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, February 14, 2013

Just like me, a day late and a dollar short ... =)   Maybe, if you like these ideas, we can do Day 1 and Day 2 today or 2 days of your choice since we are already in the second day of Lent ... I hope your church was as packed as mine was yesterday and I pray that the trend continues not only thoughout Lent, but always ... Have a very blessed day today!

40 Ideas for Keeping a Holy and Saintly Lent

Day 1: Pray for your enemies.
Day 2: Walk, carpool, bike or bus it.
Day 3: Don’t turn on the car radio.
Day 4: Give $20 to a non-profit of your choosing, such as St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

(Sunday)

Day 5: Take 5 minutes of silent prayer at noon.
Day 6: Look out the window until you find something of beauty you had not noticed before.
Day 7: Give 5 items of clothing to Goodwill.
Day 8: No complaining today.
Day 9: Do someone else’s chore without them knowing about it.
Day 10: Buy a few $5 fast food gift cards to give to homeless people you encounter.

(Sunday)

Day 11: Call an old friend.
Day 12: Pray the Paper (pray for people and situations in today’s news).
Day 13: Read Psalm 139.
Day 14: Attend Mass.
Day 15: Donate a pint of blood.
Day 16: Pay a few sincere compliments to strangers.

(Sunday)

Day 17: Forgive someone.
Day 18: Internet diet.
Day 19: Change one light in your house to a compact florescent.
Day 20: Check out morning and evening prayer at http://dailyoffice.wordpress.com.
Day 21: Ask for help.
Day 22: Tell someone what you are grateful for.

(Sunday)

Day 23: Introduce yourself to a neighbor.
Day 24: Read Psalm 121.
Day 25: Prepare a meal or bake a cake for your priest.
Day 26: No shopping day.
Day 27: Light a virtual candle http://rejesus.co.uk/spirituality/post_prayer/.
Day 28: Light an actual candle.

(Sunday)

Day 29: Write a thank you note to your favorite teacher.
Day 30: Invest in canvas shopping bags.
Day 31: Use Freecycle www.freecycle.org.
Day 32: Donate art supplies to your local elementary school.
Day 33: Read John 8:1-11.
Day 34: Offer a Mass for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.

(Sunday)

Day 35: Confess a secret.
Day 36: No sugar day – where else is there sweetness in your life?
Day 37: Give $20 to a local non-profit.
Day 38: Educate yourself about a saint www.catholic.org/saints (Yes! Hurray!)
Day 39: Pray for peace.
Day 40: Pray for your enemies and then decide which of these exercises you’ll keep for good.
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