Your special relationship with the Saints?

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Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI devoted a general audience address to her life in 2011, here are some highlights from that:

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20110112_en.html
Catherine was born in Genoa in 1447. She was the youngest of five. Her father, Giacomo Fieschi, died when she was very young. Her mother, Francesca di Negro provided such an effective Christian education that the elder of her two daughters became a religious.
When Catherine was 16, she was given in marriage to Giuliano Adorno, a man who after various trading and military experiences in the Middle East had returned to Genoa in order to marry.
Married life was far from easy for Catherine, partly because of the character of her husband who was given to gambling. Catherine herself was at first induced to lead a worldly sort of life in which, however, she failed to find serenity. After 10 years, her heart was heavy with a deep sense of emptiness and bitterness.
A unique experience on 20 March 1473 sparked her conversion. She had gone to the Church of San Benedetto in the monastery of Nostra Signora delle Grazie [Our Lady of Grace], to make her confession and, kneeling before the priest, “received”, as she herself wrote, “a wound in my heart from God’s immense love”. It came with such a clear vision of her own wretchedness and shortcomings and at the same time of God’s goodness, that she almost fainted.
Her heart was moved by this knowledge of herself — knowledge of the empty life she was leading and of the goodness of God. This experience prompted the decision that gave direction to her whole life. She expressed it in the words: “no longer the world, no longer sin” (cf. Vita Mirabile, 3rv). Catherine did not stay to make her Confession.
On arriving home she entered the remotest room and spent a long time weeping. At that moment she received an inner instruction on prayer and became aware of God’s immense love for her, a sinner. It was a spiritual experience she had no words to describe ( cf. Vita Mirabile, 4r)…
On this journey Catherine became ever closer to the Lord until she attained what is called “unitive life”, namely, a relationship of profound union with God.
In her Vita it is written that her soul was guided and instructed from within solely by the sweet love of God which gave her all she needed. Catherine surrendered herself so totally into the hands of the Lord that she lived, for about 25 years, as she wrote, “without the assistance of any creature, taught and governed by God alone” (Vita, 117r-118r), nourished above all by constant prayer and by Holy Communion which she received every day, an unusual practice in her time. Only many years later did the Lord give her a priest who cared for her soul.
Catherine was always reluctant to confide and reveal her experience of mystical communion with God, especially because of the deep humility she felt before the Lord’s graces. The prospect of glorifying him and of being able to contribute to the spiritual journey of others alone spurred her to recount what had taken place within her, from the moment of her conversion, which is her original and fundamental experience.
The place of her ascent to mystical peaks was Pammatone Hospital, the largest hospital complex in Genoa, of which she was director and animator. Hence Catherine lived a totally active existence despite the depth of her inner life. In Pammatone a group of followers, disciples and collaborators formed around her, fascinated by her life of faith and her charity.
Indeed her husband, Giuliano Adorno, was so so won over that he gave up his dissipated life, became a Third Order Franciscan and moved into the hospital to help his wife.
Catherine’s dedication to caring for the sick continued until the end of her earthly life on 15 September 1510. From her conversion until her death there were no extraordinary events but two elements characterize her entire life: on the one hand her mystical experience, that is, the profound union with God, which she felt as spousal union, and on the other, assistance to the sick, the organization of the hospital and service to her neighbour, especially the neediest and the most forsaken. These two poles, God and neighbour, totally filled her life, virtually all of which she spent within the hospital walls…
Catherine’s thought on purgatory, for which she is particularly well known, is summed up in the last two parts of the book mentioned above…
Catherine, however, did not see purgatory as a scene in the bowels of the earth: for her it is not an exterior but rather an interior fire. This is purgatory: an inner fire…
We heard of the moment of conversion when Catherine suddenly became aware of God’s goodness, of the infinite distance of her own life from this goodness and of a burning fire within her. And this is the fire that purifies, the interior fire of purgatory. Here too is an original feature in comparison with the thought of her time.
In fact, she does not start with the afterlife in order to recount the torments of purgatory — as was the custom in her time and perhaps still is today — and then to point out the way to purification or conversion. Rather our Saint begins with the inner experience of her own life on the way to Eternity.
“The soul”, Catherine says, “presents itself to God still bound to the desires and suffering that derive from sin and this makes it impossible for it to enjoy the beatific vision of God”. Catherine asserts that God is so pure and holy that a soul stained by sin cannot be in the presence of the divine majesty (cf. Vita Mirabile, 177r)…
Thus man’s heart is pervaded by God’s love that becomes the one guide, the one driving force of his life (cf. Vita Mirabile, 246rv)
 
The Catholic scholar Baron Von Hugel said of her:
"…Catherine’s states of absorption in prayer, such as we find ever since her conversion, were transparently real and sincere, and were so swift and spontaneous as to appear quasi involuntary. They were evidently, together with, and largely on occasion of, her reception of the Holy Eucharist, the chief means and the ordinary form of the accessions of strength and growth to her spiritual life…
The one true divine root-centre of her individual soul is ever, at the same time, experienced and conceived as present, in various degrees and ways, simply everywhere, and in everything. All the world of spirits is thus linked together ; and a certain slightest remnant of a union exists even between Heaven and Hell, between the lost and the saved. For there is no absolute or really infinite Evil existent anywhere; whilst everywhere there are some traces of and communications from the Absolute Good, the Source and Creator of the substantial being of all things that are. And to possess even God, and all of God, herself alone exclusively, would have been to her, we can say it boldly, a truly intolerable state, if this state were conceived as accompanied by any consciousness of the existence of other rational creatures entirely excluded from any and every degree or kind of such possession. It is, on the contrary, the apprehension of how she, as but one of the countless creatures of God, is allowed to share in the effluence of the one Light and Life and Love, an effluence which, identical in essential character everywhere, is not entirely absent anywhere : it is the abounding consciousness of this universal bond and brotherhood, this complete freedom from all sectarian exclusiveness and from all exhaustive appropriation of God, the Sun of the Universe, by any or all of the just or unjust, upon all of whom He shines: it is all this that constitutes her element of unity, saneness, and breadth, the one half of her faith, and the greater part of her spiritual joy…"
- Baron Von Hugel, The Mystical Element of Religion (1923), p. 231
 
St Clare of Assisi is my patron, and I also like St Elizabeth of Hungary, St Elizabeth of Portugal, and St Teresa of Avila. I like how they just kind of got stuff done that needed doing.
 
I admire saints such as Francis of Assisi and the holy Apostles and highly revere the blessed Virgin, Mother of God. My “special relationship” is Christ.

Pope Francis has many special relationships with the world, a saint in our midst.
 
I forgot about St. Denis…this prayer is breathtakingly beautiful…

Saint Denis’s Prayer

You are wisdom, uncreated and eternal,
the supreme first cause, above all being,
sovereign Godhead, sovereign goodness,
watching unseen the God-inspired wisdom of Christian people.
Raise us, we pray, that we may totally respond
to the supreme, unknown, ultimate, and splendid height
of your words, mysterious and inspired.
There all God’s secret matters lie covered and hidden
under darkness both profound and brilliant, silent and wise.
You make what is ultimate and beyond brightness
secretly to shine in all that is most dark.
In your way, ever unseen and intangible,
you fill to the full with most beautiful splendor
those souls who close their eyes that they may see.
And I, please, with love that goes on beyond mind
to all that is beyond mind,
seek to gain such for myself through this prayer.

St. Denis, From The Cloud of Unknowing, 14th century
 
While all the Saints obviously have their merit, for me there is one standout (aside from the first disciple Mary, Mother of God), and that would be Saint Faustina. As Jesus’ secretary of Divine Mercy, I’m not sure there is a more important message that can be relayed. And she did it with tremendous humility, simplicity, and candor.

I would highly recommend her diary - Divine Mercy in My Soul. I’m not sure there is a better portrayal of Christ’s mercy than her diary.

Not to put anyone else down, like I said, they are all meritorious. Just my 2 cents.
 
Thanks everyone.

I’ve been reading about the saints you recommended.

Not done yet! But I’ve been deeply touched so far.
 
I forgot about St. Denis…this prayer is breathtakingly beautiful…

Saint Denis’s Prayer

You are wisdom, uncreated and eternal,
the supreme first cause, above all being,
sovereign Godhead, sovereign goodness,
watching unseen the God-inspired wisdom of Christian people.
Raise us, we pray, that we may totally respond
to the supreme, unknown, ultimate, and splendid height
of your words, mysterious and inspired.
There all God’s secret matters lie covered and hidden
under darkness both profound and brilliant, silent and wise.
You make what is ultimate and beyond brightness
secretly to shine in all that is most dark.
In your way, ever unseen and intangible,
you fill to the full with most beautiful splendor
those souls who close their eyes that they may see.
And I, please, with love that goes on beyond mind
to all that is beyond mind,
seek to gain such for myself through this prayer.

St. Denis, From The Cloud of Unknowing, 14th century
Yes, also a very beautiful prayer. Thanks for sharing!
 
Great thread!

Have any of you thought about the Saints that are the patrons of where you received your sacraments? (If the parish’s were named after saints, that is)

The parish that I was baptized in, patron saint is Augustine of Hippo, and the parish of where I was confirmed was James the Greater.

Since there was a time when I was not a practicing Catholic, (I was Mormon) I have no doubt that both Augustine and his mother, Monica, where interceding for me. I sense that since I was baptized in a parish that he was patron of, he had pastoral reason to intercede for me, along with Monica.

I look to James the Greater as watching over me too, now, since he is the patron of my confirmation and present parish.
 
Great thread!

Have any of you thought about the Saints that are the patrons of where you received your sacraments? (If the parish’s were named after saints, that is)

The parish that I was baptized in, patron saint is Augustine of Hippo, and the parish of where I was confirmed was James the Greater.

Since there was a time when I was not a practicing Catholic, (I was Mormon) I have no doubt that both Augustine and his mother, Monica, where interceding for me. I sense that since I was baptized in a parish that he was patron of, he had pastoral reason to intercede for me, along with Monica.

I look to James the Greater as watching over me too, now, since he is the patron of my confirmation and present parish.
St. Mary Magdalene, the patroness of the the Salt Lake Diocese (all of Utah), is MY Saint. 😃 She was like me, a convert to Christ. I hope to be like her, a “friend of God”.

Prayer to St. Mary Magdalene, by St. Anselm
 
St. Mary Magdalene, the patroness of the the Salt Lake Diocese (all of Utah), is MY Saint. 😃 She was like me, a convert to Christ. I hope to be like her, a “friend of God”.

Prayer to St. Mary Magdalene, by St. Anselm
Very nice.Wonderful patron for UT for sure!
Forgot about our (arch)diocesian patron. St Joseph is ours. A serious, devout father-figure indeed who watches lovingly, carefully those entrusted to his care…
 
Thanks everyone.

I’ve been reading about the saints you recommended.

Not done yet! But I’ve been deeply touched so far.
You may want to consider and include this in your list:

amazon.com/Perfect-Joy-Saint-Francis/dp/0898706661

The Perfect Joy of Saint Francis Paperback – November 2, 1998
by Felix Timmermans (Author)
9 customer reviews

In this classic, Felix Timmermans reveals a deep understanding and penetrating interpretation of the man Francis and the ideals that enabled him to move and to shake the whole world. Filled with humor, pathos and a strange kind of beauty, it is a combination of artistry, poetry and simplicity that plumbs the soul of Saint Francis.

Here is the whole Francis, the poet, the ascetic, the stigmatist, the servant of the poor and the lepers, the miracle worker. But above all, here is the spirit of St. Francis told as lyrically and simply as the hymns and words of Francis himself in a book that communicates the joy of St. Francis.
 
St. George is my patron saint. While he may not have slain a scaly, fire-breathing dragon, he did defend the faith with his life. As a soldier and a martyr St. George embodies Bravery, Honor, and Chivalry, all virtues which I admire.
 
I was reading about some of the Catholic saints today and found it fascinating and inspiring to me.

I’d love to hear about any saints whose lives and stories are profoundly meaningful to you? I’m looking for some more to read about and learn from.

Thank you!
As a prostate cancer survivor, St. Peregrine.

Jon
 
I haven’t thought about the parishes where I went as a child, but since you mentioned it… St. Anthony is ALWAYS helping me find things. I went to the parish dedicated to him for elementary school. And I got a huge chill as I thought about where I went to high school… Sacred Heart… and I am totally devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus! What a thought you gave me! I wonder…
 
I did the “Pick a Patron Saint for the Year” thing…there was a link on a previous thread…
and I got St. John of Kanty.
Which was incredible since my husband is seeking employment (no one will hire and immigrant these days, not even an Irish one) and I was unjustly released form a job several years ago. He’s the patron of people with employment issues.
So I had the opportunity to learn about him, whom admittedly, I had never heard of. Now he’s a friend! 👍
 
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