Because we’re Catholics we believe in the Communion of Saints. That means we pray for our beloved dead, and they pray for us. Since we’re still here in this world, and fighting evil, we’re called the Church Militant. The saints in heaven are called the Church Triumphant. The Church Suffering is those souls still in Purgatory, who haven’t made it to heaven, yet.
We pray for the souls in Purgatory. The saints in heaven pray for us. That’s called the Communion of Saints. We honor the Saints and try to imitate their example. We ask the saints to intercede for us with God and continue our prayers.
A Patron Saint is one who has been chosen as a special intercessor with God. The custom arose from the Biblical fact that a change of personal name indicated a change in the person, e.g., Abram to Abraham, Simon to Peter, Saul to Paul, and Linton to Moses. We are named for patron saints in our baptism. We may take a patron saint for Confirmation. The Lay Dominicans may take a patron saint’s name to imitate and whose intercession to invoke.
We should frequently pray to our patron saint for our needs. Pay attention to your saints Feast Day because everyone likes to have a special day celebrated for them. Today, we will choose a patron saint for this year.
Let’s pray that our patron is someone we can identify with and be a powerful intercessor for us. If you would like a patron saint to assist you and accompany you throughout 2015, write to me and tell me a little about yourself:
your vocation (single, married, religious, priest)
your work
your health
On January first, I will pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and choose a patron for you. Email me at faith.flaherty@gmail.com God bless.
No comments:
Post a Comment