Another "Choosing a patron saint" question

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anodos

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How much similarity should my life have with a patron saint? The people who stand out the most to me are nothing like me; they all seem to be intellectuals, with high positions in the Church or State. They all fought for orthodoxy against heresy, sometimes at the expense of their lives, and none of them are right-brained ninnies. Should I seek out a saint who is more like me? Or is it okay for a silly person to choose a smart patron saint?
 
What day and month were you born, and what do you do for a living? What are you looking for in a patron?
 
DihydrogenOxide said:
What day and month were you born, and what do you do for a living? What are you looking for in a patron?
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My birthdate patron would be St. Matthew. I work on a ranch and I also do lawn care.

I want to choose a saint’s name for my Confirmation. I want to be more like this person and also ask them for their friendship and intercession.
 
Choose someone you would like to be like. Perhaps he or she will help you grow into what you aspire to.
 
Thank you for the thoughtful list, DihydrogenOxide! I think St. Rose of Lima was the only one on it whom I had heard of before. 🙂

Is it acceptable to select a patron saint that I admire but who is not much like me? Or is it more customary to choose according to my profession or personality?
 
I actually chose my saint even though I was completely out of touch with him in many ways. I felt God wanted it. Now I realize that he was an excellent counterbalance to my sinful tendencies.

Maybe choose someone your polar opposite? Or if you have a key weakness, go according to that. Or even a key strength, although naturally I recommend the weakness.
 
anodos said:
How much similarity should my life have with a patron saint? The people who stand out the most to me are nothing like me; they all seem to be intellectuals, with high positions in the Church or State. They all fought for orthodoxy against heresy, sometimes at the expense of their lives, and none of them are right-brained ninnies. Should I seek out a saint who is more like me? Or is it okay for a silly person to choose a smart patron saint?
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I’m afraid I have chosen my several patron Saints for a varietry of reasons.
  1. I was born 4 October 1944, so obviously I have St. Francis as one of my saints. My love for animals may come from this.🙂
  2. Next, I was confirmed in the Catholic Church at St. Philomena, In Carson, California. I wear her cord, and ask for her help. Right now I am asking her to keep my Mother in her blessings and care, as my Mother has Alzheimer’s. 😦
  3. I ask the Venerable Matt Talbot to keep me sober. OK, so he is only a Venerable.🤷 But a perfect Patron for us recovered alcoholics. 😃
I have others, but these are the Big Three in my life:thumbsup:
 
One of the priests I’ve heard locally on the matter said he recommends choosing a Saint which you identify with and a Saint which you would like to aspire to in terms of life and sanctity.

That is not to say we should choose “conflicting” Saints, as some might take it, but, rather that we should choose a Patron or Patron(s) who facilitate our walk no matter which current emotion or state we find ourselves.

That said, I think it is wise to be weary of treating them like Pokemon cards lest we should “collect them all”.
 
anodos said:
How much similarity should my life have with a patron saint? ?
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there is no need to have any similarity, not even same gender, but many people are drawn to a saint who does share something in common with them, but it may be very personal and not obvious. You could look at the saints whose memorials are on your birthday, or begin with the sant for your given birth name, or look at patron saints of things meaningful in your life–location, vocation, etc. By patron saint for yourself, do you mean a saint for your (optional) confirmation name? or a patron the Church has already designated for the purpose. ie a science major might choose St. Alber the Great, patron saint of scientists.
 
anodos said:
Is it acceptable to select a patron saint that I admire but who is not much like me? Or is it more customary to choose according to my profession or personality?
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You can pick someone you admire. You don’t need to have only one patron, either. You can pick a couple or a few.

Pick someone you like. Read up and pick someone you admire, or who has had a life that was particularly meaningful to you. They don’t have to go with your profession or personality. I just did that so that maybe you could identify with them.

As for me, I picked St. Bernadette a long time ago as a child, because she was similar to me in many ways. Actually, a lot of people say I look like her or St. Therese, the Little Flower. I guess it’s the french. My confirmation name was Mary. There are two other saints that I consider patrons, since I ask them fairly regularly. One is St. Joseph, and the other St. Michael.
 
For me, my patron saint is St. Sebastian. His saint day is just a couple days before my birthday ( Jan. 23 ). While looking at his day, I read his story and connected immediately. I felt that he was loyal and honorable just like myself and that was all I needed. When I told my priest he said that St.Sebastian is huge in Italy and that I would be well received if I ever went there and let people know that! 🙂
 
I started with St. Robert Bellarmine, since we share the same first name. I guess you could start your search that way.
 
My patron is St. Joseph of Cupertino. I picked him because I like aviation and he flew. 🤷
 
Thanks, all, for the replies. 🙂

I am thinking of either Athanasius (4th cent.) or Ignatius of Antioch, the former because of his lifelong defense of the Incarnation of Christ and the mystery of redemption, the latter because of his eagerness for martyrdom but mainly because he was the first extra-biblical source that I know of for the Sunday observance (I went to an SDA church for awhile.)
 
DihydrogenOxide said:
I’ll give you a list to look through. Most of these are not so well known saints to the general public (although some are).

St. Fiacre
St. Adam of Dryburgh
St. Rose of Lima
St. Nicholas of Tolentino
St. Serenus the Gardener
St. Phocas the Gardener
St. Gerard Majella
St. Drogo
St. Murrita
St. John Macias
St. Justino Orona Madrigal
St. Atilano Cruz Alvarado

Great site for searching patron saints
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I love St. Fiacre. 😛 I almost picked him as my confirmation saint.
 
WoundedIcon said:
I actually chose my saint even though I was completely out of touch with him in many ways. I felt God wanted it. Now I realize that he was an excellent counterbalance to my sinful tendencies.

Maybe choose someone your polar opposite? Or if you have a key weakness, go according to that. Or even a key strength, although naturally I recommend the weakness.
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I chose Saint Jude, or, rather, was chosen by him because he IS synonymous with the power to bring visible and speedy help to hopeless cases.

Often a Saint fits our needs for help in life as it really IS, and not how we imagine it to be.
 
Hi,
I think that a patron saint should be the one who inspires you most, not necessarily the one you are like at the moment. The saint can then inspire us to be more like our Lord Christ. After reading as much as you can on the saints, you will find one that speaks to you. St. Therese of Lisieux inspired me, because of her emphasis on the “Little Way.” Then I read more about other saints and they too inspired me to work at strengthening my weak points! St. Elizabeth Ann Seton appeals to me as a mother and grandmother, so there are many to help us. God bless you on your journey!
 
anodos said:
How much similarity should my life have with a patron saint? The people who stand out the most to me are nothing like me; they all seem to be intellectuals, with high positions in the Church or State. They all fought for orthodoxy against heresy, sometimes at the expense of their lives, and none of them are right-brained ninnies. Should I seek out a saint who is more like me? Or is it okay for a silly person to choose a smart patron saint?
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There’s a few choices you have: You should in essence pick one that speaks to you as a role model or as a inspiration. Some pick based on date, some pick based on similarities to their life, some pick based on how the saint lived their life. Many saints are patron saints, so you could even pick a patron saint of your occupation or personal cause. But again, the thing here is that you should be looking for a role model. Like asking which president is your favorite president–why. Try to read up on them as persons and how they made a difference. What mark do you want to leave, how do you want to live, what is your cause?

Hope those questions help you.
 
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