Devotion to the Saints

Devotion to the Saints

Submitted by Thomas Stidl

         Down through the years some of my non-catholic friends asked me about prayer to the saints.  Why don’t you go direct to the source, namely God?  As I aged, I began to ponder that question and I think that I have now come up with an answer.  Our non-catholic brothers use a different type of intercessory prayer mode.  They call their friends and relatives.  They do a group prayer for their intentions.  Catholics call upon people who have lead saintly lives for help.  Let us all remember that a saint is a person who performed very ordinary acts extraordinarily well during their lifetime.  They are extremely close to God.  They are believed to be in heaven with the Lord.  There are named saints and unnamed saints.  Perhaps you may know of a child that passed before he attained the age of reason.  They were baptized and are now saints.  They have no feast day but they are saints.

         Let everyone rest assured that I pray directly to God Our Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  They are the source of all graces.  What non-Catholics do not realize is that we pray an intercessory prayer at every Mass that we attend. It is known as the prayer of the faithful.  Catholics believe in three distinct parts of the Church.  The Church Triumphant are the people that occupy heaven.  The Church Militant is the Church on earth.  The Church Sufferring are the members of the church that are in purgatory.  We as Catholics pray to the people that are part of the Church Triumphant.  Obviously, the first person that comes to mind is Mary, the Mother of God.  We go to Her to petition our needs to her Divine Son.  When you think about it, you perform this act with the Hail Mary.  She is the mediatrix of grace and the ark of the new covenant as described in Revelations Chapter 12.

         Another go-to saint is Saint Joseph, the foster father of Jesus who provided for Jesus and Mary with all his work.  We go to him for financial aid and for employment assistance.  He is also the patron saint of a happy death as he died in the company of Jesus and Mary.  We should all aspire to that goal at the end of our life.  Another saint that we approach for financial aid is Saint Cajetan followed by Saint Mathew, the tax collector called to be an apostle by the Lord.

         The next saint is familiar to many.  He is Saint Jude.  We pray to him as the saint who accomplishes the impossible and for financial aid.  Danny Thomas prayed to him for assistance in his career.  After receiving that assistance, Danny made Saint Jude’s name known by building a hospital for children.  Two other saints come to mind when asking for financial aid.  They are Saint Bernadette and Saint Nicholas.  If you have arthritis, please pray to Saint Alphonse who had this disease his lifetime.

         Another saintly devotion is to Saint Anthony of Padua who helps us find lost things along with improvement of health.  If you are having memory problems, try praying to Saint Dymphna.  For a cure for cancer Saint Peregrine is your contact.  For general sickness I pray to Saint Luke.  The evangelist was also a physician.  I also have a great devotion to Saint Padre Pio, the only prelate who wore the stigmata, which are the five wounds of Jesus Christ.  I also have a deep devotion to Saint Faustina, the saint of Divine Mercy.  All of us especially me need a good dose of that!!

         Add prayers to your Guardian Angel, Saint Michael the Archangel, Saints Anne and Joachim who were the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mother, Saint Therese the Little Flower, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Philomena for our youth, Saint Patrick, Saint Lucy for good eyesight, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini.  In sports we all talk about assembling a dream team.  What I just described is a heavenly dream team.  Keep all these saints in your mind and you will have a wonderful prayer life.

        Until next time, Laus Tibi, Christe.  Deo Gratias.  Praise be to God.  See you in Paradise.