Aquinas - she is the only PhD in our family! Amazing!
When Kevin contacted me, he told me that ...
... Last year St. Apollonius chose me. He was recognized for his brilliant arguement defending his faith. I prayed for his help and guidance as I prepared to speak at retreat weekends. I hope that his help and the Holy Spirit guided me to deliver the message that needed to be heard.
Basilio was 'so pleased to know that' ...
... again, Saint Michael the Archangel, has chosen me to be his patron saint for this year, 2011 through your blog. In fact, I would also like to tell you that I already had a very long relationship [and devotion] with him. When I was a young child, I remember him as the saintly archangel whom one must invoke when in temptation and against the devil; and I also remember that my paternal grandmother would always call for his help when we're stuck in a traffic gridlock and she even taught me to call also his name [San Miguel Arcángel here in the Philippines] if I'm going to encounter any traffic or problem while traveling; and because of that, I still invoke his help until now when I am in such situations.
But still, I never really got that personal with Saint Michael until when I was around 14 years old, when due to a chain of events (and along with my reflections and discernment in life), I wanted again to become a priest. And interestingly, since then, I became very close to a maternal granduncle of mine, who is a Monisgnor; and interestingly, the patron saint of his parish is.... you guessed it, Saint Michael the Archangel! And also because of some several personal miracles like the growth of my spirituality, victory in times of temptation, being able to finish High School (especially that I was having a hard time in College Algrebra when I was in 4th year H.S.), and many others; I really became more intimate than ever in my relationship with Saint Michael since those chain of events which happened to me last Summer 2008 and the changes which happened in my life with the help of his intercession. And I even made him also my patron saint for 2009 (along with two titles of Our Lady) in thanksgiving for all their help, and also to beseech his help in my incoming entrance to the Seminary back then; and during those times and until now still, I receive graces from God through His intercession. And because of that, since also 2008, I already considered him as one of my personal patron saints.
And so, when I first received your e-mail, Ma'am, I was very happy to know that, once again, Saint Michael the Archangel will be one of my patron saints for this year, 2011 (along with Our Lady of Light and another saint [I'm still searching for him/her].) I really don't know why did he chose me again, but I know that God has a purpose for this; and maybe also because He knows how devoted I am to Saint Michale (I pray His famous prayer everyday (St.Michael the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle..) (and say some ejaculations to St.Michael everyday). And even if he also became my patron saint last 2009, then of course I will be more than happy to accept him again as my special patron saint for 2011. Especially that, as of now, I am going to transfer to an inter-diocesan Seminary in the city from our local Seminary here in my diocese in the province due to 'Health reasons', and I know it's a bit complicated, but I do trust that the Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady, St.Joseph, St.Michael, my Guardian Angel, and my other personal patron saints will help me in all of my needs, especially this year.
And, sorry if the way I explained the 'summarized' history of my devotion to Saint Michael the Archangel seems to be a bit messed-up since I'm also a bit busy and pre-occupied as of the moment. Thank you so much and God Bless! May St. Michael the Archangel, help me become a good and holy priest! [God-willing]
Viva San Miguel Arcángel!
Louise contacted me and said ...
... I smiled when I read that St. Brigid was a patron saint of ale brewers. My husband, who is not Catholic, and my son (who was baptized Catholic but not practicing really) started brewing beer last Summer. As a surprise Christmas gift my son and his wife (they were married in the Catholic Church, have not attended church but recently started attending the Congregational Church) brewed a batch of ale for my husband's Christmas gift. I think this saint might be for "all of us."My daughter just recevied your e-mail and she has the same Saint (St Anthony) that she had last year. St Anthony was a special saint of my grandmother and my mother, so Hannah and I think that there is some connection between her grandmothers and St. Anthony picking her a second time. Whatever the connection, I think it is great and will enjoy seeing how it blossoms with Hannah this year. Thanks again and God Bless you, your family and your work.
One that would like to remain annonymous contacted me for their 2011 saint ...
...I emailed you June of 2009, and the saint whose name you sent me was St Lawrence (8/10). I hadn't realized it had even been a year and a half already, but that's good. I couldn't figure out at first why he would have chosen me. It made absolutely no sense. One of the things I discovered about him, was that he could teach me patience. So, I asked him if he would. I was just beginning an annulment process at the time, and about to begin RCIA. Needless to say, there was a lot of waiting coming up in my life. The hardest part was waiting on the annulment, because of the feelings of powerlessness. I realized recently however, that I'm a much more patient person than I used to be. I can't say that I like waiting around, but it's SO much easier now. The waiting was difficult, but the change within me seemed painless, so much so in fact that it took me until a year and a half later to realize I'd changed. You'd think I'd have noticed prior, because I am noticeably more patient, but it was gradual enough and painless enough that it escaped my notice.
St. Hyacinth chose Lynn and Lynn wrote ...
... I thank you for this and I sit here in recognition of how our Lord works. I am of Scots/Irish descent but have a deep love for the people of Poland. The priest who brought me into the Church in 1994 is a beautiful Polish priest of the Pallotine order. He is deeply devoted to Blessed Mother and St. Faustina. Now, some months back I bought a book from ebay by Mary Fabyan Windeatt on St. Hyacinth of Poland. After reading your email I walked over to my bookcase and found the book immediately (no mean feat as my bookcase isn't neat). I will start reading the biography tonight and will do further research. Also will keep you updated. Thank you Marianne and Thank you Lord Jesus.
Tanya emailed me after receiving St. Catherine Laboure and said ...
...Thank you! This is the same saint that I picked out of a basket at a prayer group meeting 3 years ago, the only other time I received a patron saint. I gasped when I saw who it was. This is already miraculous! Praise the Lord!
2010 Connections, Intercessions and Miracles Stories
Bernadette received my email ...
... telling me that Cosmas and Damian are my patrons for this year. Today, just before I started to research my Saints, I read an e-mail from my daughter, who is studying abroad this semester and just arrived for a few days in Vienna. She sent me a very brief e-mail from an Apple computer store just to let us know she got there okay and mentioned she was going to try to get to the Cathedral.
So after reading her e-mail, I read my first article about Sts. Cosmas and Damian and lo and behold, St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna contains possible relics of Sts Cosmas and Damian!!!
Lion and Lamb wrote after receiving St. Gerard Majella ...
Thank you very much for praying for a Saint to chose me.
I sent out the request to you on Mar.4th. without any information about my name nor my background. Unbeknown to you (but known to St Gerard Majella, I guess) that afternoon I was receiving my training to be a counselor in a Center set up to save babies from being aborted. I had considered this ministry for many years but I guess this confirms the right timing.
My other important ministry is for priesthood & religious vocations and for those who are already living their priestly /religious vocations. This being the Year for Priests, my organization has an important role to play and I have been praying for guidance as I know the devil very much hates this ministry too.
Lastly, on researching about St Gerard, I note he is a Redemptorist Brother. My mother first brought us to Our Lady of Perpetual Succor, Redemptorist Novenas as Buddhists. She and I have since become Catholics but I have to pray for all my siblings who were brought to Mary in our childhood years under this title but who are now Christians. Just so happened that during our ProLife fund raiser, I ordered this holy card of the Blessed Mother as one whom I wish to appeal to although my favorite is Our Lady of Guadalupe. All in all, I feel very blessed to have St Gerard and our Blessed Mother of Perpetual Succor for this year.
Doris wrote ...
Thanks Marianne, All I can say is WOW. The saint who picked me was St. James, which happens to be my civil Parish; and the feast date 5/3 is me and my husbands anniversary. Last year I got St. Joseph, which I still will keep, b/c I have been praying to him for my family’s unity and conversion; and I know St. James will help me and my husband in our marriage. God is so good. Blessings to you and your ministry.
Sandy R emailed me after she received St. John as her patron saint and her husband received St. Joseph of Cupertino ...
Thanks so much! I am a "Saint Freak" and have great love for them all! I give talks to kids and adults about Saints and take a reliquary with 1st class relics along when I do this. I wanted to tell you my husbands middle name is Joseph and I have a great love for St Joseph of Cupertino! And for me, when I sent it to you, in my heart, I was hoping for the exact saint you sent! I am an oblate with the Community of St John! I have a great love for him and this confirmed to me his love for me as well! :-) So our family will be praying for the intercession of these beloved friends and we will learn more about those we hadn't "met" yet!
A S was comforted when she requested her saint ...
I have come across St. Bede in the past and quickly went over him because he did not seem esoteric enough for my lofty self. Now that Iam older and have had more of life's experiences, I value simplicity without the pride of youth. St. Bede is right on time for my stage of spiritual development.
I also am a little scared when I think of what God has in store for me next. I have been in the school systems for 13 years as a school librarian, yet do not see myself there for the remainder of my working career. I am confident that part of my vocation is in library and information science; however, I am not sure where He wants me to be next. I am praying for guidance, clarity, and courage.
So when you suggested St. Bede as my patron saint...It seemed to fit, and I was comforted.
"M" contacted me and wrote ...
When I opened your e-mail, it brought tears to my eyes. You see, I first found out about your ministry around June of last year and wrote to you, hoping I might receive a patron saint for the second half of 2009. Not getting a response, I forgot all about it. Six months later, on January 2, I received your delightful e-mail informing me that the saint that chose me to be my patron for 2010 was St. Patrick! Being of Irish descent, our entire clan has a special fondness for St. Patrick (my godson's name is Patrick!) but what was really astounding is that on that very day, January 2nd, I had just been to NYC with my daughter with the expressed purpose of paying a visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral on Madison Ave! It was my daughter's first trip to NYC and as we live about 500 miles away from Manhattan, it is not something we do very often! Talk about God's perfect timing! He really overwhelms me sometimes!
Jen was overcome after she read up on St. Benedict and felt that she had to tell me...
Oh, tears of joy and gratitude!!! My heart is singing grateful songs to the Lord for his good help (...while my mascara ungracefully dissolves in the tears running down my cheeks!!).
Within 30 minutes of reading your message, I received profound and clear confirmation of the validity of your "service".
My whole life I've been inclined toward disobedience, laziness, and selfishness. These great faults have caused me much grief in every aspect of my life. They have ruled me and, have recently taken on gargantuan proportions. What's worse, I can feel in heart they are now keeping me from progressing closer to God. Even knowing this, though, I still am a slave to them. A few days ago, I found myself on my knees in tears, crushed by my conscience and convicted by the Holy Spirit. I am failing to care for my husband. I am (in effect) stealing from my employer by failing to work diligently (or failing to work at all). And, worst of all, I am willfully NOT going where God wants to take me. Realizing that, after 40 years, I don't have the strength within myself to win these persistent battles. I began pleading with God to have mercy on me and hold me tight to himself, helping me me to finally overcome these faults, mortify my own will, and overcome my idleness to use me for His purposes. I began saying daily rosaries, and yesterday, I attended a weekday communion mass..turning everything over to God in my powerlessness and asking for help. While searching for spiritual consolation from the internet, I linked my way through a meandering stream of blog postings, eventually bringing me to a site with a mention of your patron saint ministry. I can't even remember the original site at this point, as I had never visited it before, and I've forgotten it since. I did not set out to find a personal patron saint that night. In fact, as a late-convert to catholicism, I had kind of dismissed this sort of thing as not yet within my "comfort zone". However, desperate as I was for help, I wrote to you... Oh the obviousness of God's response to my pleas! I laugh with joy and amazement as I think of my saint: St. Benedict.
I had only heard of St. Benedict, and was completely unaware of his ministry, to wit:
"
My words are addressed to thee, whoever thou art, that, renouncing thine own will, dost put on the strong and bright armour of obedience in order to fight for the Lord Christ, our true King."
and:
St. Benedict considered the great disciplinary force for human nature to be work; idleness is its ruin. His purpose was to bring laymen "back to God by the labour of obedience, from whom they had departed by the idleness of disobedience" and that life might be "wearied with labours for God's sake."
As you can see....to an idle, lazy disobedient sinner, God has brought a saint whose whole purpose was to convince people of the salvific value of obedient, menial, laborious WORK. Oh, the infinite, loving, fatherly care we find in Him! Oh the tangibility and visibility of His individual attention to each of us!! After reading only 30 minutes about St. Benedict, there is also much more connection than I have room here to add. For the first time in ages, I have true hope. Marianne, please rest knowing the great, GREAT value of what you do. My prayers are for you and those you help. May God strengthen and bless you.
Katherine was thrilled after researching her saint ...
Thank you so very much! I am so excited! St. Jeanne Antide Thouret, like me, lost her mother when she was a teenager. I lost my mom when I was 19 and took care of my brother and sisters. St. Jeanne worked with the poor and sick. I worked with the poor in a low income housing complex and also worked in a nursing home. She also opened a soup kitchen. Two of my dreams are to visit people that are sick and bring therapy animals into hospitals and nursing homes; and to open a soup kitchen. I am just so excited to work with St. Jeanne! You are such a blessing to me. Thank you so very very much! God bless you.
I wanted to share a story with you in regard to a patron saint assigned for a precious baby due on August 27th, 2010 ...
This being our first grandchild, we wanted a heavenly hand in his or her development this year ... receiving "Blessed" Robert of Arbrissel certainly confirmed that this baby will be walked through it's development ... as Robert is still only a "blessed" and in the forming stages of being a saint, I know that he will help our little one as she or he is now a fetus and in the forming stages of being born! Also, my son, was so greatly loved when he was a child by my second cousin, "Robert"! Robert would do anything in the world for Paul and I now know that since he passed away and certain that he is in heaven, is also watching over Paul and now his little one due in August! I am more than ever anxious to see all that Robert, my cousin, and Blessed Robert of Arbrissel have in store for the baby, not only now, but for the baby's lifetime!
Karen didn't know how to react after receiving her and her husband's saints ...
Oh Wow! St. Paul chose me and St. John chose Dave. I'm not sure what to say. Oh wow! About sums it up.
And then she contacted me later and said ... I'm still sitting here in amazement! I have been researching and refreshing my memory of the details of the stories of all our family saints. I find it very interesting that in most of the cases, the saint's feast day falls very close to the birthday of the person. Example, dd birthday 11/1 (My All Saints baby) was chosen by St. Martin de Porres with feast day of 11/3. St. Wilfrid (feast day 10/12) chose my ds with birthday of 10/29. Dd (birthday 5/30) was chosen by St. Pius V with feast day of 5/5. And, my little guy (almost 2) was chosen by St. Benedict. Even at such a young age, several holy priests and even a complete stranger have commented on his future vocation. I'll be praying to St. Benedict for his future vocation...that he has the strength and courage to answer God's call. My other dd has St. Polycarp. I'm looking forward to learning more and connecting the dots.
Jill emailed me shortly after receiving her saints and said ...
Oh, Thank you SOOO much! I am so humbled and amazed! I read each word of your letter and would not let myself read the Saints that picked me and my family until I read every word of your letter out loud to my family. (Happily, now some of them are asking for Patron Saints too). Anyway, we were ALL so excited to find out! I was so excited! AND then when my eyes rested on the names St. Martin of Tours for my personal Patron Saint and Our Lady of the Rosary for my family's Patron Saint, WHAT COULD I SAY? WOW!
The first thing I noticed was that St. Martin of Tours' feast day is Nov. 11,Veteran's Day (We have two sons serving in the military) and Nov. 11 is also the day that I lost a baby to a miscarriage and for those reasons, it is a day that I am always well aware of. Now I have one more reason to remember this day! I know there must be many more and I am so looking forward to learning much more about St Martin of Tours! I am thankful for a Patron Saint to help protect and guide me and my family!
I am so humbled also that Our Lady of the Rosary picked my family! We pray our rosary almost nightly, however poorly, so I am praying SHE will help guide our thoughts and help us truly PRAY! I have never been too good at history, but as I re-read the story of Our Lady of the Rosary, I got goose bumps as I remembered her military connections and how she was originally known as Our Lady of Victory.
Thank you for being the instrument to encourage all these families in their prayer lives and their learning of the faith!
Sarah wanted to share last year's connection with me ...
if you are interested to know last year my patron was St. Gabriel the Archangel. Well the connection is that...St. Gabriel is the patron of communications. Well I met this soldier thru the net and yes our communication kept on going. And His second name is Gabriel, and his chat name is Archangel...And yes we did fall in love with each other last year. Feel free to post this story if u find it fitting in your blog. It may be last year's news but then i think people might be interested to know about these things things!
"A" contacted me shortly after receiving her saint and said ...
Thank you for connecting me with St. Maria Goretti! As soon as I received your email, I began looking into the life of St. Maria Goretti - and was surprised to find out that she died while maintaining her purity, sustaining 14 stabs as her would-be rapist turned to violence. Before she died, a few hours later, she forgave him and prayed for him. As someone struggling for a renewed sense of purity - yearning to be cleansed of and to conquer sinful behaviors after early childhood sexual abuse, and also struggling to forgive, St. Maria Goretti is frighteningly appropriate for my current situation, and I am so grateful for her assistance.
Heidi asked for a patron saint for her and her family and said ...
ok so funny!!!!! I am on the stair master desparately trying to make sure 50 pregnancy pounds don't come on and I looked up the saint chosen for my 3 yr old last night!!!!! St Philip of Neri is the "goof off" saint - exact match for our little guy who is barely 3 and playing practical jokes already! THIS IS TRULY miraculous..... I am encouraged to research the saints for alll 7 children esp mine for labor and delivery - lol - now that I see the power!!!! thank you!!!!!!!!!
Robyn asked for a patron for her family and told me ...
I just had to write you to let you know of a connection I have already discovered between my extended family and St. Ignatius. He is the youngest of 13 children, there are 13 children in the "G" family of which I am the youngest! I have goosebumps.....Can't wait to see what this wonderful saint has in store for our family! Thank you so very much!
Gabrielle found it amazing that ...
Over the past couple of weeks I have taken to praying to Our Lady and her 7 Sorrows, and feeling the sorrows deeply. Now you have sent me her as my saint for the year. Thank-you so much. May God bless you especially for what you are doing.
After receiving St. Julianna Falconieri as her patron saint, Joyce wrote ...
I can't believe this. I had an aunt, Sr. Juliann. And she was a cook at an orphanage in Albuquerque,In her later years she returned to the mother house in Colorado Springs, cooking and sewing there. She died in the spring of 2009. She was always, smiling and laughing, you could see God's presence. thank you.
MaryLouise received Our Blessed Mother and was ...
... surprized at first by my Saint until i realized that i had started to drift away from Mary and I'm so happy that she picked me.
When Joan received her saint she was ...
... very excited, because St. Marguerite d'Youville's feast day is October 16. My husband & I were married on that day!! :) How very appropriate that SHE has chosen me.
Nita emailed me after she received her saint and said ...
...that is one of the grandson's birthday....will be interesting....thanks...
Mary Ann found an instant connection too ...
Thank you so much our saints… I was excited to learn about St. Tarsilla, she is St. Gregory the Great’s aunt and I love St. Gregory the Great…he has been very close to me during my recovery. And I know my husband is going to love St. Thomas Aquinas…
Sue researched her saint and contacted me ...
What an incredible synchronicity. I had never heard of this saint. When I looked him up, I was astonished.
I have always been a Francophile--everything from wine to literature... And just yesterday when we celebrated the Feast of the Lord's Baptism, our priest went through the historical elements of baptism and what it entailed now (since most of us were baptised as infants), we renewed our baptismal vows, and she had the font and a shell displayed with some Chrism oil for us to smell too. (I'm Episcopalian-our priest is female...) Then I read about the miraculous filling of vials by God so St. Remi could baptise a Pagan. WOW... How incredibly appropriate.
I will definitely seek his guidance in my life in the coming year, in addition to the saints I already have a special relationship with. (PS I dearly love St. Therese of Lisieux so thought that part of your story was exciting.)
Michael, Gabriel and Raphael chose CM and I heard ...
Thank you very much. It's amazing! I was in Mass today in while praying all 3 names of the archangels came out of my mouth. I thank them for chosing me.
"L" was very excited and wrote to me ...
Thank you and God bless you! I saw your name in my box and was trying to guess who it might be before opening your email...St. Martha wouldn't have occurred to me but I saw her name and was like, of COURSE! It was only a few days ago that I was saying "L", "L", you are anxious about many things," and thinking of Mary sitting at the feet of the Savior. Another funny tidbit - my good friend, now a Franciscan brother, who was with us the first year we did these at CUA, was very zealous and early in a powerful conversion at the time. He got St. Martha and was so frustrated -all he could say was "but the Lord said MARY chose the better part!" But I'm sure she obtained graces for him as she will for me!! (I however know I totally need her right off the bat!)
Kathi had an instant connection ...
Marianne, thank you for this ministry. I asked to participate in the patron saint of the year for myself, my Mom and a friend. There was an instant recognition regarding St. Matthias, who chose me. It may not be as profound as those of others, but it is a start. As I explained to you in my initial e-mail, we lost my Dad in March, 2009. I pursue genealogy and family history. My Dad was born in New Orleans, LA and was baptized in St. Matthias Church there. I look forward to researching St. Matthias further and finding other connections.
Peter was excited to receive his patron saint ...
Thank you so much for responding to my request, and just in time too for the new year! The patron saint you chose for me is a patron saint I have always struggled to identify with because, though my birthday falls on his feast day, yet information about him as I was growing up seemed scarce. After reading your email however, I looked him up on Wikipedia and was surprised to discover so much about the devotions and miracles surrounding him. However, the thing that strikes me the most is realising, upon reading my email to you, that I never did specify my birthday. I do not believe it is a coincidence, but rather an indication that Saint Januarius has been my patron since my birth. Thank you for being an instrument of such a wonderful revelation! Please feel free to use my testimonial in any way you see fit. Rest assured I will let my faith communities know of this gift of God!
I then heard back from Peter who asked me ...
Of course you may post it on the blog. In fact, do include that I'm from Singapore! I believe it's important to recognise that God's love overcomes all boundaries.
Kristi was overwhelmed when she received St. Mary of the Incarnation ...
Brings tears to my eyes. I'm going through a lot of transitions right now, and it's been a stressful period. I'm invested in the Scapular, and feel very close to the Blessed Mother. To get a Saint with such a name is really a precious confirmation. I look forward to learning about this Ursuline nun.
Mary made me smile because she was soooo awed after receiving St. Matthias for her brother and St. Rita of Cascia for herself ...
Oh my gosh Marianne!!! This is beyond awesome!!! This is so unbelievable!! Our grandfather's name on my Dad's side of the family was Matthias Andrew M********... and my brother, who has been assigned this saint, lost his 15 year old son to a 4-wheeler accident in 2002... he had our grandfather's namesake... Matthew M********!!! I just called Jim and gave him the great and hopeful news!! Needless to say, I.. or I should say, YOU, made his day!!! We can't wait to learn more! Again.... GOD BLESS YOU Marianne for this incredible insite to Heaven!! Definitely!!!... we will be in touch with you! Peace be with you Marianne!
And when I asked Mary if I could post this on my blog, she responded with ...
YES, Marianne!! You do whatever you want to do! I am all about saints and their intercession. I THANK GOD every day that HE chose and blessed me and all of my loved ones with being Catholic!!! What an incredible blessing!! Thank you Marianne and God bless you always!
Laura didn't know what to think when she received her saint ...
Thank you. It kind of freaked me out a little when I saw the feast day for St. Thomas More that you put as 07/06, which, if it was day then month, would be my birthday! (June 7), but I see it is July 6. He is also patron of large families, of which I am the mother! I have 9 children. I know very little about this Saint, even though he is pretty "famous." Thanks so much!
Juanita always felt close to her patron saint ...
Oh my gosh Marianne - I cannot believe St. Maximilian Kolbe choose me for this year - I love him so much and have been to his cell in Auswich. I will research him a great deal and pray to him daily. I am very open to all that he wants to reveal to me this coming year. I did pass along your link to many of my Catholic friends. God Bless you for this wonderful work that God and His Saints have called you to.
Carole has had a long term relationship, although bitter-sweet ...
Thank you for letting me know of the saints who will be praying for me and for my son. Mine is St. Gerard, Abbot, which doesn't surprise me, since we gave that name to the baby I miscarried in 1991.
LB had quite a connection ...
Thank you very much. I haven't had time to be properly overwhelmed with an Apostle choosing me, as I woke up this morning needing St. Andrew's help! One might call him the proto-apostle, or at least Jesus' first follower. There is (for me) a Byzantine connection, and didn't I just say last week that I wish my expectant daughter (or anyone in the family) might name a son "Andrew" as I've always loved the name! I started reading up a bit more on him last night and have many resources to check today, but that he is the patron saint of Scotland was my first thrill. Only a Celtic saint could (under)stand me. Again, thank you. I will be mentioning your blog on mine asap, so that others may be blessed.
2009 Connections, Intercessions and Miracles
Muireann emailed me after receiving St. Fiacre as her patron saint and said ...
Thank you so much. I am delighted with my patron saint. He is from an area in Ireland where I am now living and he is associated with growing food and I work for a food company. I will get to work on getting to know him! I also found out that the second church in the parish (beside my work place) is dedicated to him. Many thanks!
Deanna had an instant connection ...
Thank you very much for the patron saint! I've done some research on St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, and I've learned that we have some things in common. There are many aspects about him that I have connected with my own life. What a perfect and interesting saint I have recieved. I feel like this saint has picked me for a special reason, and I am excited to see what the future has in store. I find it interesting that he is the patron saint of students, when I feel like I struggle at teaching, even though I teach dance, and am hoping to teach piano before the end of this year! It is a challenging aspect of my life for sure. I will for sure update you on my journey with St. Gabriel.
Doris was awed when St. Joseph chose her ...
WOW… THANKS MARIANNE. BEFORE YOU EVEN REPLIED TO ME ABOUT MY PATRON SAINT, I OCCASSIONALLY DO CALL ON ST. JOSEPH, AND JUST YESTERDAY, A FRIEND OF MINE CALLED ME AND SHE MENTIONED A ST. JOSEPH’S NOVENA TO ME, AND I SAID “I KNOW WHICH ONE YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT, I HAVE THE BOOKLET “THE HOLY CLOAK”. WHICH IS APOWERFUL 30 DAY NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH. AND I HAD GONE TO PULL MINE OFF THE SHELF. JUST NOW, BEFORE COMING TO CHECK MY EMAILS, I PICKED UP THE NOVENA BOOKLET TO BRING WITH ME TO READ BEFORE GOING TO BED.; AND THEN ….. THERE WAS YOUR MAIL TELLING ME THAT ST. JOSEPH HAD PICKED ME FOR THIS YEAR. HOW AWESOME GOD IS, AND ALL OUR SAINTS. I DID FORWARD YOUR WEBSITE TO A FEW OF MY FRIENDS. THANKS AND HAVE A BLESSED YEAR. I’LL KEEP YOU POSTED ON MY YEAR WITH ST. JOSEPH.
Dawn wrote after receiving her saint ...
How awesome is that! This is the first time that I have had a strong association with my saint before receiving him/her. St Elizabeth Ann Seton is my current parish, my middle name is Elizabeth and my Mom's name is Elizabeth Ann. I am also strongly connected to saints who were married and of course an American saint is nice too :).
Thank you again.
God Bless
Amy was overwhelmed and said ...
I had tears in my eyes reading this, and felt your love, and the love of Jesus and Mary as I read this email last week. Our Lady is so special to me and I am so glad she chose me!
Last November I finally received the Sacrament of Confirmation and I chose the Confirmation name of Mary.
Specifically, I am part of the Elizabeth Ministry at our Parish.
I have a special devotion to the Rosary and pray it with my children several times a week.
I truly feel Blessed. Simply, Thank you!!!
One who asked not to be identified emailed me to say...
St Paul chose us in July this year. He was badly needed and he chose well. Not long afterwards a ladder my husband was on collapsed and he was thrown to our concrete driveway. My husband sustained four broken ribs with six breaks, some close to the spine. He and I both prayed silently to St. Paul, a man who had been badly beaten so many times, and who knew about terrible bodily suffering. Both of us were filled with a great peace. Neither of us knew that we had petitioned this great man just after the accident and before the paramedics arrived, until a day or so later. We marvel at the saint's help. He has helped us many times afterward too, I am certain. When you get around to choosing the 2009 saints, please place this family on the list for a saint who is willing to take us in hand.
Jennifer had to tell me ...
... about St. Colette, only just ten minutes after reading her name. Today (Jan 13th) is her birthday; she was beatified on the day that Hub & I were engaged (Jan 23rd); she was part of the Poor Clares (my last name is ***clair); from her extreme piety, she advocated that her Sisters go barefoot (I've always felt better barefooted); and she received the gift of miracles from the Holy Spirit (the name of my rosary making business is Miracoli Rosaries, "miracoli" being Italian for...miracles).
Thanks so much Marianne, and God bless. I'm so excited to see where this adventure takes us.
Jane couldn't believe it and wanted to ...
... Thank you so very much for connecting St. Agatha to me. I am so uplifted by God's will and love for me. I am blown away... St.Agatha is the patron of breast disorders, nurses, fire, bells....well I am a nurse who works with breast cancer patients. The really crazy thing is that through the will of God (I could have never done this on my own) I am self employed and work with the most wonderful group of Surgeons, Radiologists, nurses and techs. I am so blessed in my work and I thank God! I will enjoy getting to know and listen to St. Agatha. Thank you again, and God Bless everyone.
Sue sent quite an incredible story ...
Thank you for sending my patron saint so quicky. I am sure you are constantly swamped by email, but I hope you can read this....
Yesterday at Mass, a lovely woman had a gift bag full of small slips of paper, having people draw randomly from it. She explained, as you do, how the Saint actually picks you. My children (well, the 5 who were there) and I picked one.
I had never heard of this devotion before. I thought it was very neat. And then, quite by "accident" I stumbled across your ministry site this morning. I emailed you for "another." Not out of any doubt that the Saint I drew yesterday chose me or any such thing, but to see if there is another or something.
I am sure you see where this is going....
I just received your email a bit ago.
The Saint who was sent to me through your ministry is St. Thomas More. The Saint I chose yesterday is.... St. Thomas More.
I cannot tell you how indescribably awed I am by this. Truly, indescribable is the word because I cannot tell you how I'm feeling, except to be overjoyed to know in a new and particular way that heaven is interested in me. That is not to say I didn't know before, but it is somehow different now.
I just thought you should know.
God's blessings on you and yours!
Amy sadly wrote us ...
Thanks so much for your quick reply. I just wanted to let you know of another one of the coincidences that you mention on your site. The saint who choose me was St. Joseph. I miscarried a baby in October, one that I had asked St Joseph's intercession for many years. My husband and I decided to name the baby Joseph. My children will be thrilled! God's Blessings!
Marie was so happy for her daughter ...
Thank you for getting back to me so soon. The funny thing is that my daughter, Laura who is in college, has been stressing out these past weeks about how difficutl Latin is for her. She has literally wanted to quit her school and change all her plans over it. We have advised her to trust God for the Latin and stay the course. She is at a very good local Catholic school and is doing well otherwise but she was doomed to fail if she didn't stop being fearful about this class. She has to pass it to go on. So I think it is amazing that St. John the Apostle, specifially before the Latin Gate, chose her. Thanks. ... and then contacted me again ... When I told her the saint that had chosen her she saw it as a sign from God that He wanted her to stay the course. The other part that I didn't mention to you earlier and you can certainly include if you like, is that her school takes all their second semester sophomores to Rome for one semester and she was due to go until she started to get cold feet about the Latin. When I looked this specific appellation up "of the Latin Gate" it said that he was called that because it was he was thrown into a boiling cauldron at the Latin Gate in Rome. So it seems that God wants her not only to keep up with the Latin but to go to Rome. At least that is what we are inferring from all of this and that though it will be difficult perhaps, she, like St. John, will be okay.
"Jane Doe" wrote about her boyfriend who had been going through some very rough times and wanted a patron saint to pray to for him ... The Blessed Virgin Mary come forth for her and "Jane Doe" contacted me to say ...
I have to tell I am near tears. On New Year's Day, on her feast day, at mass I was begging Mary to help "the boyfriend". Thank you again for doing this ministry. I have passed on your website/blogsite to some others who might be interested.
Annie glady emailed me ...
Last year was my first year of participating in "A Heavenly Walk." It has been a very good experience. St John of God picked me. I had never heard of St John of God but researched and found a lot of good information on him. St John of God is the patron saint of hospital workers and I work in hospital!!! It's amazing. This year I would like another saint to pick me but also keep St John of God. Marianne, thank you for all your efforts. We are blessed to have people like you to help keep us on the prayer track. I have learned so much from you.I highly reccommend this "Heavenly Walk" because it truly is.
Loretta told me that ...
I wanted to keep St. Joseph as my "always" saint but on a whim decided to ask for another saint to go along with St. Joseph. I was feeling sort of blue this day because I was thinking about my husband, who had passed away about a year ago. I received my saint, who is St. Ludger, with a feast day of 03/26! This was the day that my husband went into the army! To me, it was a gentle nudge that my husband is still around, taking care of me and now, sending a special patron saint to also walk beside me!
Rebecca emotionally let me know ...
When I read the Saints that chose us, I burst into tears. I couldn't have been more humbled and excited.
I have been praying for help in evangelizing which it seems I have been called to do since my reversion back to the Church 12 years ago. It seems people are "sent" to me all the time. I am currently in dialog and prayer for several people who are elderly (over 50 as I am) and doubting their faith. They are confused by everything they see and hear. They also have been faithful their whole lives, but are giving in now. I know who is doing that and it isn't a holy source.
I also have been asked to be a spiritual adviser of sorts for our church's St. Vincent de Paul group and did not know if that was something I should do or could do. I have felt it was an excellent way to help our group grow in knowledge of our faith, but.... And here comes St. John the Evangelist! Wow.
My husband is a convert of almost two years from the Lutheran Church. I believe it was Our Lady who has been guiding him. Because of his background it has been a little harder for him to become close to her, although he definitely believes in her. We had just gone on a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Eau Claire, Wi. this past Fall. So he is slowly growing toward her.
Also my husband has cancer...from Agent Orange. Two years ago he was given a 1-3 year life expectancy. He is doing ok at this point. When we found out, we put our trust and faith in Christ and whatever his plan is. It gave us great peace. I believe Our Lady of Seven Sorrows has chosen David for this very reason and will be with him for whatever is to come. We feel one way or another, he will be healed whether it is in this life or the next.
So Marianne, these Saints choosing us is so incredible. We will walk with them this year in great trust and happiness and grow with them. Thank you for your help in this journey.
Ann Marie emailed me ...
Thanks so much for your quick response to my request. When I read my Saint and noticed his feast day I was stunned. I have never heard of St Eusebius but the days 8and 14 are very significant to me. My mother was born on the 14th and died on the 8th. My brother, who is a priest, was also ordained on 8/14/99. This year will be the 10th anniversary of her death and my brothers ordination. St Eusebius was a priest and martyr. My mother was very ill for six years prior to her death and offered all her sufferings for my brothers vocation and her five other children. She died just five months before my brother was ordained. As you can see there already is a strong connection here for me. May God bless you and thank you for your ministry.
Polly was chosen by St. Martha ...
Oh thank you! My initial thought was Martha? Yeah, I am so much like her...I am a worrier and am easily distracted by the chores of daily living and other responsibilities to the point of neglecting to spend time with Jesus. What a perfect saint for me. Also, her home was in Bethany. My daughter's name...you guessed it....Bethany! She grieved a brother (Lazurus) who died. My brother also died (when we were teenagers) and I still grieve his untimely passing. It was my brother's death that began me on my spiritual journey oh so many years ago to be culminated with my joining the Catholic church back in 1994. Marianne, you definitely have a charism and I am so thankful that Martha chose me through you. I will keep you posted and have posted your blog link on my blog:
http://5thsister.blogspot.com/
Sarah from the Philipines wrote ...
Hello! Thank you for the quick response! I'm the one who St. Gabriel chose. I googled him right away and laughed when I saw his connection in my life story. I saw that he is the patron of "telecommunications", "messengers" , "postal services", and mercy. He is also called the strength of God. Aside from his role of announcing the coming of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, He is also believed to strengthen Christ in the garden. In my life, I actually had an "on-line relationship" with someone. We never met before but we communicate only thru phone, webcam etc... So I was laughing hard when I saw the connection. Also, I love to send stuff and special presents to my friends all over the world and receive as well but then I would get disappointed coz some packages I sent would return to me or get damaged along the way (Grrrr....). These days, I find it hard to communicate with my family and friends about how I really feel as I have been through some traumatic situations. So I guess St. Gabriel will also help me out on this by giving me strength to face my situation and to show mercy to those who hurt me and to those whom I have hurt in the process. Hu-haah! I have a whole year to get to know him and as well as develop a deeper relationship with him. Now, I am sending this email on behalf of my brother named Raphael (No, he's far from being an angel so he needs heavenly help hahaha! pardon the pun). I told him about this exciting devotion and he requested to know his Patron Saint of the year as well. He doesn't spend time on the PC as much as I do so I am requesting on his behalf. Thanks and hope to hear a favorable reply.
Then Sarah contacted me again ...
And to add to my story, I remember that St. Gabriel is also the "strength of God". Last December, I started a small ministry by making genuine pearl rosaries and touching them to 15 3rd class relics of saints (Including, St. Anthony, St. Philomena, St. Therese and more...) and the miraculous sand of chimayo. I also give out some rose petals that were touched to the first class relics of St. Philomena my favorite Saint!! (Oh yes, St. Gabriel was sent by the Blessed Mother to St. Philomena to grant her grace to withstand the final and greatest of tortures she had to endure for the love of Christ!....Another connection!!) Anyway, back to my point. I asked the people who ordered the rosaries to whom will they be giving it to. They replied that they'll be giving it to their family members who have a lot of problems to face. One told me that her sister was diagnosed with breast cancer and its spreading to other systems. The other told me that her sister is suffering from meningitis and is experiencing seizures. My mother gave also rosaries to her two colleagues who were suffering from SERIOUS (YES, very....serious) marriage problems. My customers told me that the rosaries I made and the petals I gave out were special and confirmed that the recipients of the rosaries felt a sense of peace, calm and strength!! It's amazing. Now, I'm learning more about St. Gabriel and doing my best to learn from him. Woah! This just shows how God would reach out to this spoiled 21 year old to be an instrument to others (hahah!) Thanks for this wonderful ministry and I pray that God will bless you in many wonderful and unimaginable ways!!
St. Thomas Aquinas chose Therese and she had to tell me ...
Thank you for your quick response. Just a few minutes before you sent this to me I had emailed this prayer to some of my classmates. How Interesting! I am now anxious to learn more about St. Thomas Aquinas and look forward to his friendship and intercession for me. Thanks so much! Please be assured of my prayers for you!
PRAYER BEFORE STUDYING
Come, Holy Spirit, Divine Creator,
True source of light and fountain of wisdom!
Pour forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect,
Dissipate the darkness which covers me,
that of sin and of ignorance.
Grant me
A penetrating mind to understand
A retentive memory,
Method and ease in learning,
The lucidity to comprehend, and
Abundant grace in expressing myself.
Guide the beginning of my work,
Direct its progress,
And bring it to successful completion
This I ask through Jesus Christ,
True God and true man,
Living and reigning with you
And the Father, forever and ever. Amen
St. Thomas Aquinas (author)
{Translated from Fernand Lelotte, S.J.,Rabboni (Paris: Casterman, 1955)
By Dr. Chau T. Phan, Rider University.}
Laura was "wowwed" when she received her saint ...
Marianne -WOW! St. Maria Goretti has choosen me AGAIN! I say this because I now see how very hard she has been working to reach out to me. Four years ago my family and I moved to a new city and settled in a brand new parish named after a saint we hadn't ever heard of...St. Maria Goretti! After being in the parish for a year or so my agnostic cradle Catholic husband went on our Christ Renews His Parish retreat and returned to the church- I am positive St. Maria Goretti helped this happen because I had been praying to her for my children's faith (she is a Patron Saint for youth) raising our three young kids Catholic is so much easier now that we are all helping one another get to heaven. Furthermore, I was able to go on a pilgramage to Italy with our priest and group of parisioners from SMG. We travelled to SMG's Italian town of Nettuno where she was martyred and best of all - our priest was able to say mass for us in her Basilica. Currently, my husband has been laidoff from his job and we will probably have to take a job where ever we can get one - even out of state. When I saw that I got St. Maria Goretti the first thing I thought of was that she was telling me - that's it's alright, we will be ok- we will get to stay here at her parish! All things are possible with Christ! Marianne, God bless you for this wonderful ministry. You may be busy in the following weeks - because of all the people I'm going to share this with. Thank you - you will be in my prayers.
Miranda received Bl. Maximin Giraud, feast day on September 20th ...
I write this with tears in my eyes. September 20, as best as we know, was the day that my last babies were conceived. After 8 weeks only one of the three babies was thriving. We thought that everything would go well for that baby, but on December 14 (at 14 weeks) I miscarried. This just happened. And in 2004, I miscarried twins and had a D&C on September 21st. I have been yearning to develop a closer relationship with Mary. I feel that I need her at this time…for she knows the sorrow in my heart. And I have also recently developed an enormous love for the Church. I feel such consolation in knowing that our Pope is there to guide us. I have the desire to honor and protect the Pope. I see the Blessed Maximin Giraud’s feast day is September 20th. I see that he had a personal relationship with Our Mother while on earth. And I see that he was in the papal guard. I am nonplussed…
Linda found a few things in common with her saint ...
After reading about St. Richard (of Chichester), I find we have much in common. I, too, am now an orphan. My mother died a month ago. My father less than a year ago. I, too, had to struggle to complete my education, finally graduating from the university with my BA in 2004 and my M. Ed. in 2007. My father was a cab driver-(St Richard is the patron saint of coachman!) And, finally, the song from Godspell, "Day by Day" is one of my favorites...I hum it to myself often. I never knew it was attributed to St. Richard.
So, I think without knowing it, we had a relationship already. I am excited about consciously being aware of his presence in my life.
Love and Peace to you. Much gratitude for what you do.
St. Michael the Archangel is Mellie's patron saint ...
Marianne, You will not believe this! Just 2-3 days ago I began to pray the "Holy Michael the Archangel" prayer every time I started having horrible thoughts. I have no idea why I did this..., I do pray the St.Michael pray at the end of the Rosary only this time I just did it when I had the fearful thoughts. It really stopped those fearful thoughts! A friend has been praying for me to get rid of my anxieties. I still can't believe this, but I know through THAT prayer, in the last few days, I've been able to "block" things out. Whenever all this began ( my anxieties ) I had been active in the world trying to win souls for Our Lord. Needless to say, the worries paralized me and I always wondered if it came from the devil. You know St.Teresa de Avila mentioned something about the mind being the devils place where he attacks often " like a silent file", she said. I will definitely and gladly do my best to research our dear and holy archangel. By the way, I always pray his prayer in Latin. God bless and thank you for the responses and the idea of a patron saint.
Judy wrote ...
Hello Marianne!
Thank you so much for the work you do with this beautiful ministry! Upon receiving my Patron Saint for the year, St. Philip Neri, I knew immediately about his being known for humor. Briefly reading on the Catholic Saints site, I realized a few connections we had already:
St Philip Neri sought out a chapel to pray: Eucharistic Adoration has been a regular part of my husband and my life as we've moved to 6 different states and is where we turn for everything.
Humility was St. Philip Neri's most important virtue he tried to teach others and himself: after many years of a "comfortable life" we stepped out to start our own business, had to sell for a large loss, got into the mortgage industry and had the 32year old company shut its doors with no warning, leaving us to eventually foreclose and file bankruptcy. This was an extremely difficult time 2 years ago, especially losing our home as it was very evident to those around us, but we faced it, climbed out of it by accepting jobs much less in salary and "importance". We still had each other, our 4 children and God.
In his footsteps, it talks about how we often worry about what others think more than what God thinks. Our fear of people laughing at us often stops us from trying new things or serving God. After losing everything, I was personally presented with an opportunity that I almost passed up because it was unconventional, has a negative stigma and a few people did laugh at me when I told them about it. I decided not to pursue this opportunity because I didn't want to be rejected any more and thought I couldn't face my friends thinking bad about me. I couldn't sleep at night and was drawn to continue researching this opportunity and finally gave in to my instinct (I know it was the Holy Spirit) and just didn't care what people thought. (Before filing bankruptcy, I would have cared TOO much.) This ended up turning into the biggest blessing for me and my family. I have turned this into a large income that has saved us financially, I am passionate about it and enjoy it, and it has helped my family's health and many other's health. I never would have been presented this if we didn't lose our house. God definitely had his hand in it but I had to first not worry about what others thought!
These are just a few of the connections I already recognize so I am very eager to learn more about St. Philip Neri as I know he is close! A little humor in our lives will be greatly welcomed!! Thank you again!
Anonymous wrote to me ...
Thank you for my new Patron, Our Lady of Ransom. Talk about connections-I recognized the feast day date as that of Our Lady of Mercy, and researched finding that the two names are interchangeable. In elementary school, I was taught by the Sisters of Mercy, and in 1962, I entered their novitiate, only to leave 2 1/2 years later. My connection with the Sisters has continued throughout the years. I am thrilled that Our Lady of Ransom has chosen me. I would like to keep her as my permanent Patron, if she wishes. I need her motherly care very much and I want to cultivate a deeper devotion to her.
Thank you, Marianne, for setting me on this path.
God bless your work for us poor sinners.
Janice couldn't believe this ....
Thank you so much. I also can't believe that the Archangel Gabriel is my patron saint because that was one of my initial choices for my confirmation name (or as Gabrielle) AND my daughter's birthday is Sept. 29.
AND my daughter converted to Catholicism first and now volunteers at aCatholic Worker House. She answered my initial questions about the church and I prayed about it a lot and now am in RCIA and will be confirmed at Easter.
I can't thank you enough.
Terry had a very special connection ...
Like many I am sure, I had not heard of my patron saint and this delighted me. When I researched him (St. John Gualbert) I learned he was the Abbot in a Benedictine Monastery. The instant connection for me is that I am a Benedictine Oblate. I was so excited to learn about St. John Gualbert and will continue to read and learn as much as I can about him while I pray to him.
The other very interesting connection is that I was particularly close to the, recently deceased, Abbot of a Benedictine Monastery here in CA (of which I am an Oblate). It was this Abbot who I studied with for a year and who I took my promise/vow the year before I found out I had breast cancer (for which I am now 2 years in remission).
I will pray, fervently, to my newly discovered Patron Saint and ask him to draw me closer and closer to Christ, in every area of my life, and to the Benedictine Rule!
I, also, now know the Abbot (who I was so fond of in life) is still very close to me and continues to help me in my pro-life ministry (I am a Pro-life Sidewalk Counselor). I felt him near me when he first died but in time hadn't felt this. When I read St. John Gualbert became a monk and then an Abbot in a Benedictine Monastery -I, immediately, felt again the nearness of my dearly departed Abbot friend. What joy!! I can't wait to cultivate my friendship and prayers to this wonderful Saint.
Thank you so very much.
2008
Connection Stories
From:
Exspectantes
St. Luke picked me this year for 2008. My parents have finalized their divorce and we have been praying for my father's conversion and healing. St. Luke is the patron saint of doctors and surgeons, thereby being my father's patron saint! This furthers my desire and resolve to continue to pray for my father and truly entrust him through the intercession of St. Luke and Our Holy Mother.
Ellen - From Across the Net
I think Clare of Assisi is perfect for me since my friend Sister Rosemary was a Franciscan.
Sunny - Faith and Country
St. Jude... you know whats funny, I was just saying a few weeks ago how I didn't know anything about St. Jude. I guess now I will. :)
Marie - A view from the pews
St. Francis de Sales!
WOW! He is a powerful Saint. I love his books. I actually saved 'The Devout Life' from the incinerator at the Catholic library!..Er...maybe he saw me? lol
GrandmaK - A Bit of the Blarney
"I find a heaven in the midst of saucepans and brooms." Saint Stanislaus
This is perfect!! Finding Heaven in the simple and mundane...I forget to do that most of the time. Now I have someone to remind me!!! I am so excited. What a GIFT! Thank you ever so MUCH!!! GOD BLESS
Charity Therese - Veni Sanctus Spiritus
Wow!! St. Anthony Mary Claret!! :-D
I remember I was supposed to post something about him a couple of months ago but I wasn't able to for some reason. He's the patron saint of weavers! I'll remember him when I have a tough knot in my crocheting. ;-)
Thank you!!! :-D
Kimberly - Catholic Family Vignettes
I had requested a saint for 2008, but before I received my saint's name, a dear friend gave me a Christmas gift...she taught me to needle tat.
Needle tatting is a lacemaking technique and something I had tried to learn for years, but without success. My friend learned the craft herself, so that she could teach me.
The next day I discovered that St. Sebastian was my chosen saint and that he is the patron of lacemakers!
Why do I want to tat? Because tatted lace was the most frequent embellishment on altar cloths, purificators and surplices. I want to embellish a surplice for a priest...hopefully one of my four sons.
I believe that St. Sebastian is helping me learn this craft at record speed...I'm progressing so very quickly. Check out the results at Catholic Family Vignettes!
Ellen L. said...Archangel Gabriel is my patron. Since October, I have been wondering if we would be able to or should remain in our hometown. St. Gabriel is the patron our of town and the church of our baptism, marriage, and children's baptism's. Other reasons have become apparent since then that I have the right patron, but that was the immediate one.
Jack W. wrote ...
I just wanted to tell you something that I think is pretty amazing. You just sent me my Patron Saint of 2008, who is St. Sebastian, whose day is Jan. 20. I have just declared my intention to convert to Catholicism and will be attending my first Mass in my chosen church this Sunday, which happens to be Jan. 20! If that isn't a sign from God, I don't know what is! Also, his feast day in the Greek Orthodox Church is on 12/18, which is my mother's birthday!
Toni wrote ...
I thought I just fill you in with what my connection with my saint.
I am an Italian American and so it is great to have an Italian American saint.
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini is a patron saint of immigrants among other things.
But I love the fact that I know of my grandfather coming over from Italy shortly
after St, Frances died. (My grandfather accomplished a lot dispite the education level, and language barrier.) Who knows, perhaps he was assisted by one of the 60 plus agencies that St. Frances founded?
The other more impressive connection is that I feel we have the same gifts:
Encourager, Prayer, and Faith.
Not sure where we are headed yet, but fun to know this much so far.
From Cheri B ...
You cannot begin to know the parallels that my saint, Joan of Arc, and I have.
I recently went to Cursillo and the table I was assigned to was St Joan of Arc... Joan of Arc was born on Jan 6 (my Mother's BD) which is also Epiphany.....May 8th (my brother's BD) by this date Joan of Arcs troops had captured all the English troops in Orleans. ....Sept 8th (Tom and my anniversary) Joan of Arc shot in the leg with an arrow from a crossbow. Joan of Arc heard voices...I often think I am hearing voices to tell me to do something ( get up and pray at 3AM....help someone in need..etc) My Mother only spoke about one Saint in my life that I remember and it was Joan of Arc..(my Mom was not Catholic)....maybe because she (Mom) was of French decent. How's that for parallels? And for some reason every time I hear the name Joan of Arc I get a real uneasy feeling. NOTHING I can put my finger on ...just an uneasiness/anxiety I wonder if somehow Mom and her are up to something?
Marianne wrote ...
In 2006, my first year having a patron saint for the year, I had Saints Marcus and Marcellianus ... they are twin brothers who were sent to prison before their death. St. Sebastian visited them continually in prison and helped keep their faith alive. They are buried near St. Felix and are specifically honored in Spain.
OK now ... here were a couple of immediate connections in regard to these saints ... I have a SPECIAL place in my heart for twins! As a child, I LOVED reading the story about St. Sebastian. I had a children's book of saints and I think I wore out the pages on St. Sebastian! Felix is my grandfather's name! Silvia, our exchange student, is from Spain! I was so excited to have these two saints to walk through 2006 with me!
For 2007, I had Pope St. Anicetus, someone that I knew (sadly) nothing about. After researching him, I came to find out that he was the type of person who always looked for the good in others and maintained good and close relationships. Boy! That hit me square between the eyes since I had been having a problem with a woman at church and was finding it very difficult to see any good in her! St. Anicetus was always with me when any meeting with her was necessary. Thank you for the great example, St. Anicetus!
S.R. writes ...
My husband and I attend a beautiful devotion to St. Charbel on the first Saturday of each month. While on a walk with my husband 2-1/2 weeks ago, I told him that I felt we needed to ask St. Charbel for his intercession on something, but that I didn't know what. When we returned home from our walk, I e-mailed you asking what saints would choose to walk with our three grandchildren throughout the year.
What inspired me to do this, was because our 2-1/2 year old grandson, Riley, was having trouble talking. He speaks very little and most of the time we're not able to understand him. That is why when you e-mailed me back saying that St. Charbel had chosen Riley, we were both delighted and amazed. I am pleased to tell you that we already have a praise report!
In talking to our daughter-in-law on the phone last night, she told us that Riley has been talking in 6 word sentences for around a couple of weeks now!! After telling us this, Riley got on his "digger" and started to ride around her while she was talking, so she asked him what he was doing. His reply was "Going to pick up aunt Nell". Because we live over an hour away from them, our daughter, Jenelle, often goes and picks up Riley to come and spend the weekend with us. THANK YOU ST. CHARBEL, who I'm sure is working on increasing Riley's vocabulary to words with multiple syllables!! All praise and glory to God!
E.K. said ...
I participated last year in A Catholic Life’s Saint of the Year devotion. My saint, which I believe you drew, was St. William Bourges whose feast day is in early January. My husband and I have been hoping for children for several years, and it turned out that in the summer we were chosen to adopt an infant baby who was likely conceived around the time of St. William’s feast day! We brought him home this fall, and his name is William.
Amy :) wrote ...
Thank you so much! My saint's feast day is the same as my parents anniversary so its interesting that as I prepare for marriage their date is my patron saints date...hmmm...God-incidence??..I think so!
From C.D. ...
I have already enjoyed getting to know my saint, St. Martin de Porres. What first struck me that he lived in Peru, South America. My son, B., left for Chile, South America, on January 11 to begin his postulancy with the Schoenstatt Fathers. So it warmed my heart that he was from the same continent where my son is now. It also touched me that he served in the laundry, kitchen, and wardrobe with joy. As a wife and mother I must serve in those areas. I have been striving to be joyful always and to glorify God in every moment regardless of the circumstances. Now I will strive further to follow St. Martin's example.
Then I looked further and was further amazed at God's goodness at giving me (through you!) my new friend, St. Martin. He is the patron saint of African-Americans, race relations, and social justice (as well as barbers and hairdressers). I am an attorney. I just began a job on Jan. 11 serving as a Guardian ad Litem in cases where people are unable to hire their own attorney. I have considered my job as work to achieve social justice, and here is St. Martin, the patron saint of social justice. Further, I just started taking cases from the Public Defender's Office. Here, too, the people are unable to pay for their own lawyer. I will ask St. Martin to help me in this work.
Patti said ...
It is “funny”, I have been attracted to St. Jerome for a while but have not really researched him a whole lot or talked with him, especially since I am a Secular Franciscan and have been studying Francis & Clare for the past four years. St. Jerome is my husband’s “birthday Saint”, and Jerome studied Scripture under St. Gregory Nazianzen (my guardian angel’s name is Gregory), He encouraged a group of noble ladies (my name, Patricia, means ‘Noble One’) to study Scripture, and I have always been interested in studying the Jerome Bible Commentary.
This fall I have been on a mission to study Scripture in a different way though…more from the heart instead of the head…I am excited to see how St. Jerome has a part in my life this year with that. Also, my husband and I will be “empty-nesters” next year as our 4th child is a senior in high school and will be heading to college in August. I am already preparing myself for that big change and hope that we will be able to “breathe together and with each other” again; like it was in the old days.
Ann-Marie wrote us and said:
I was introduced to St. Maximin Giraud. I am French. Maximin's mother's name was Anne-Marie; my full first name is Ann Marie. The children were told that the potatoes and wheat would go bad if the warnings were not heeded. I grew up on a potato farm. Not huge coincidences to be sure, but enough to make me think.
Janet contacted us and said ...
I just had to send this to you. When you said St Anthony picked me this year. I was happy because of the termoil that has been going on around myself & my family. This page that I'm showing you is one that I copied at work in 1999. I was just going through papers to throw out and in the middle of all these papers I found this. But it sure hit home and brought tears to my eyes when I read it. Nothing like finding this 9 years later. God bless you for what you do. I know now this year will be a blessing to me.God Bless & thank You Janet
A LOVING EXHORTATION OF TRUST AND CONFIDENCE FROM ST. ANTHONY WHO IS CALLING TO YOU:
"It has been a long time since I have been waiting for you. I am well aware of the graces you need and your desire for my intercession. I am ready to help you; have faith, let me know what you desire without concealing anything. You know how powerful I am in the presence of God and how much I desire the consolation of the afflicted. Dear friend, let me share your troubles, perhaps you want me to help in your business . . . or my protection to restore peace in your family . . . to obtain a job . . . or to lessen the yoke of poverty . . . to diminish your troubles . . . or to find that object. Do not lose heart. If what you ask is the will of God, everything will be granted. I am very pleased with sincere souls and especially with those who bear the sufferings of others as if they were their own. But, above all, I realize the need of the grace which you have been asking me for such a long time. This grace will be granted to you, your humble prayer will never be in vain. I ask you one thing, "to receive Holy Communion more frequently, and if possible, daily; to be more devout to our Blessed Mother; to propagate my devotion, for the help of my needy children whom I love so much."
I never deny my intercession to those who help my little ones. many have asked my help for the success of a business, for the conversion of a sinner, and I, for the love of the innocent orphans, obtained for them the graces they need.
Am I not ready to do the same for you? Have faith. Be humble, and ask me always whatever you think good for your own soul. You desire many other things and you are afraid of being imprudent. You almost mistrust me. I could read your intimate thoughts. If it is the will of God, everything will be granted to you, provided you have faith and perseverance in your humble prayer.
Now go back to your work and keep in mind what I have told you. Come frequently to me. I will be waiting for you and I am always ready to help you. I will leave you in the hands of Our Lord and His Blessed Mother.
Chantal S. told us about her saint from last year ...
I had St. Maximilian Kolbe last year and at the time I wasn't sure why I had a Patron Saint for those addicted to drugs. Well, I'm now praying for 36 people suffering from addictions. St. Maximilian has also had a profound affect in my personal life as well.
S was so excited !! to tell us ...
Since last year, I have gotten married to my fiance. Dear old St. Anne, was good to me. No, I did not get pregnant, but I still hold hope that once things settle down maybe my husband and I will be blessed with a child. We have moved to Spain where we are planning on starting a business to take care of pilgrims doing the Way of St. James. My son, has moved in with us and on Tuesday, as a matter of fact, the 3 of us are undertaking the journey again. It will be my 4th time, my husband's 2nd and my son's 3rd try (as twice the Camino has kicked him out, perhaps the apostle wanted my son to come sober)...... My friend from Holland continues to do well and he still cannot get over how St. Teresa of Avila picked him and how since then, he has not had any migraines and all. My son was in detox over the Fall and right on Easter weekend, we will be celebrating his 120 days of sobriety!
... and coming to think about it...... yes, I did have a child (intercession of St. Anne), it just occurred to me that my son's doctors told me that had my son not gone into detox when he did (for heroin) it was only a matter of time before he would have died of an od..... so yes indeed, I was blessed with the rebirth of my son........ Lord almighty!...... Talk about miracles and a blessed life!
G.H. was really excited when she wrote and told us ...
I wanted to tell you about my experience from last year. I don’t know if you will remember me out of all the people you assist in your mission so let me give you a brief recap.Last year after requesting the name of the Saint who had chosen me, you returned the request with the name of St. Andrew. Except for being an apostle I knew very little else about St. Andrew and I wondered why he would choose me? I sent another e-mail to you requesting the names of the Saint of the year for my husband’s godmother and her sisters. In that e-mail, I basically ask if you were sure about St Andrew for me. You replied with a positive and were also kind enough to add some information about St. Andrew along with some web addresses for finding possible additional information on the Saint.As I read all I could find about St. Andrew there were two things that I felt gave me a link to him; however, they seemed to be in the past. One thing was St. Andrew being known as the “bringer” for bringing others to Jesus. I had been a teacher in the RCIA for children for over five years when health issues caused me to have to give up that ministry work. Since that time I have become a godmother on three separate occasions and I still find myself “talking the talk” trying to bring others into the Catholic faith and even more importantly trying to lead them there by example. The second thing had to do with his referral to Jesus as “the Lamb of God” and an experience where I heard Jesus ask me after receiving HIM sacramentally, “Do you Love me?, feed my sheep, feed my lambs!I was somewhat content and decided St Andrew and chosen me for some of my past deeds. I hadn’t paid attention at first but then I realized his feast day was also my grandmother’s birthday (with whom I had been exceptionally close even after her death). It wasn’t until after August that I found his remarkable connection to me that applied to this past year. I was diagnosed with skin cancer at approximately the same time my husband was found to be in need of open heart surgery. We have no income except my disability check and we both rely on the county hospital and their programs designed for the poor who have no insurance or only Medicare or Medicaid.This hospital doesn’t do the type of surgery my husband needed but contracts it out to another major hospital. The doctor who diagnosed the skin cancer on my nose wanted to set up a surgery date immediately as the cancer had already grown between the appointment to take the biopsy and the appointment for receiving the results. The problem came in the fact that his immediately was in three weeks which was the tentative date given to us for my husband’s open heart surgery and not only could we not be in surgery at the same time but this surgery would leave my face bruised and swollen for at least a week or two and I would not be able to see to drive to get my husband to the hospital nor to care for him immediately after his open heart surgery and we had no one else we could turn to. However, the doctor insisted on scheduling a surgery date for me prior to me leaving the clinic. I told him we could make a tentative schedule however, I would more than likely be calling to cancel after we had the definite schedule for my husband. I told him that my husband’s heart surgery must take priority, and we left it at that.. I wasn’t sure exactly what took place after that but I suddenly received a call from Dr. Vories nurse that he wanted to reschedule my surgery for the following week. I told her that I was under the impression that he didn’t have any openings that soon and she said that he didn’t at the county hospital where he volunteers a percentage of his time but that he had told her to do whatever was necessary to get me into his schedule ASAP at All Saints Hospital so I could be in and out and have time for the swelling to be down enough to see to drive and be with my husband by the proposed date of his surgery . While I was in pre-op Dr. Vories came by to review what he was going to do and the necessity for getting it done right away. I thanked him for taking me to All Saints and just before I went “under” I heard them page Dr Vories…………Dr. ANDREW Vories!!!! Isn’t God just AWESOME!
C.A. was looking at the blog and reported this to us ...
I wanted to share something that really "blew me away" while I looked at your site. I was glancing through the list of names with their saints, and I stopped at Celeste, noticing that her chosen patron was St. Catherine of Alexandria. I had a daughter named Celeste, who died when she was four months old. She was confirmed on the day of her death, and her confirmation name? Catherine, after Catherine of Alexandria! We chose this name for her because she was much like the young martyr who gave her life for Jesus. When I saw this on your site, I really felt your work was anointed. By the way, yesterday would have been my daughter's third birthday. Thank you for the birthday gift!
Catherine D. wanted us to know that ...
I would not have considered St. Brigid of Kildare. However, it is very interesting that she chose me. First off, I believe that since St. Patrick's feast day falls during holy week, didn't the Vatican move his feast day for 2008 to today, March 14th which is the same day you e-mailed me St. Brigid's name? I bring up St. Patrick because St. Brigid knew him when he was alive and was with him at his death and buried near his body. She is also one of Ireland's patron saints along with St. Patrick. Also, St. Brigid shares her feast day of February 1st with my oldest daughter's birthday. Also, there are a number of peope who I have been holding in my prayers for years that come from or live in Ireland. Those are just a few of the observations I note off the top of my head. Thank you Marianne for this wonderful devotion. I do check on you website regularly and you have a lot of interesting things on it. You have a wonderful job with your site. If I have anything of note concerning my saint, I will gladly share it with you. In the meantime, I will be pleased to hold you in my prayers. God bless you and your loved ones!
Lynn H. is honored to tell her story ...
The Saint who chose me last year was St. Thomas. St. Thomas was the doubting apostle because he did not believe the other Apostles when they said that Jesus had risen. It was only when St. Thomas put his fingers in Jesus' wounds that St. Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" Just before Jesus ascended into Heaven, he told the Apostles to preach to ALL the nations. The Church Fathers say that the Gospel was preached to the entire world and not just to the "known" lands. St. Thomas preached, healed the sick, cast out demons and performed many other miracles in many different lands. Historians all say that St. Thomas travelled to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East, parts of China, Southern Russia, North Africa, India, Pakistan, North and South America. While in Iran he baptized the Three Wise Men (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) and made them bishops. In the 1500's when the Spanish missionaries came to South America, the people told them that a venerable white man (called Thomas) had been there 1500 years earlier. How did St. Thomas get to all those areas of the world? Saints have been known to bilocate and to walk at incredibly fast rates of speed so that others cannot keep up.
When Marianne told me that my saint was St. Thomas, I thought, "What could I possibly doubt?" God had converted me from the New Age movement six years earlier and by 2007 I was going to daily Mass, and was active in the Legion of Mary. Sure, I had "problems" in my life but they weren't the true problems that some people have. I prayed especially hard every day for my husband and my Dad for things to change and for our lives to get better.
My husband has works long hours, spends his free time on the computer, he has ADHD. He is not emotionally present much of the time which has left me feeling invisible and abandoned. We didn't start out our marriage that way, but the stress of supporting a family has taken its toll on my husband (and our marriage). My father is suffering from alcoholism and it has been very difficult for all of us, most especially my Mom.
While praying, I'd occasionally remember St. Thomas and ask him to help us and to heal us. Towards the end of 2007 I forgot about St. Thomas until just the other day when I was reminded of Marianne and her mission.
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks!!!! I realized that I had been doubting that really great things would happen to me again! I had been living so long with an underlying current of unhappiness and I thought this was the way my life was going to be forever and I just had to suck it up and take it.
God does indeed answer prayers! In the past 2 months, my husband and I finally went to a worldwide marriage encounter weekend after 10 years of marriage and we finally were able to communicate again! Life isn't perfect but it is so much better because we have the tools to communicate and share with each other. My Dad is still sick but Jesus told me in Adoration one night that He will heal my Dad and not just a little, but a lot. I just keep praying and praying (please pray for him too). One other very good thing that happened is that I just started an incredible part time job through a Legion of Mary friend, and I am starting to make some money! This is helping my husband to relax alittle and empowering me. My part time job is with a fantastic company that sells "the Queen of fruits" and if you don't know what that is, ask our Blessed Mother, the Queen of the Saints, and she will enlighten you!
Thank you, St. Thomas! I love you!!! You taught me that my life wasn't only about carrying crosses and sadness. Although I believed, I never thought God would dry my tears and set me on a path to do more. God hasn't forgotten us! He has given us some very valuable tools and people in our life to help us on our way. Stay tuned for next year's story on my saint and what we did with the tools we were given. May God bless you all and give you His Peace! Lynn
Sheila found an instant connection ...
Having been chosen by St. Homobonus was unbelievable! Not recognizing his name, I immediately Goggled him and found the connection instantly. He isthe patron saint of business people and also of working with clothes. He came from a family of tailors. This is very significant to me in that I just began a new job in which I have enjoyed much success. I am the Business Development Manager for a mid-size company out of Tennessee. Recently, I have been conflicted in that I feel a very strong calling to get involved with a clothing pantry run by a nun from our parish. I have no idea why, but is has been drawing me in. My conflict comes from the fact that although I enjoy my job and the perks that come with it - it is devoid of meaning to me and consumes a great deal of my time. I have been praying for direction and St. Homobonus, I am certain, is here to help me! Thank you for your hand in all of this! I will let you know how it all unfolds!!!
Aimee C. received St. Gerard and wrote ...
Wow! I'm so excited, I'm almost brought to tears--I'm familiar with St. Gerard, as I have his medal and am currently pregnant with my 4th! It's definitely a blessing that he chose me! :)
Cathy A. tells us about one of our younger participant's enthusiasm ...
My son Luke is five, and he LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine toys. He has been collecting them since he was two and has dozens of them that he plays with daily!When I told him St. Thomas chose him he was very excited!
Virginia F. had an instant connection ...
...my saint was The Assumption of Mary. That is the name if the Church I go too. I have joined MIRA to say part of the rosary with them. Needleess the one I say is the Assumption of Mary!!! What a blessing to know Mary loves me also. And thank you again.
Chuck wondered why St. Thomas chose him this year ...
...after all, I didn't consider myself a "doubter". I researched St. Thomas and still didn't find any connections. Last weekend though, my wife and I went to Atlanta for a get-away of sorts and when we inquired as to what church was the closest to our hotel, we were told that it was St. Thomas the Apostle! To me, this was verification that even though I was not sure why St. Thomas chose me, that St. Thomas knew what he was doing! It was a great Mass and the whole experience felt very "comfortable". Thanks for the nudge, St. Thomas!
Annonymous wrote to us and said ...
Ok, I thought you were nuts, but BOY was I WRONG!
Ok, I emailed you a few months ago for a patron saint, and St. Agatha picked me. I thought "Ok what now, the feast day is over, and I really don't need the patron saint for breast cancer or sexual assaults." I had been sexually assaulted years ago. While I showered the neighbor boys would break into the bathroom, jerk away the curtain and spit lugies all over me and laugh at me while I tried to cover up. This happened a few times, and as my father was away in Turkey on remote and my mother was working nights as an RN and so there was hardly ever anyone home with us. One night around midnight (a time I assumed was safe) I had taken my shower and was sitting around in my robe watching headbangers ball on MTV, I figured my little brother was in bed and I was safe so it didn't matter that I was only in my robe. Well the next thing I knew the chair I was in was falling backwards with me in it and the same two boys trying to take the robe off of me telling me they "just wanted to look". I don't know if that was the case or not, but I felt they were trying to rape me so I fought and they gave up. Since that time I can't take showers unless all the doors are locked and even then I rush through them unless hubby is home. I also sleep with a night light. But I really felt and still do that the worst was behind me and I'm getting better all the time. So if I was already healing why St. Agatha?? Well 2 weeks ago a young lady came to me and her grandmother and told us she was being molested by her Step-father, a man already on record as a sex offender. I was mortified, and all of a sudden St. Agatha made more sense. God knew it wasn't so much for my pain personally, but so that I could help a child that was going through those same things I had. I had researched her as you suggested, and have found great comfort in knowing that she has taken a special intreast in my life this year. Thank you so much for this service!!
JL found an instant connection...
Dear Marianne: I got a twofer. I found I can't have Cosmos without having his twin Damien. Since I have twin brothers myself, I know how that goes. Twins are
twins after all.
I think this is a wonderful thing to do in my dotage! If I'm still here next year I will get a new saint but never let go of the twins.
Thank you so much.
Janet was very excited to let us know ...
For 2007 I received THREE beautiful Saints.
My first Saint is Saint Elmo. I needed to do a lot of research on this Saint since the only Elmo I had ever heard of was on Sesame Street!! Saint Elmo is the patron saint of sailors. On March 8 this year 2007, My youngest son Nicholas joined the Navy!! He graduated from his Basic Training as the "Honor Recruit" for his division! He then graduated at the top of his class from "A" school, a training program for a specific job area, which for him was "Culinary" school. Due to this achievement he was given "APO" honors, which is advancement in the Naval ranks. Following his "A" school he went on to Submarine school. This is a grueling & very difficult school for any sailor to go through. The "pass" ratio is approximately 50 %. Of approximately 24 in his class, about 13 passed the course & were assigned to a fleet submarine. I am very pleased to say that he was right near the top of this class as well. Within 10 1/2 months he has already been promoted from "E1" to "E4". To put this into perspective, many military members do not achieve E4 even after 8 years. Nicholas achieved this honor in only 10 1/2 months!! I know that St Elmo has been watching over him this entire year, & I am certain that he will continue as long as Nicholas is a sailor!
Number 2 is St Joachim, the father to our dear & most Blessed Mother.
Number 3 is St Anne, spouse of Joachim, who gave birth to Our Lady. How ironic that I should receive as my Saints the parents of my very own patron Saint!
My birthday is October 7, the Feast of The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I was born in Our Lady Queen of Angels hospital which is located in the City of the Angels, Los Angeles, California. I was baptized on December 8, the feast of The Immaculate Conception. The little church of my baptism is Our Lady of Guadalupe. My 2nd name is Maureen, the Gaelic for "Mary". As you can see, it is quite clear that "Mary" is my patron Saint, & as such has protected me for my entire life. As her parents, it was truly a gift to me to have Joachim & Anne join my life. There is truly something to this "parent" connection as you will read.
I take you back 40 years to thanksgiving 1967. On that weekend, I was a victim of "date rape". As a result, I became pregnant with a male child, born prematurely in July of 1968. In the late 60's keeping a child out of wedlock was not an option. I was scorned & banned during my pregnancy & told repeatedly to place the child for adoption. It was a social discrimination that any birth mother from that era was faced with. So just prior to his birth, I dedicated my son to The Blessed Mother & begged her to protect him as he was placed with another family, strangers. I longed for him daily for all these years, with birthdays & holidays being particularly painful & sad. In 1988, when he was of legal age, I placed a "notarized consent for release of information" in his file at the adoption agency. I did this in the event he decided to search for me. I needed to make certain that he knew I wanted to be found. At this time I also began my personal search for him. I needed to know that my prayers had been answered & that he was safe & loved by his adoptive family. For the past 10 years my search moved into the world of the internet, where I registered on any site related to adoption. Finally on CHRISTMAS DAY, 2006, my son was located!!! (By the way, he WANTED to be found!!!) The story is extraordinary in that it totally involves the Holy Family!!! His adoptive mother has the first name of Mary, although she goes by her 2nd name, Carol. He went to elementary school at St Louis Maria de Montfort school. (This saint started an order of priests for the specific purpose of spreading devotion to Our Lady) He went to High School at St Joseph High school, where he was taught by the Daughters of Mary & Joseph. (Did I mention that he was also born in St Joseph's hospital?) He is now a Parishioner at St Louis Maria de Montfort parish, where the pastoral team is known as the Josephites. You will never believe that all this took place in a city named for "Saint Mary", SANTA MARIA!! As you can see, Our Lady has had her loving Mantle wrapped around my son for his whole life. ALL of my prayers for him have been answered. I also want to share that one of my daughters is named Anita, (Spanish for "little Anne") & had she been a "son" I wanted the name Joachim for her. (although my husband disagreed!!!). This was a thank you to Our Lady by honoring her parents. Blessed Mary has been here with me & my family every step of my life. Honoring her parents is honoring her & her beloved son, Jesus Christ! Joachim & Anne began blessing me on December 25, 2006, Christmas Day, as one parent to another. 2007 has truly been a year of miracles & blessings.
After this miraculous & beautiful year, a year of blessings & miracles, I was very anxious to find out which Saint(s) would be my guide for 2008!!!
To be continued ...
luv 'n huggs, Janet
Brenda contacted us with two connection stories ...
We had a wonderful year praying to our patron saints and I would like to ask for our patron saints for 2008. I hope it is not too late.
My patron saint was St. Andrew and he definietly interceeded in my life. In December we moved again for the 4th time in 6 years. My husband was laid-off from a job he had been at for 17 years. We had just moved from Seattle to Colorado and built our dream home and put in a pool. We thought we were here to stay...well God had a different plan. It was a very hard move with four children ages 10 to 2 and they did not want to leave. Through the grace of God my husband got a great offer quickly in Columbus, Ohio where we now live. The church and Catholic school we were sent to by God was St. Andrew and we love it. We just had our home enthroned by our pastors and I feel God's grace everytime we are there.
I also have one regarding our son Peter.
He is 2 yrs old and has Down syndrome. His patron saint was St. Martha of Mary and Martha, Lazarus's sisters. When Peter was born he had a heart defect called AV canal. Everyone prayed for a miracle for the holes in his heart to close. For some reason the Holy Spirit did not have me pray for this....I know this sounds crazy but I asked that He give another family that miracle if it would save souls. I knew that God had another miracle for Peter .
I received that revelation and grace at Mass during Lent when it discussed how upset Martha and Mary were at Jesus because he waited several days to come save their brother. They did not know that Jesus had a much bigger miracle for them...to raise their brother from the dead!
As soon as I listen to our Pastor read this I received the grace..... that Peter because of his heart defect would save a lot of souls and change many people. Today Peter is an amazing healthy toddler who had surgery at 5 months. People I know who never prayed or went to Mass started do so for Peter when he was sick.
You gave Peter, St. Martha 6 months after his surgery and She still intercedes for him today.
Linda A. was thrilled to tell us about her connection!
I am enjoying my 'heavenly walk' with St Elizabeth (of Hungary). I knew nothing of her life before, but have taken your advice and googled this wonderful saint. How amazing that St Elizabeth dedicated her life to the sick and poor. Would it surprise you to know that I am part of our chaplaincy team at our local hospital and am constantly in touch with those who need looking after! Also, in February, my lead chaplain asked me to assist him with a talk to a group of doctors and I found myself in St Elizabeth's hospital for cancer patients!
Judy K was "freaked" when she told us ...
This is freaky! As I was sending my message, I was thinking wouldn't be strange if it were St. Benedict. Now I was thinking of Benedict, the founder of the Benedictines. I had no idea that there was another Benedict (of Palermo). I'm trying to access your blog, but not successful. I'll keep trying.
Thanks so much!
Judy K.
I keep a St. Benedict crucifix on my rosary and it always gives me a feeling of peace. When I was a little girl and was very ill, my mom put the St. Benedict medal on me. Guess that's why I feel such a connection.
and
Just checked on my patron saint, Benedict of Palermo, also known as Benedict the Moor. There is a definite connection! The parish to which I belong, Holy Trinity, is twinned with the parish of St. Benedict the Moor-St. Benedict Joseph Labre. Benedict the Moor is known for his humility, a virtue which I sorely need, and cheerfulness, which I try to practice at all times. Needless to say, I will be praying to him for humility.
Thanks again.
Judy
Carolina requested a patron saint and while waiting for her saint to choose her ...
You know what's really funny? As I was falling asleep last night, besides worrying about my math exam on Friday, I also thought to myself 'just watch, it'll be a saint with an unusual name like Eusebius' And now just look who I have - St Eusebius! I have no idea why the name Eusebius came to mind, but there it is :)
Jan sent us a short biography on her saint to help us better understand her amazing and much needed instant connection with Raphael the Archangel ...
Raphael's name -- "God has healed"Raphael (Standard Hebrew רָפָאֵל, Rāp̄āʾēl, "It is God who heals", "God Heals", "God, Please Heal") Connection with travellers, young people, blindness, healing and healers, apothecaries, druggists, physicians, science and knowledge.
Raphael is the name of an archangel of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, who performs all manner of healing. When Tobias and his new bride return to his father, Raphael tells him how to cure Tobit's blindness. Once Tobit's sight is restored, Raphael reveals himself: "When you prayed with tears...I offered your prayers to the Lord.... For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the Lord."Now there is at Jerusalem a pond, called Probatica, which in Hebrew is named Bethsaida, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered; waiting for the moving of the water. And an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water, was made whole, of whatsoever infirmity he lay under. [John 5:2-4]
At first glance, I didn’t understand the connection with Raphael. He certainly isn’t a saint I would have picked on my own. I believe I first prayed to him a couple years ago, when I was single and hoping to find a good, Christian man. He didn’t find a new man for me- but in a way, my prayers were still answered. I had been dating a man (Tom), we had broken up, and I was hoping to find someone new. Turns out, Tom and I got back together, and we just got married a few months ago. Took 4 years of dating, with many ups and downs, and MANY breakups, but we finally realized we really were destined to be together, and were made for each other. We tried to escape from each other, but it just didn't work!!! I didn’t think about St. Raphael til now.
On the surface, there are many similarities that draw me to Raphael. Silly things- like Raphael is pictured often with a fish. In horoscopes (I know, not a Catholic thing), I am a Pisces- the fish- and I do tend to embody many of the watery, ethereal, dreamy traits that are associated with fish.I am very scientific, have a bachelor’s in Biology, and had worked in the medical field for a few years, including 7 years in a pharmacy (patron saint of pharmacists!). I am also very attracted to and fascinated by healing and the medical arts. I love to travel- and at the moment, I do need protection and strength for travelers. My husband Tom just got deployed, and just landed in Kuwait yesterday. He’ll be in Iraq for a year.
Also, I appreciate the fact that Raphael is an actual Biblical figure, not a modern day saint. Yes, they all have good things we can learn- but I enjoy reading the biblical works that Raphael has done. AND, he is mentioned in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Although I am definitely a Catholic, I feel I can understand the Lord more fully and appreciate His works by reading comparisons of other world religions, too. Judaism is linked so much to the beginning of Christianity, and Islam has its parallels, too.
Now- the real reason that I have tears welling up in my eyes. I need a miracle.
Desperately.
And I didn’t know how badly I needed one when I sent you my request a while back.
Tom and I are expecting our first child together. It has been a very rough pregnancy since the beginning. I have been to emergency rooms, family practitioners, neonatologists, and maternal-fetal specialists. I am 21 weeks along.Over 3 weeks ago, at 17 weeks 5 days, my water broke, and so I have begun the long journey of PPROM (pre-term premature rupture of membranes). I knew that it was bad, I just didn’t know HOW bad. A few days later, I had a level 2 ultrasound with a specialist. He told us the very grim news- there was basically “no hope”- short of a miracle. There was very little amniotic fluid, and without fluid, the baby’s lungs couldn’t develop. I would probably miscarry (they were surprised I hadn’t miscarried yet). After a woman’s water breaks, 50% miscarry within 24 hours, and 90% of women miscarry within 7 days. In the very rare chance that I could carry the child, once born, he won’t be able to breathe and will die within 24 hours. On top of this, he believed that our son had a very high risk of Down’s syndrome, since he found 2 markers for this syndrome during our ultrasound. Or, option C, we could always terminate the pregnancy and just put an end to all this. To make the situation even more abysmal, they have to consider my health, too. Since my membranes broke, there is no barrier to prevent infection. Even if the Lord has already decided for little Scooter (that’s what we are calling our son for the time being), they have to protect me, as well. There’s at least a 60% chance of infection, which could lead to a hysterectomy, leave me sterile, and lead to maternal death.We were absolutely devastated to find out that we probably won’t have our dear little son, and horrified at the thought that we would have to choose to end his life. We never, EVER thought we would even have to consider this option. It is absolutely horrifying to both of us. I have been worried about this pregnancy for months, and now to have this outcome is just beyond words.
Last week we went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for a second opinion- and also a chance to have a new, experimental procedure done to patch up the tear in the amniotic sac. We met with the director of maternal-fetal medicine. You just aren’t going to do any better than that. Unfortunately, I don’t qualify for this procedure- so we were told the same options. Terminate, miscarry, or hope to carry as far as possible, with very poor results. He gave us a 5% chance of bringing a baby home. The “good” news is that Scooter seems to still be right on track, with everything growing as it should (except for those lungs), he is kicking up a storm, still has a strong heartbeat, and after a LOT of looking, the MD said he did NOT have Down’s Syndrome. But miracles happen, he said. We prayed – a lot- and thought about it, and prayed more, and weighed all our options. And cried, for weeks. And prayed some more. The very scary reality is that I could lose my life. But, we both agreed that the only option that we could feel at peace with is to carry our son as long as we can, no matter what God has in store for him. I've gone 3 1/2 weeks since my water broke, and no one thought we would be this far. You never know. Raphael is a healer. He responded to those “who prayed with tears”. And all the sick who “waited for the moving of the water”. And that is what we are doing, and that is what little Scooter needs. “And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water, was made whole”. Scooter’s only real chance of survival is to have enough amniotic fluid to fill his lungs. I think the parallel is quite fitting, don’t you?
Tom and I have been searching for the perfect Bible verse to help us with this, and haven’t been able to really find any that truly fit. But reading about St. Raphael tonight suddenly helped me out a lot.
I’ll keep you posted on our situation, and thank you for guiding me to this.
Onno wrote and said she had never heard of St Blandina before ...
and when I looked up her story, I was moved to tears. I was curious to see what she would have looked like and I could only find just a few images on the Internet. The first image I found was a copper etching from the 17th century and much to my astonishment the words written on it explaining what the picture represents, were in old Dutch so I could read them because I am a Dutchman just like the artist. I don't believe in coincidence at all and thought it was quite reassuring. Already she is no longer a 'forgotten' saint, as I am telling everyone about her!
I've attached the picture in question. The Dutch text translates as "Martyr Saint Blandina and a youth from Pontus most miserably tormented on the river Rhone about the year 172".
I hope you will add me and my patron saint to your list on your blog as Onno D. And of course you may the little story too, if you think it's significant enough to be posted.
Thanks again and if something special happens you will be the first to know!
debi wrote ...
Dear Marianne,
I just have to tell you this story. I typically do not pray to the saints. Up until 1997 when I went to Medjugorje for the first time, I prayed daily to Sts. Jude and Theresa because there was a place in the prayer to add a personal petition. My petition was to just make it through the day, literally. (I suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress for 27 years).
In 1997 I went to Medjugorje for a miracle, and a miracle happened to me.... and God changed my life. He became my center, the focus of everything I do, and I put my St. Jude and St. Theresa holy cards away.... not needing them anymore. this past summer I found myself being 'attacked' in countless ways, which overwhelmed me. Realizing I needed extra help, I decided to pray to St. Michael the Archangel, but I didn't know the words to the prayer. I 'googled' the prayer online, and printed it out and put it in my prayer book so I could say it every day. Halfway through the summer, I came upon your name and email address, so I wrote and asked for my patron saint, figuring I could use the added help. It took about 5 weeks to get your reply, which came on Saturday, august 30. I about fell off my chair when I read the last line of your letter, which said "The saint that chose you is St. Michael the Archangel, feast day on 09/29!"
I am an artist, so I am going to do an art piece in honor of St. Michael, as I am so thankful that 'he chose me'.................. isn't it 'funny' that I had started praying for his intercession in my life at the beginning of this summer, and then got your reply at the end of the summer?????????
Anyway, thanks, Marianne, for your wonderful email.
God bless,
debi
I received this in an email today ...
I hope you remember me, I'm the one that St. Agatha chose, and was called to help the young girl that was being molested. I just wanted you to know that her step father is facing criminal charges, as it's not his first offense he is looking at a decent amount of time behind bars. All the children in the home are removed and family members have gotten full custody of them, they have been able to stay together and all but the youngest are receiving counceling. I interact with them almost daily, sometimes more as I have stayed with them while their relative was in surgery overnight and a few other instances where someone was needed. There has been a lot of tears, a lot of yelling and screaming and anger especially from the little ones that don't understand. There was more abuse going on than anyone had realized, but they all are safe now and healing. Just knowing that St. Agatha was there helped soooo much. Thank you again for your service.
Rebecca wrote and said ...
Just a quick note to thank you! I have been so excited and there you were to quickly answer my request and I thought the least I could do is email you back letting you know the similarities already. My son Jackson was chosen by St. Mello... I looked it up and the first thing I saw discussed St. Mello in his fifteenth year,very specific,my son is fifteen. I then looked up mine and the feastday coincides with my stepsons' birthday and he has been heavy on my mind, his life has been very troubled of late! wow...just the start but I wanted you to know how much I appreciate your facilitation. I am looking forward to learning more about these saints and enriching my spiritual life. -Rebecca :)
Terease has been busy helping her family receive their saints and told me ...
St. Lucy is a good choice for my husband, in fact an excellent choice as he's been having itchy eyes and his mother has been ill with an ulcer on her leg. My husband comes from El Salvador and his mother was an orphan who was left in a place called St. Lucia when she was a baby so St. Lucy is very, very significant.
Nan wrote about her instant connection ...
My previous saint for the year was St. Eligius who encouraged me to go to church more frequently. This year, I received St. John Chrysostom as my patron saint. My grandfather was a Greek Catholic, whose church uses the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and I'm learning to paint icons from a woman at the Russian church that uses the same liturgy!
