Saints in my family tree

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I am pretty sure I have saints in my family tree even though they will never be canonized. What would have been my oldest sister died after birth and baptism. Theologically that’s an easy one. My grandparents on my mom’s side might be in as well because they mad a big sacrifice. After losing one child at birth they were told they could never safely have any more. Rather than risk going against Church teaching and risk either an abortion or a premature death of anyone they lived without sexual relations from that point on. Essentially as brother and sister. Then there is my dad. He didn’t have to but he converted against all his family’s wishes just to marry my mom. Even though his dad walked out on him and the rest of his siblings never stayed married he persevered. He had weaknesses like we all do but he stayed committed and devoted to his family until the end just last November.
 
Jim, it sure sounds like you do have!
May they all intercede for you and for your intentions! Trishie
 
Oh, thank you Jim… for sharing the wonderful, and encouraging stories of your family! These surely underline just “how” we, as ordinary Laity… can climb the ladder of holiness.

Maybe others wouldn’t mind sharing the ways in which their family lived as disciples of Jesus?

I would like to offer two members of my family for this purpose. My grandmother, Jessie. And my father, Russell. Neither of them were Catholic (the faith came down through my mothers side of the family)… but they were loving believers in Jesus Christ.

Jessie was a woman of extraordinary faith in God. She lost 4 of her 8 children, through tragic circumstances. Her oldest daughter died at the age of 7… after accidentally puncturing her throat with a sharp lollipop stick. The child languished in pain, for many weeks, before passing away. Another child, a boy of 2 years old… died, after being struck by lightning. His neck was broken. The other 2 children, died in infancy.

When asked in later years… how it was that she coped with the loss of so many children… she replied, simply… “Each time I lost a child, I figured God needed another angel”. (We as Catholics understand that human beings do not become angels… at death; but my grandmother was not a Catholic. She was a simple Christian woman… with great faith in Our Lord).

My dear father, who was also not a Catholic… seemed to inherit this great faith from his mother. All during his life, he had an attraction to the Catholic faith and a great devotion to Our Blessed Mother. He was never without his Immaculate Heart medal (which I still have) and he would hand carve beautiful statues of all sizes… of Our Blessed Mother (one of which, I still have and treasure, greatly). Once, during a hospitalization… I heard him express his desire to a Catholic Priest… that he wanted to become a Catholic. Sadly, this never happened. But I have always hoped that Our Lord granted him a “Baptism of Desire”.

Thanks again, for a wonderful thread! God bless.
 
We have some “instant saints” in our line as well. My uncle Anthony died at age one-half hour of age. He is patron of our family. Also, my niece Jessica died in a tragic drowning accident at age two. One of my cousins died of cancer before I was born. They’re all in heaven praying for our family now.

We’ve been blessed with an enormous family. My father was one of eleven children. Of the ten surviving children, all remain practicing Catholics to this day. My mother is one if six children and all are Catholic too. In all I have about fifty cousins, many of which practice their Catholic faith. The age range of our family is anywhere from age 78 to my niece’s third child who was just born a few days ago. We always seem to be celebrating a new birth in the family…as well as a new death into eternal life.
 
Stylteralmaldo said:
Good advice! 👍
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Agreed!

But you wonder sometimes. One of my sisters and her husband raised five of their own, whom my sister home-schooled, four to university qualifications even though she has an illness herself;
but they also adopted two handicapped children, one severely handicapped.
One of my brothers and his wife raised three of their own and adopted three handicapped children, one very severely so

I have one that’s a cert, Australia’s only beatified saint is a relative. Her I can pray to while praying for all the others!

Trishie
 
I suppose we have some, too. I have two uncles who died either hours or days after birth, and my aunt had a miscarraige at 6 months (I think - might’ve been a bit earlier) pregnant. All three are on my dad’s side of the family (and Catholic, too! :)).
 
As far as the infant goes, my dad always prayed to her and believe she got him out of many dangerous work situations in South American business trips. And for my dad, I seriously believe he is pulling some strings. Being on Social Security disability for a psychological illness, they just recalculated my monthly benefit amount going back to 2005 and I received a back payment lump sum to help pay soem bills. The timing is very mysterious.
 
I like this thread. How many of us can assuredly say / know whether or not our family members are saints?

I never knew my maternal grandmother. She was an immigrant, later widowed who raised four children alone. I’m told that even into her later years, after sending my Mom off to work, she would go to Church (Mass I think) and then pray afterwards, to my knowledge she had a rosary in every pocket or readily available. Mom used to tell me that Grandma had a trait of whispering her prayers rather loudly…I’m Grandma’s grandaughter for sure, since I do the same when I’m alone in Church !

The last day Grandma walked to Church, she stopped at a neighbor’s on her way home and had a stroke there. She lasted another 8 months or so. When Grandma died, Mom saw one white butterfly come in the window and two (a white and yellow) go out. Later, she learned that, at the neighbor’s, there had been a butterfly flying around the chair where Grandma had the stroke months earlier. The priest consoled my Mom’s fears (in Grandma’s last days) assuring her about Grandma’s holiness/ regular attendance at Church. After Grandma’s passing my Mom met a woman in that Church - who pointed out a candle burning. She said it was lit for my mother. It seems Grandma used to have one lit regularly for Mom - and she never knew this.

When I was about six years old, Mom thinks she saw Grandma - at my bedside - a beautiful likeness with sort of jagged-edged light around her…Imagination? No, I believe it. For I had just received First Holy Communion weeks earlier. Since I was the only grandchild she had never seen, I believe Grandma was given the grace to come see me at a most grace-filled time in my innocent young life. May she rest in peace - and pray for us, if she can.
 
Few unsung saints I think probably in my family tree back there. My first son, Richard Mark, lived for an hour after birth and was baptized before he died…and hence would have gone immediately to Heaven and is a therefore a saint. When I realized he was in trouble at birth, I askedfor him to be baptized, turned out there was a Catholic nurse present, who baptized him berore he died. As an interesting aside, many years later my then husband and I fostered a little boy eight years old “Marc” and he is now 44yrs old and still calls me “Mum” and so I am …and very proud of the long journey he has had to endure separated from his natural biological parents. He now cares for the elderly with great attention and love for them. These stories in this thread remind me of that wonderful prayer at Mass “whose Faith is known only to thee”…always gives me a little pause.
Blessings - Barb:)
 
Say Jim, thanks for the story.

I can’t believe how many people there are out there who believe life should be totally without pain. . . when there are plenty of people with pain in their lives of some sort or another, or even exceptional pain.

Pop culture has us thinking it’s all supposed to be Disney World for us in this life. Would that it were true!
 
I often think about that girl Lucia dos Santos talks about in her book when she asked the Virgin in Fatima if her friend was in heaven and the Virgin said she would be in purgatory until the end of the world, so when I say a prayer for that soul I find myself thinking “what’s the use? she won’t make it to heaven yet” I say to myself that anyway she may have some relief but… until the end of the world she will be suffering.
 
tessi said:
I often think about that girl Lucia dos Santos talks about in her book when she asked the Virgin in Fatima if her friend was in heaven and the Virgin said she would be in purgatory until the end of the world, so when I say a prayer for that soul I find myself thinking “what’s the use? she won’t make it to heaven yet” I say to myself that anyway she may have some relief but… until the end of the world she will be suffering.
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If I die and wake up in Purgatory I will be very happy because it means I have been saved and no matter the time spent there I would know I will be going to Heaven.
 
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