Looking for thoughts/suggestions for a saint to study

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jreilly

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Good evening,

I have been thinking about the beginning of Lent, and about how I’d like to grow stronger in my faith. One of the things that I’d like to do is really study a few saints; maybe one per week. Wondering if anyone has some suggestions of their favorite saints? Thank you!
 
St. John of the Cross. Read everything he wrote. It think it is all on the Internet for free. Blessed John Paul II wrote a doctoral dissertation on him.
 
St. Thomas More, who had the courage to stand up for his beliefs in the face of persecution. His story is quite applicable to our times, considering the contraceptive mandate we are facing now.
 
St. Joan of Arc. Only saint I can think of to have been convicted of heresy by the Catholic Church, and burned at the stake with the Church’s permission and encouragement, and then later canonized by the Catholic Church. A case to think about.

St. Thomas Aquinas, in his last days when he had a mystical vision and then renounced all his high-IQ writings as worthless “straw.” Let this story lead you to experiencing God more in your heart and less in your head. Read about it here: thomism.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/an-interpretation-of-all-i-have-written-is-straw-compared-to-what-i-have-seen/
 
jpjd said:
St. Thomas More, who had the courage to stand up for his beliefs in the face of persecution. His story is quite applicable to our times, considering the contraceptive mandate we are facing now.
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St. Thomas More was extremely intolerant towards Protestants and other non-Catholics. He was in charge of terrible persecutions of them for a time. Later, the king turned on St. Thomas More. Today the Church’s teaching on Religious Liberty does not approve of the persecution of non-Catholics. In the view of many, this makes some of the deeds of St. Thomas More somewhat problematic, even though he was only acting in accordance with Church teachings in his day and age.
 
Leegal said:
St. Maria Goretti.
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Excellent suggestion, her model of chastity and forgiveness is truly inspiring.

Also in a similar vein to St Maria Goretti is Saint Agnes, another great virgin-martyr. Perhaps they would be good to study together, maybe also with Blessed Albertina Berkenbrock (also a virgin-martyr).

St Moses the Black is very inspiring, particularly for converts and as an example of humility and non-violence.
 
St. Padre Pio - he was an amazing man who was a 5-wound stigmatist and lived within a generation ago (he passed away in 1968). He was filled with mystical abilities, such as reading consciences, bi-location, fragrant aroma, and maybe more I can’t recall. His spiritual letters to his confessor (Secrets of a Soul) got me through a 2+ month period in my life a few years ago when I could not walk very well because of an operation. There are many other biographies you can find with stories from people still living that knew him that attest to his miracles and spiritual gifts.
:o
 
look through the saints here - store.saintbenedict.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=12&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1

those are very good and decently priced catholic magazines with a very well written story of a saint in each issue, and lots of other nice articles you will find helpful during lent also.
as for which ones i’d recommend for lent - Saint Germaine, Saint John Marie Vianney, Saint Vincent Ferrer, Saint Lydwine of Schiedam, Saint Therese of Lisieux, Saint Martin De Porres…you can check out each one of them on either that site i already listed, or www.tanbooks.com which has a really nice selection of saint stories too.
 
I have not heard that about St. Thomas More, but even so, if you only study saints with a sinless past, you won’t be studying any saints at all. There is much about St. Thomas’ life that is interesting and exemplary. I stand by my recommendation.
 
St. Francis of Assisi. The Franciscan movement he started literally changed the history of the whole Catholic Church. The manger scenes that are constructed in Catholic churches each Christmas is just a tip of the iceberg. He called for the Church to return to the love, gentleness, humility, patience, and simplicity lived out by the early apostles and disciples. He was disturbed by the emphasis on material things and worldly status and power found in many people in secular society in general and even in many priests and bishops. Much like St. Joan of Arc, St. Francis was terribly persecuted by many leaders within the Catholic Church. But in the end he, not they, triumphed. Or, we could say, God triumphed.
 
Pope Saint Pius X, who fought modernism and whose legacy is too often overshadowed by the thing he was trying to fight. And the Venerable Bede. The Ecclesiastical History of the English People is a great help for those fascinated by their English/Irish ancestry, provided they grow from that family tree. I’ve also been fascinated by Saint Brigid, but her legacy can sometimes be fairly controversial. Also, Saint Boniface has a neat story.

Pax,
 
jpjd said:
I have not heard that about St. Thomas More, but even so, if you only study saints with a sinless past, you won’t be studying any saints at all. There is much about St. Thomas’ life that is interesting and exemplary. I stand by my recommendation.
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I agree on St. Thomas More because his maryrdom occurs in the context of the reformation.

I would also recommend St. Thomas Becket who also wound up defying another King Henry as well. He lived as the King’s friend and then Chancellor until the King came up with the idea of making him Archbishop, not realizing that Thomas would take his position seriously and not put the King first any longer – and he wasn’t even a priest – yet. Priest one day – Archbishop the next.
 
Leegal said:
I agree on St. Thomas More because his maryrdom occurs in the context of the reformation.

I would also recommend St. Thomas Becket who also wound up defying another King Henry as well. He lived as the King’s friend and then Chancellor until the King came up with the idea of making him Archbishop, not realizing that Thomas would take his position seriously and not put the King first any longer – and he wasn’t even a priest – yet. Priest one day – Archbishop the next.
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Try St. Thomas More. Very timely, considering the troubles we’re having right now with the HHS mandate.
 
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