What is This Saint of the Year Devotion All About?


This isn't superstition. St. Faustina and her religious order did the same thing!

I would like to explain to you about the practice of picking a saint at random to be your “holy protector and intercessor” for the year. Actually, the saint is the one who chooses us though.The tradition of letting a saint “pick you,”is not a new one. St. Faustina wrote about it in her diary, "Divine Mercy in My Soul".
The excerpt is below. . .

“There is a custom among us of drawing by lot, on New Year's Day, special Patrons for ourselves for the whole year. In the morning, during meditation, there arose within me a secret desire that the Eucharistic Jesus be my special Patron for this year also, as in the past. But, hiding this desire from my Beloved, I spoke to Him about everything else but that. When we came to refectory for breakfast, we blessed ourselves and began drawing our patrons. When I approached the holy cards on which the names of the patrons were written, without hesitation I took one, but I didn't read the name immediately as I wanted to mortify myself for a few minutes. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my soul: ‘I am your patron. Read.’ I looked at once at the inscription and read, ‘Patron for the Year 1935 - the Most Blessed Eucharist.’ My heart leapt with joy, and I slipped quietly away from the sisters and went for a short visit before the Blessed Sacrament,where I poured out my heart. But Jesus sweetly admonished me that I should be at that moment together with the sisters. I went immediately in obedience to the rule.”

Excerpt from "Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Diary of St. Faustina"

Monday, April 29, 2013

 
 
Bl. John Paul II could be canonized a saint as early as October. According to Andrea Tornielli at Vatican Insider, a medical team appointed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has called a second healing attributed to Bl. John Paul “inexplicable”. This opens up the possibility for the late pontiff to be declared a saint around his feast day on October 22nd of this year.
 
At John Paul II’s funeral in 2005, the crowds chanted, “Santo Subito” (saint now!). Bl. John Paul II may not have become a saint instantaneously, but could be one after just eight years. In order to speed up the process, Pope Benedict XVI waived the canon law mandate of a five year waiting period. John Paul was recognized as a blessed on May 1, 2011, after the Vatican approved a healing of a French nun attributed to his intercession.
 
In order to be recognized as a saint, a second miracle has to be attributed to the blessed after their beatification. Usually, the most difficult step in the process is the approval of a seven person medical team. Since this second miracle has passed this step, just three steps remain. First, a panel of theologians, appointed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, need to approve the miracle. Second, approval is needed from the 30 cardinals that make up the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The final step is a definitive ‘yes’ from Pope Francis.
 
Because of how quickly the Congregation for the Causes of Saints is pushing the case forward, Bl. John Paul II seems to be on the fast lane to sainthood and has the possibility of being recognized as a saint just six months from now.
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