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"

Thursday, January 17, 2013

    OK ... I received my saint ... now what???


Read the Life of the particular Saint. The story of their life can be found in books, and they can be found online as well. (I use www.google.com or www.cathoogle.com) Some of the most famous saints (the Virgin Mary, the Archangel Michael, etc) can be found almost anywhere, while many saints are much more obscure so you may have to research further.

Follow Your Usual Prayer Ritual. Simply because you are asking for a Saint's prayers doesn't mean that you have to change the way you are used to praying. Pray however you wish.
 
Be Calm and Focused. Any prayer without these qualities isn't very helpful, either for you or for whoever you might be praying for.
 
Say your Prayer. It can be either written or in your own words, whichever you prefer. It can be as simple or as grand as you wish. The point is that the prayer should be your own.
 
Conclude the Prayer. This can be done with a simple 'Amen', making the Sign of the Cross, or whichever method you are used to.
 
Still not sure what to do? A simple "St. _____, pray for me" is sufficient.
 
Tips

  • Look up the patronages of various saints. This is a common practice within the Roman Catholic Church, which uses official patronages.
  • There are a lot of unofficial patronages as well.
  • Some people pray to the saints before they move onto praying to God as a form of preparation of talking to Him.
  • Many religions outside of Christianity also have Saints. They may call them by different names and have different customs surrounding them, though.
  • If you have a particular saint that you admire, celebrate their feast day. The Roman Catholic Church has an official calendar of Saints.
  • Some saints have more than one feast day.
  • If you are in need of great help through prayer, try a Novena.
  • Some people may not understand why you pray to the Saints. If they ask sincere questions, feel free to answer them. But if they are just trying to annoy you, don't pay them any attention.
  • If your prayer request isn't answered, don't be discouraged. There are many things that could happen in the future. It could be answered one day far off in the future or even in a different manner than the way you are asking.


Posted by at