Prayers to patron saints of martyrs to help us overcome needless fears of martyrdom

[joshrp]

Hi,

I wanted to ask for prayers to the patron saints of martyrs, to help us gain the courage, fortitude, other virtues, and faith, hope, and love to overcome and pernicious and paralyzing fears of martyrdom that are not in line with God’s will because they scare us from standing up for our faith when it is under attack.

Here are the patrons of martyrs:
The patron saints of martyrs are:
•Afra , pray for us
•Agatha ,pray for us
•Agostina Pietrantoni , pray for us
•Alodia , pray for us.
•Anastasia , pray for us.
•Antonia Messina , pray for us.
•Barbara , pray for us.
•Britta , pray for us
•Cecilia , pray for us.
•Dymphna , pray for us.
•Felicity , pray for us.
•Flora of Cordoba , pray for us.
•Helen of Skofde , pray for us.
•Joan of Arc , pray for us.
•Laura Vicuna , pray for us.
•Lucy of Syracuse , pray for us.
•Lucy de Freitas , pray for us.
•Margaret Clitherow , pray for us.
•Margaret of Antioch , pray for us.
•Margaret of Louvain , pray for us.
•Margaret Ward , pray for us.
•Maria Goretti , pray for us.
•Mary Hermina Grivot , pray for us.
•Mary of Cordoba , pray for us.
•Maura , pray for us.
•Natalia , pray for us.
•Nunilo , pray for us.
•Perpetua , pray for us.
•Susanna and Companions , pray for us.
•Teresa Benedicta , pray for us.
•Theodota , pray for us.
•Winifred of Wales, pray for us.

All the saints and angels, pray for us.

wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_is_the_patron_saint_of_martyrs

God be with you and strengthen you always.
Joshua

 

[NeedsMercy]

Joshrp, I’m not exactly sure what you’re saying. Do you, yourself, have fears that, when confronted with a situation wherein your faith is called into question, you will fold? Or are you saying that you have an unreasonable fear of martyrdom (with or without other fears)? And what is not in accordance with God’s Holy Will? I really don’t think that being afraid of confrontation or of “martyrdom” is counter to His Will. Who wouldn’t be scared if they were plopped down in the middle of the Coliseum and forced to face the big cats? OK, so that’s an exaggeration, but you get the point. Surely, your fears wouldn’t be irrational in a similar situation, wouldn’t they? I will pray that you receive strength from the Holy Spirit.

Prayer for the Help of the Holy Spirit
O God, send forth Your Holy Spirit into Joshrp’s heart that s/he may perceive, into Joshrp’s mind that s/he may remember, and into Joshrp’s soul that s/he may meditate. Inspire Joshrp to speak with piety, holiness, tenderness and mercy. Teach, guide and direct his/her thoughts and senses from beginning to end. May Your grace ever help and correct him/her, and may s/he be strengthened now with wisdom from on high, for the sake of Your infinite mercy. Amen.

(Saint Anthony of Padua)

Afra, pray for us.
Agatha, pray for us.
Agostina Pietrantoni, pray for us.
Alodia, pray for us.
Anastasia, pray for us.
Antonia Messina, pray for us.
Barbara, pray for us.
Britta, pray for us.
Cecilia, pray for us.
Dymphna, pray for us
Felicity, pray for us.
Flora of Cordoba, pray for us.
Helen of Skofde, pray for us.
Joan of Arc, pray for us.
Laura Vicuna, pray for us.
Lucy of Syracuse, pray for us.
Lucy de Freitas, pray for us.
Margaret Clitherow, pray for us.
Margaret of Antioch, pray for us.
Margaret of Louvain, pray for us.
Margaret Ward, pray for us.
Maria Goretti, pray for us.
Mary Hermina Grivot, pray for us.
Mary of Cordoba, pray for us.
Maura, pray for us.
Natalia, pray for us.
Nunilo, pray for us.
Perpetua, pray for us.
Susanna and Companions, pray for us.
Teresa Benedicta, pray for us.
Theodota, pray for us.
Winifred of Wales, pray for us.
All you saints and angels, pray for us.

 

[Jaypeeto4]

I don’t know what Josh is personally experiencing,
but I’ll tell you,
I have more than my own fair share of real cowardice.

I do not witness publicly to sexual sinners, for example,
because until recent years, I was a big sinner in this area myself,
and those who are unrepentant and proud of their sins can
point to me, if I did publicly take a stand, as an example of a
self-loathing hypocrite and use me to denigrate the church and the truth.
They do that all the time.

As for martyrdom, I confess that I am terrifed of that prospect.
Why? Have you ever read the details of how some of these wonderful
people died? In some cases, their skin was peeled off of their bones
while they were alive and conscious. I could NEVER endure that.
In other cases, while alive and conscious,
they were covered with pitch and sat on fire, burning alive as human torches
for HOURS. I honestly do not believe I could do that, either.
I pray for the grace of courage, but I am NOT a courageous person.

I guess the only way to conquer our fears is to confront them head on.
If I am, for example, afraid of being ridiculed for being a Catholic,
I need to publicly say, in the presence of those who hate Catholics the most,
“I am a Catholic and very proud of it.”

But after experiencing the hell of unemployment and the despair that went with it,
I am terrified of losing my job and going through that hell again. I nearly went insane
before finding a new job, and losing the new job WOULD send me over
the edge this time, because what little strength I had before is now absolutely gone.

So yes, holy Saints and Martyrs, please pray for me !!!

 

[hopeful01]

Father, please grant all of us the courage to defend our faith and not to be afraid to stand up for You. Amen.