Patron Saints: A Series on Friends in Heaven
Do you have a patron saint? Do you possibly think patron saints are a little too “out there” for you? Do you have an entire list of patron saints for different people and aspects of your life? Or…are you possibly wondering what on earth I’m talking about?
Stick around if you answered “yes” to any of the above. The next few weeks will help you out. I’m getting ready to share a wonderful series of blogs from other women who have a favorite friend in heaven, so we can all get to know some saints better, and see how their prayers for us can help in a specific part of our lives.
To start off, what is a patron saint anyway, and why do Catholics like our patrons so much? In a nutshell, they’re our friends who’ve “been there done that” and finished the race (2 Timothy 4:7). Now they’ve got the prize of happily ever after, union with God in heaven, and we’re always calling on them for help with our lives because we’re weak and need their prayers. Saints are people who we look up to as top-notch models of living the faith and putting Jesus first in their lives. We believe they are in heaven, and believe that they can help us with their prayers, much like asking our friends and family here to pray for us.
Being a patron simply means this particular person has a particular “specialty” of sorts. Saint Anthony is famous for helping find lost things, Saint Jude is a favorite for hopeless causes or situations, Saint Gerard is a perennial choice for mothers in pregnancy.
Now for the fun! Starting later this week, some great bloggers are sharing stories of patron saints in their lives. Some you might know, and others I’d be willing to be will be new faces. Hang around and meet some new friends. I’ve only just started appreciating patron saints in my adulthood, and keep adding them to my life. My current faves are Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and Saint Maximillian Kolbe. The lives of the saints have so much to offer for inspiration and hope in the ways Jesus can work in our lives. And if you have a patron saint, share in the comments! I’d love to hear about them.
YES!!! It’s like you read my mind. I was just thinking that I would gain from learning about a bunch and picking one/many. Hooray and thank you!
Oh, I’m excited about this!! I’m definitely ‘guilty’ of calling on extra help from whatever particular patron relates to my situation.
It begins! I’m excited for this series! 🙂