AS ANY GOOD CRADLE Catholic, I’ve assembled quite the team of patron saints over the years. Maybe you have too. There are the saint or saints you were named after, the saint you chose at Confirmation, the patron of your current and past parishes, of course.
Mama Mary, perhaps under a handful of different titles. There are saints for jobs and life situations, saints for hobbies, saints for illnesses or difficulties you’re struggling with or have overcome in the past. Then add your spouse’s and children’s patron saints and favorite saints. The litany can go on and on. But I’ve discovered a mistaken attitude in myself that I’m trying to rewire. Sometimes I feel like I should limit my list. As if I were bothering my patron saints! But God gave us these saints as our big brothers and sisters in faith. You just can’t have too many friendships of that kind! The saints in heaven love to intercede for us. They want to be asked for their prayers!
In this month of all saints, here are some ideas to grow your relationship with your own patron saints, or to get to know a few more friends in Christ.
• Read about the lives of your current patrons and favorite saints. Maybe you pray to St. Anthony every day, but you barely know anything about him? Rectify that one-sided friendship right away.
• Meet a brand-new saint. St. Carlo Acutis, who’s only been canonized one year, is a new favorite of mine. His proximity to my own life (he was born the same year as my little sister) has given me a refreshing view of sainthood. I pray to him to help me with my smartphone addiction.
• Sts. Louis and Zélie are another pair I’ve gotten to know this year. They’re more removed from me in time, but much closer in vocation. I ask St. Zélie to help me be a better mom and help my children become saints.
• Perhaps if your children are older than mine, you’d relate more to St. Monica, whose endless prayers brought her son, St. Augustine, out of a life in opposition to God.
• Or if you relate more to St. Augustine’s struggles, reach out to St. Mary of Egypt, who in many ways is the female counterpart to Augustine’s story.
• Get to know Sts. Benedict and Scholastica if you’d like a patron saint for your relationship with your siblings. There’s a great story about how St. Scholastica prayed for a storm so that she could spend more time with her busy brother.
• St. Peregrine is the saint to meet when you or a loved one is struggling with cancer.
• St. Dymphna is the patron saint of mental health. Her story is pretty intense (and features adult sins) so tread carefully!
• If you’re a student, especially if you struggle with any learning disabilities, or if you’re worried about an upcoming exam, find the story of how St. Joseph of Cupertino became a priest despite all odds, and then pray for his intercession.
• Finally, the one saint you should be invoking on a daily basis, but whom you might never think about: your own guardian angel! Your angel has been watching out for your physical and spiritual health relentlessly for your entire life. Thank him or her every day and never forget to invoke his or her help!
Learning about the lives of our favorite saints, old and new, can teach us so much about how to live saintly lives ourselves. We should constantly strive to get to know our heavenly friends better. All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us! Amen!