Who is your favorite saint and why?

[yellowbicycle]

I’m a BIG fan of the Blessed Virgin. I have a pocket shrine to her made out of glitter and an Altoid tin.
You think I’m kidding?
Some people don’t think she’s important.
I disagree. When those guys win the Superbowl, who do they thank? Not their coach, not their agent, not even their dad. Their mamma. That’s who.
And when people win the lottery, what do they say they’re going to do with it? Buy their mom a house. Their mom. They end up blowing it all on cocaine and hookers instead, but that’s not my point here.
My point is that if football players and lottery winners bestow gifts and graces upon their mammas, what would Jesus HIMSELF do for his? My guess is she got more than a macaroni necklace.
Besides, she asked Jesus to turn water into wine. She’s my kinda gal.

I’m also a fan of St. Francis of Assisi. Mr. Crazypants, himself. Except he didn’t wear pants. I’m not a fan of pants either, so I figure we have that in common.
As a matter of fact, I can think of THREE separate occasions in which he stripped himself naked. My guess is he wasn’t shy.
I don’t know if there was such a thing as flipping someone the bird in the 12th century. I don’t think there was. But when his father demanded back his inheritance from Francis in front of the city consul, Francis declared that because he was in the service of God, he wasn’t under civil jurisdiction. He stripped himself right there, and gave the very clothes off his back to his father. I think that’s about as close as you could get to flipping someone the bird in the 12th century.
Oh and he had stigmata.
And you thought back surgery hurt. Sheesh. Amateurs.

Okay, your turn. Who’s your favorite and why?

 

[puzzleannie]

St Joan of Arc, my Confirmation saint, because I was taught, and taught my daughters, to ignore anyone who says “but girls can’t to that”–play little league, excel in math, run a company, be a doctor etc.

 

[Nickkname]

Our Lady of Fatima and Saint Stephan. Our Lady because the message God gave through her is very beautiful and so true. Saint Stephan because he was the first Christian martyr. And they have both been very helpful in my life with their powerful prayers.

 

[tobinatorstark]

St. Jerome. He was willing to do God’s work and provide the word of God to us in at the time the venacular language of the people

 

[Will_B]

St. Patrick

First, I’m 25% Irish.

But most important… He was able to convert an entire nation to Christianity in 40 years… One of the greatest evangelist in history.

Also, He was a working Bishop… He got his hands dirty helping the natives of Ireland… What bishop in Patrick’s day would milk a cow, feed the pigs, shear the sheep… No wonder he was loved by the Irish. >> And while he as getting his hands dirty, he was preaching the Word of God. Talk about multi-tasking…

 

[Biblioassistant]

St. Thomas More. He was married - twice - and he loved and was devoted to his family. He gave his daughters a classical education at a time when most people thought it unnessary to educate women. He valued friendship and lived in the world as a successful man, yet at the same time, he lived a life of prayer and acetism. His daughter Margaret used to secretly wash his hairshirt. More loved to laugh and his sense of humor comes through even now.

More was a devoted servant of the Crown, but when push came to shove, he cast his lot with the Church and it cost him his life. I love him dearly and have recommended the current Senate and House to his prayers.

 

[GemmaRose]

My all-time #1 absolute favorite saint (after the Blessed Mother, of course) is St. Gemma.

Mostly, I love her because of how much she loved Jesus. I love her also because she never did anything the world would consider to be “great.” She was plagued by illness and died so young. She lived a very ordinary, but extraordinarily holy life. She had such great aspirations, yet so many of her dreams were crushed. She is a wonderful example of how an ordinary, everyday life can be deemed extraordinary in the eyes of God.

St. Gemma is considered to be a Passionist saint, which is also meaningful to me as I am a member of the Passionist secular institute, the Lay Missionaries of the Passion.

I think the following is one of the most beautiful of her writings, and is my personal favorite:

“I wish that my heart could beat, that I could live and breathe only for Jesus, I wish that my tongue could utter no other name than that of Jesus; that my eye could see only Jesus; that my pen could write only about Jesus, and that my thoughts could soar to nothing but Jesus,. I have often wondered where on earth there might be something on which I could center my love. But neither on earth nor in heaven do I find any such thing but only my beloved Jesus… I am the fruit of your passion, Jesus, born of your wounds. O Jesus, seek me in love; I no longer possess anything; you have stolen my heart…”

-- St. Gemma Galgani​

St. Gemma also composed the following prayers:

PRAYER FOR OBTAINING GRACES

Behold me at Thy Sacred Feet, dear Jesus,
to acknowledge my gratitude for the many favors shown me.
As often as I have invoked Thee, Thou hast always granted my prayer:
As often as I have had recourse to Thee, Thou hast consoled me.
How can I express my gratitude, dear Jesus? I thank Thee.

But I wish another grace: O my God, if it please Thee, grant me . . .
If Thou were not Omnipotent I would not make this request.
O Jesus, have mercy on me. May Thy holy will be done in all things.

-- St. Gemma Galgani​

PRAYER OF SAINT GEMMA GALGANI

O my crucified God, behold me at Thy feet; deign to cast me not out, now that I appear before Thee as a sinner. I have offended Thee exceedingly in the past, my Jesus, but it shall be so no longer. Before Thee, my God, I put all my sins. I have now considered them and behold, they do not deserve Thy pardon; but do Thou cast one glance upon Thy sufferings and see how great is the worth of that Precious Blood that flows from Thy veins. O my God, at this hour close Thine eyes to my want of merit and open them to Thine infinite merit, and since Thou hast been pleased to die for my sins, grant me forgiveness for them all, that I may no longer feel the burden of my sins, for this burden, dear Jesus, oppresses me beyond measure. Assist me, my Jesus, for I desire to become good whatsoever it may cost; take away, destroy, utterly root out all that Thou findest in me contrary to Thy holy will. At the same time I pray Thee, O Jesus, to enlighten me, that I may be able to walk in Thy holy light.

-- St. Gemma Galgani​

I also have a “Triduum in honor of St. Gemma to obtain a special favor” and a “Triduum in honor of St. Gemma: For the sick and the infirm” but I think they’re too long to copy here. If anyone wants either, PM me.

 

[deaconswife]

I love St. Raphael the Archangel. I recommend his chaplet to anyone who has new drivers in the family. He got me through those early years when I had 2 new drivers in the family (one of which had several accidents). I credit him with finding a good husband for my daughter.

 

[maria_rose]

Our Blessed Lady of course , especially because I was born on the feast day of her birth and I carry her name.
I also pray to St. Michael the Archangel, who defends us always.
I wish I had his courage and conviction.
And of course St. Anthony of Padua ,the miracle saint. How many times have I sought out his help when I lost something or was in need. He never lets you down.
God love you!

 

[richard377]

St. Thomas Aquinas.

 

[JuanCarlos]

St. John the Apostle. He was the only disciple who followed Christ to the Cross. One could say at one point in history he was 1/4 of the whole Church- at the Cross there was only the three Mary’s and John. It’s no wonder he was the “Beloved” disciple!

 

[Andruschak]

Got quite a few, but I would like to mention The Venerable Matt Talbot. An inspiration for us recovered alcoholics:thumbsup:

 

[dove51]

Do you read Sr. Mary Martha’s blog by chance?

I’m a fan of Thérèse, Gemma Galgani, Catherine of Siena, and of course, the Mama herself.

 

[Dark_Warrior]

St. Francis of Assisi. Because of his great humility and joyfullness of adoring God, and his exciting sounding journeys, and friendship with St. Clare, and his love for animals, and thankfulness for the littlest things.

The Virgin Mary. Well, frankly because she is my mother, she is Christ’s mother, what she must have gone through, and I just feel very close to communicationg more so with females rather than males (except my Lord Jesus of course).

I offend wish she would appear to me because I want to ask more than a few things. But I know that won’t happen.

 

[una_ecclesia]

St. Catherine of Alexandria: she actually debated with pagans and convinced them to convert to Christianity before finally dying for her faith

St. Martin de Porres: I admire his humility and desire to serve
God no matter what his status in society was. And he is also the patron saint of the Americas

St. John Bosco: both of my parents went to salesian schools, so I was raised learning about him and all his stories about his love for Christ and the Blessed virgin, as well as all he did with the children in the streets, and I actually experienced firsthand the work that salesians do on a mission trip.

St. Gianna Berretta Molla: Don’t get me wrong; I admire all the saints who dedicated their lives through the priesthood or religious life, but most of us do not have that vocation. One main reason I love this saint so much is because she incoorperated holiness into her job as physician and with her husband and four kids.

 

[sea_star]

St Jude because he introduced me to the Holy Spirit when I was 15 yrs old in an awesome, breathtaking way.

 

[Jennifer_G]

A tie between St. Francis (love of animals, simplicity of life, etc.) and St. Faustina (because of Devine Mercy, and the fact that I’m 50% Polish.).

Others include:

Blessed Virgin Mary

St. Joan of Arc (commanded an army under the direction of the Archangel St. Michael!)

St. Therese of Liseux

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Margeret of Cortona (devotion to praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory)

 

[FickleFreckled]

Today’s saint, St. Francis. Because he never did anything by halves and never looked back. He loved Jesus to distraction, saw the Creator blazing in His creation, was completely filled with the Holy Spirit and never counted the cost or bothered to consider implications. To a ‘head person’, St. Francis is an astonishment and a constant inspiration.

St. Mary Magdalene and St. Raphael, for personal reasons.

St. Therese, who in her own way was much like St. Francis.

You didn’t say “canonized”, so I’m going to add a dear friend who was the holiest person I’ve ever met, suffered willingly and died as close to Jesus as I can imagine in my little pea brain. Her name was Kim and I have no doubt she is a saint in heaven, praising God and interceding.

 

[Joysong]

St. Francis de Sales is high on my list of favorite saints. As we read the encyclical from Pope Pius XI lauding his sanctity and accomplishments, I think these sentiments stand out for me:

1. he struggled to become meek and overcome his temper, and he achieved this virtue to a high degree, as the startling testimony was discovered with regard to his gall bladder after his death.

This fact is proven amply by the testimony of the physicians who prepared his body for burial for when, as we read, they embalmed the body, they found his bile turned into stone which had been broken up into the smallest imaginable particles. They knew from this strange occurrence what terrible efforts it must have cost our Saint, over a period of fifty years, to conquer his naturally irritable temper.

1. he nevertheless exercised firmness when it was necessary to rebuke evil.
2. he inspires the common lay person to become a saint.

1. On the other hand, the great strength of will of this model of meekness manifested itself whenever he was compelled to stand in opposition to the powerful in order to protect the interests of God, the dignity of the Church, or the salvation of souls. Thus, on one occasion when he had received a letter in which he was threatened by the Senate of Chambery with the loss of part of his income, he lost no time in defending the immunity of the Church’s rights from this act of civil interference. He not only replied to the envoy sent him in a manner befitting his own high rank, but did not cease demanding reparation for the injury done until after he had received full satisfaction from the Senate. Equally firm was he when he dared face the anger of the Prince, before whom both he and his brethren had been falsely accused. Nor was he less vigorous in resisting the interference of statesmen in the bestowing of ecclesiastical benefices. Finally, when every other method had failed, he excommunicated those who persistently refused to pay their tithes to the Chapter of Geneva.

He was in the habit, too, of reproaching with evangelical frankness the vices of the people and of unmasking the hypocrisy which tried to simulate virtue and piety. Although he was more respectful than possibly anyone else toward his sovereigns, he never for an instant stooped to flatter their passions or to bow down before their haughty pretensions.

His task was to give the lie to a prejudice which in his lifetime was deeply rooted and has not been destroyed even today, that the ideal of genuine sanctity held up for our imitation by the Church is impossible of attainment or, at best, is so difficult that it surpasses the capabilities of the great majority of the faithful and is, therefore, to be thought of as the exclusive possession of a few great souls. St. Francis likewise disproved the false idea that holiness was so hedged around by annoyances and hardships that it is inadaptable to a life lived outside cloister walls.

 

[CatholicCajun]

I have a few favorites, St. Pio, St. Francis, St. Philomena, but I have read about and fallen in love with Our Lady under the title of Our Lady of Good Success, and I love Mother Marianna, although she has not yet been declared a saint. I also love St. Faustina.