Readings and Lives of Saints that Have Spoken to You

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Marie16

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Is there a particular saint you’ve instantly felt connected to?

I very much enjoy learning about the saints. After a somewhat difficult weekend I picked up Saint Faustina’s Diary to read before work this morning and it brought me much unexpected joy. I first read it the beginning of last year during a period I was inactive in the Church and immediately I felt more understood and drawn to learn more about her and almost become friends with her in a sense.

I would love to hear more about saints currently inspiring you!
 
I feel connected in some way to a huge number of saints, which is good because I’m relatively isolated on earth right now so it’s nice having a big spiritual family who are always around. Some of them are connected because my parents had a devotion to them, some of them are saints I chose myself as my confirmation saint or because their lives intrigued me in some way.

The saint I can probably relate to the most, life-wise and personality-wise, is St. Teresa of Avila. I didn’t “discover” her until a pilgrimage to Spain a couple years back so I’m just getting to know her.

A lot of the saints I like the most are people “on the path” to sainthood who aren’t fully canonized yet. Servant of God Rhoda Wise looks almost exactly like my ex-boyfriend’s mother, to the point where I tried to see on Ancestry if they were relations because they were from the same geographical area, but I hit a dead end. I think of Mother Angelica as being my friend. Blessed Jerzy Popieluszcko was a favorite of my father when both of them were alive; Dad would watch the reports about Poland on the news and talk about Jerzy at dinner, and Blessed Jerzy ended up being martyred on my 21st birthday. I discovered Blessed Miguel Pro many decades ago when someone left a children’s book about him in the adoration chapel my mother made me go to with her. I had never heard of the Cristero War before that.

I found several saints or “people on the path” to be pretty annoying when I first read their writings. St. Therese of Lisieux especially. I have come to understand that the edition of her autobiography I read that was published back in the 30s or something was likely not a true picture of her personality due to editing/ rewriting by her family after her death.
 
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Along with Tis_Bear, I really enjoy St. Teresa of Avila.
Also, as with the OP, I have several paragraphs from St. Faustina’s Diary itemized on the blank pages in back of the book so I can quickly refer to the ones that were especially good for my soul.
Another favorite is St. Francis de Sales who was probably the first one I was drawn to in my earlier spiritual journey.

He’s not a saint, but his book My Other Self by Clarence Enzler has been a wonderful blessing to read - without a doubt! I need to add that out of 74 total ratings on his book at Amazon, 73 were 5-stars, and one was a 4-star.
 
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I am another one for Teresa of Jesus (Avila).
More contemporary, St PopeJPII, and even though he is still alive, Benedict XVI

A special devotion to St Augustine, and his mother, as they are patron saints going back to my birth.

Although not saints in the way you are asking, Michael and the rest of the choirs of angels are also those I look to for strength and protection.
 
St. Patrick.

St. Maximilian Kolbe.

St. Pio.

St. John Paul the great.

And I think that Mother Angelica will one day be a canonized saint, as well as Fr. Vincent Cappodano.
 
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St Joseph.
St Anthony of the Desert.
St John of the Cross.
St Bernard of Clairvaux.
 
St. Martin de Porres for a billion reasons but just one is he’s my confirmstion saint and his feast day is my birthday. Amazing saint with gifts of bilocation, levitation, healing, and speaking with animals.

Other saints I call upon every day who I feel close to:
  • Pope St. John Paul II
  • Pope St. Paul VI
  • Pope St. John XXIII
  • Pope St. Pius X
  • Pope St. Gregory the Great
  • Pope St. Leo the Great
  • Venerable Pope John I
  • Venerable Pope Pius XII
  • Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
  • St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, St. John
  • St. Peter
  • St. Paul
  • St. James
  • St. Lawrence
  • St. Stephen
  • St. Ann
  • St. Valentine
  • St. Michael, St. Raphael, St. Gabriel
  • St. Dominick
  • St. Francis
  • St. Thomas Aquinas
Every mass when the priest calls upon Mary, St. Joseph, “and all the saints” I name each of these in a row in my head and when I finish praying a rosary or whatever I call upon each of these in a row.

I bolded my favorite saints of this list of favorites lol. I also like many others like the Teresa of Avila, Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. Benedict but I don’t always remember them each mass like I do the rest of this list. I love Popes 😛. When Pope Benedict XVI dies, he will be on my list! I’m also pretty sure I forgot a few saints, Padre Pio, Kolbe…the list is long haha
 
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I love that you describe them as a spiritual family. I feel much the same way right now. I haven’t heard of several of the saints you mention awaiting canonization so I will have to learn more about them! Thank you! Interesting you mention Mother Angelica. I’ve been meaning to visit the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament for about a year now and somehow never make it when planned. I also was not a fan of St. Therese of Lisieux when I tried reading her autobiography. I didn’t make it far at all. I hope to try again one day.
 
I’m very interested in the book you mention! On Amazon the description compares it to a modern day Imitation of Christ. I was gifted Imitation of Christ when I joined the church and loved the format but found the text to be almost saddening and not very hopeful. Nearly everyone I know loves it… so maybe that was just a flaw on my part. I have looked for something similar since and haven’t found anything I’m too fond of. I may have to try this! Thanks for the suggestion!
 
Yes, St. Padre Pio. Any doubt the Jesus was not crucified is instantly corrected by his stigmata.
 
St anthony of egypt
St macarius of egypt
St benedict

These folks really lived out the bible.
 
St. Thérèse of Lisieux inspires me. In her autobiography, “Story of a Soul,” St. Thérèse shares humor, sadness, joy, and most of all the Little Way, a simple approach to living the Gospel. I love her as a close friend. Every Catholic should read “Story of a Soul.”
 
St Clare of Assisi - I’ve been lucky enough to go to Assisi as well and it brought me even closer to her.

I read Story of a Soul a few years ago and would really like to read that one again soon.
 
I understand your misgivings with the Imitation of Christ. This is completely different. The chapters on growing in virtues of patience, humility and detachment really helped me. You may also enjoy the chapters on prayer - beginning, meditative, and advanced. The author describes these growths in prayer with helps that are (in my opinion) more understandable than reading St. Teresa’s works.
There is another section on the Mass and the passion of Christ which will give you cause to appreciate Jesus’ sufferings in a poignant way.
The book is not a composite of short reflections, like the Imitation, but a conversation of Jesus with the soul.
 
. . . of the Sorrowful Mother? Yes, this is a good biography! I often reflected on his “Resolutions” which on the surface looked very simply. Just try living them, though! Not so simple!
 
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