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"

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

I have two passions that you will probably hear about from time to time, one of them is to end abortion and the other is to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory ... One reason that I have a devotion to the Poor Souls is that they are our future saints! Once they get out of Purgatory and enter into their heavenly reward, they automatically become a saint! There are many that we will never know about until we make our heavenly reward but if we pray for them while they are in Purgatory, once they get to heaven, they in turn will pray for us! I can't begin to imagine just how many saints are praying for us right at this moment! 

 I would like to ask you to remember in your prayers those who have died and have no one to pray for them, (those that don't know or believe in praying for the Poor Souls) and also for those who have been forgotten (those who had someone to pray for them, and now they too have passed on). 


The Heroic Act


The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a hero as "a mythological or legendary figure of great strength or ability; or a man admired for his achievements and qualities." A hero goes above and beyond the call of duty to help others. It is someone who has made a sacrifice for the benefit of those who could not help themselves.



There are heroes in the Catholic Church. They are the canonized saints. It is true that all people who enter Heaven are saints, but the canonized saints have done something that is extraordinary and have been made role models for future generations of Christians.


All of us can become heroes while on earth. It won't necessarily lead to our canonization, but it would definitely help those in need and also bring us closer to Jesus. An opportunity has been given to us by the Church to help the souls in Purgatory. It is the Heroic Act of Charity.

Through the Heroic Act, we give all of the indulgences from our prayers, our sufferings, and our works of charity for the benefit of the souls in Purgatory. Also, the indulgences from the prayers offered after your death will go to the souls in Purgatory. Even though we give the holy souls the value of our indulgenced acts, we still keep the blessings of what we have done which will bring us glory in Heaven.

The Heroic Act of Charity has been approved by Popes Benedict XIII (1728), Pius VI (1788), and Pius XI (1852). The Sacred Congregation of Indulgences made a decree regarding it on December 18, 1885 and it was confirmed by Pope Leo XIII the next day:

The Heroic Act of Charity in favor of the souls detained in purgatory consists in this, that a member of the Church militant (Christifidelis), either using a set formula or simply by an act of his will, offers to God for the souls in purgatory all the satisfactory works which he will perform during his lifetime, and also all the suffrages which may accrue to him after his death. Many Christians devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, acting on the advice of the Theatine Regular Cleric Father Gaspar Olider, of blessed memory, make it a practice to deposit the said merits and suffrages as it were into the hands of the Blessed Virgin that she may distribute these favors to the souls in Purgatory according to her own merciful pleasure. Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences

Now, you might be thinking, "What a great idea, but what will happen to me when I die and I don't have any indulgences to get me out of Purgatory? Will I suffer enormously there because of the Heroic Act?" This objection is not taking into account God's love and mercy for us:

"If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 16: 24-25

We would be blessed by God for making this sacrifice.

St. Gertrude the Great (who was revealed the prayer to release 1000 souls from Purgatory) made this heroic act. When she was close to death, the sins she had committed came to her mind along with the fact that she gave all of her indulgences to the souls in Purgatory. The devil tormented her by showing that she would suffer a great deal in Purgatory because she didn't have anything to help her get out sooner. At that point, Jesus appeared to her and said, "Be assured, My daughter, your charity towards the departed will be no detriment to you. Know that the generous donation you have made of all your works to the holy souls has been singularly pleasing to Me; and to give you a proof thereof, I declare to you that all the pains you would have had to endure in the other life are now remitted; moreover, in recompense for your generous charity, I will so enhance the value of the merits of your works as to give you a great increase of glory in Heaven."

If you would like to make the Heroic Act, you can in your own words offer the indulgences of all your prayers, your works of charity, and your sufferings for the benefit of the souls in Purgatory. This includes the benefits of all of the prayers said for you after death. If you have a problem with saying this in your own words, use the following prayer:

Lord Jesus, King of Infinite Mercy, I give all of the indulgences that would have been mine through my prayers, acts of charity, my own sufferings, and for the prayers said for me when I pass into eternity to free my brothers and sisters from the pains of Purgatory. Have mercy on them and bring them into glory in Your eternal presence in Heaven. Amen.

Praying for the dead is a spiritual work of mercy. With the Heroic Act of Charity, we can help the poor souls in a much more effective way. We highly recommend that all Catholics who love the souls in Purgatory do this act of mercy.

Prayer of St. Gertrude to release the souls in Purgatory ...


"ETERNAL FATHER, I OFFER THEE THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF THY DIVINE SON, JESUS, IN UNION WITH THE MASSES SAID THROUGHOUT THE WORLD TODAY, FOR ALL THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, Those in my own home and within my family. Amen." 
Posted by at