Patron Saint question.

[lareinatortura]

I feel the same way. Mary is so special.

You know, I realize that is something I’ve missed out on as a Protestant. But, having said that, I am still a little confused and in need of wisdom. I have often heard people on EWTN say that we “can have relationship with Mary.” I don’t understand that as well as I’d like to.

Can someone interpret that for me?

 

[Teneas]

You know, I realize that is something I’ve missed out on as a Protestant. But, having said that, I am still a little confused and in need of wisdom. I have often heard people on EWTN say that we “can have relationship with Mary.” I don’t understand that as well as I’d like to.

Can someone interpret that for me?

She is considered our Mother. When Christ was being crucified he looked to John and Mary and said “Mother behold your son, Son behold your mother”

Therefore, she is considered our Mother. We also believe in the Assumption of Mary, and that she was taken into Heaven and is still there of course. So, she can and does pay attention to our prayers, and watches over us.

You can talk her daily, the most powerful form of prayer that we have at our disposal is the rosary. Talk to her, plead to her as her child, and she will listen. She will talk to her son about us, and plead ever more for our souls.

Edit: Remember always that Christ did his first miracle simply because his mother asked him to, before his time had come to start doing ministry. He will listen to his mother above all others, minus God/Father of course. Christ is a good son.

 

[Student09]

You can talk her daily, the most powerful form of prayer that we have at our disposal is the rosary…

Wouldn’t the MOST powerful prayer be the Mass? But yes, I agree the rosary is very powerful.

 

[Teneas]

Wouldn’t the MOST powerful prayer be the Mass? But yes, I agree the rosary is very powerful.

Yeah, touche, I meant besides the Mass But I have heard many many priests, including Corapi say that if you pray the rosary daily, you are assured heaven. Of course, you gotta have faith in the prayer itself.

Thanks for pointing out the Mass btw. I get carried away on one thought sometimes.

 

[Student09]

Yeah, touche, I meant besides the Mass But I have heard many many priests, including Corapi say that if you pray the rosary daily, you are assured heaven. Of course, you gotta have faith in the prayer itself.

Thanks for pointing out the Mass btw. I get carried away on one thought sometimes.

The first time I heard the Mass referred to as the Church’s primary prayer (as a new churchgoer), I did a double take. I hadn’t been thinking of it as a prayer at all, up till then, I suppose because it was so central and elaborate that it seemed to be “more than prayer” or more than I what I thought prayer was. But for me, understanding the Mass as prayer has helped reinforce the centrality and supremacy of prayer and has made a difference in my prayer life and the attitude with which I go to Mass. That was the only reason why I mentioned it.

 

[lareinatortura]

Firstly,

I have to thank you guys for sharing your wisdom and also for your support. I really enjoy this particular “online community.” I think, unlike most forums and online social-type stuff, it’s really a good, and even beautiful thing. A useful thing, as well.

Secondly, I think the idea of Mary being our mother and the idea that we can have a relationship with her–the mother of our Lord and Savior–is so wonderful. Oh my gosh, it’s awesome, frankly. Mary is indeed very special. I know she shouldn’t overshadow God in our spiritual lives, but she is truly special.

I see this is something I missed out on as a Protestant.

Again, wonderful. I love it. : )

 

[Coco82]

This thread has been very helpful. Before I found this site I was looking for a patron saint and thought I had to go to the one who was associated with my particular life (vocation, circumstances, etc). I didn’t know I could have more than one or that it could one that. spoke to me. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Highwayhound]

This thread has been very helpful. Before I found this site I was looking for a patron saint and thought I had to go to the one who was associated with my particular life (vocation, circumstances, etc). I didn’t know I could have more than one or that it could one that. spoke to me. Thanks for all the help.

So which saints do you find interesting or helpful?

 

[The_Reginator]

Does anybody know of a really useful on-line guide to the various saints.
(I say on-line because my town is small and so is its library. And the bookstores are all used and hit-and-miss.)
I know precious little about any saint not in the bible. That’s my own fault as I haven’t given the task a good try as yet.

So has anyone seen a really good resource??

 

[sablouwho]

I’ve heard this before, but for some reason I have a really hard time with this idea. I have difficulty imagining that any saint would particularly care about me and want to be my patron saint. I don’t know.

Besides, how do I know which saint is “choosing” me?

Hi Student09:

I am pretty new to all of this stuff too, but I will tell you how I found my patron saint in the hopes that it might help you.

First, I asked my mentor, who is a very faithful Catholic and knows me very well. He said he didn’t know a lot about her, but nonetheless suggested Edith Stein because she was Jewish like I am. Then a few days later at Sunday mass, Edith Stein’s name was mentioned during the homily. Then a few days after that I asked “how to pick a patron saint” on a Yahoo list I’m on (the Association of Hebrew Catholics) and many of the people there ALSO suggested Edith Stein.

So…I felt, having heard her name 3 times, by 3 separate groups of people, who didn’t even know each other, within a week, that maybe this wasn’t a coincidence.

I decided to pray to St. Edith and I asked her if she wanted to be my patron saint, and that if she didn’t, it was ok, but to please let me know either way in a manner that I was sure to understand.

LATER THAT SAME DAY…I found the CA forums (I’d never visited them before) and I started reading a lot of the Ask An Apologist postings. I wound up reading a lot of answers from one particular apologist, Michelle Arnold, because I liked her answers.

Eventually, I noticed her signature line:

**“If anyone comes to me, I want to lead them to Him.” --St. Edith Stein **

I felt that this was a pretty clear answer to my prayers.

Anyway, I hope that this story helps you a little bit.

It helps for me to tell the story because it is a good reminder to me that prayers can be answered (which is something that is easy for me to forget, since I have a hard time “hearing” God.)

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Thanks for sharing that story, sablouwho. It’s a very precious account of how Edith Stein spoke to you.

Teneas:

You can talk her daily, the most powerful form of prayer that we have at our disposal is the rosary. Talk to her, plead to her as her child, and she will listen. She will talk to her son about us, and plead ever more for our souls.

In addition to this, there are sometimes back and forth communications Catholics will experience from her, in addition to answered prayers. Sometimes when praying to her they will gain a feeling of peace, joy or love, or they might feel a special direction or illumination as to what God’s will is, or some kindly word, or greater experiences such as the canonized saints had. The communication can be very back and forth. Though I know we aren’t called to seek mystical experiences but rather the Giver, our Lord Jesus Himself.

 

[Coco82]

So which saints do you find interesting or helpful?

Off the top of my head I find St. Augustine’s story inspiring. I’m still looking into some so forgive me if my answer isn’t too complete. Others that I’m interested in learning more about though are Barnabas, Peter, Paul, and Thomas Aquinas. There’s some others whose patronage pertains to my life, but others I want to learn more about because what I’ve learned initially has interested me.

 

[randybeeler]

Does anybody know of a really useful on-line guide to the various saints.
(I say on-line because my town is small and so is its library. And the bookstores are all used and hit-and-miss.)
I know precious little about any saint not in the bible. That’s my own fault as I haven’t given the task a good try as yet.

So has anyone seen a really good resource??

Yes, THE best Saints resource on-line can be found at saints.sqpn.com/

In Christ & Mary (& celebrating the Feast of Saint Angela Merici)–Randy

 

[lareinatortura]

So which saints do you find interesting or helpful?

Well, let’s see. . So far:

Mother Mary
Saint Francis de Sales
Saint Dymphna
Saint Monica
Michael the Archangel

/

 

[SugarMagnolia]

I’ve heard this before, but for some reason I have a really hard time with this idea. I have difficulty imagining that any saint would particularly care about me and want to be my patron saint. I don’t know.

Besides, how do I know which saint is “choosing” me?

Don’t “think” too much about it. Read up on some of the saints you’re interested in and look at some of the art. Then stop trying to choose. When the time comes that you need a saint’s intercession or you just need someone to talk to, then your patron saint will be there and you’ll just know it. His or her name will be in your mind without you having to think about it. Until then, talk to the saints whose stories or iconography most interest you. You can have more than one patron saint, so no need to worry about not choosing the “right” one.

Does anybody know of a really useful on-line guide to the various saints.
(I say on-line because my town is small and so is its library. And the bookstores are all used and hit-and-miss.)
I know precious little about any saint not in the bible. That’s my own fault as I haven’t given the task a good try as yet.

So has anyone seen a really good resource??

“The Golden Legend” I highly recommend it.
catholic-forum.com/saints/golden000.htm