I have been advised several times, by various people and sources that I should cultivate a better relation with the members of the Church Triumphant, does any have advise on how to get into the habit of doing that? How to do more than just rattle off "St. So-and-so, pray for me" every now and then, but be more aware and mindful of them and such?
I pray a novena to Saint Rita daily; it includes a recount of pivotal events in her life, and helps me to love her and turn to her and trust her more. If a similar novena exists for your patron Saint, you could try that!
I usually find that a saint can say hi to us and without us realizing it they are in some way prompting us, a prayer card given to us or a medal found, I feel these are little hints from heaven,,my own experience started as a child when I stumbled across a bunch of beautiful roses that were left in my path, this started a wonderful relationship with whom I call my heavenly sister..Pray to her and talk to her she does listen..
I think often they come seeking us rather than we come seeking them. When we get to heaven we will still be members of a family, as we were on Earth. But this time a bigger family. The saints who come looking for us to help from heaven are often those we knew on Earth. Reading the lives of the saints and cultivating a devotion to them is great. But remember they are seeking us more than we; them.
Funny I was thinking about this and it's all to easy when we suggest popular well known saints and how easy we can rhyme of their names, but what about all those saints whom we have never came across ?? for instance I was recently prompted to find out more about St Maria Goretti I knew the name but I didn't know her story ..
I find reading a book about their lives or even a short story along with praying to them can cultivate a relationship. It brings them alive as more than just a name.
The Saint name generator on the web is a fun way to pick a saint to get to know for the next month or year; whatever time frame that you choose. I personally like to say a prayer before pressing the button, and then I learn about the Saint and try to cultivate a relationship with whichever Saint pops up. It's really just a lighthearted way to "meet" new saintly friends! http://saintsnamegenerator.com/
I just did this and got St. Jerome Emiliani. I've never heard of him, but will now try to cultivate a relationship with him!
I think the more we know about ourselves the better we get to know the saints. What type of person are you? What is your personality like? What are your dreams and aspirations? Try to find a saint that you share some of those things with, and see how it goes from there. I was never much of a people person (I have a disability in this area) and I still struggle today with relating to what you would call an "average person". And I am also a very detail oriented person. This led me to seek the help of the Holy Angels. And then I found The Chaplet of St. Michael, possibly one of the most complex chaplets in existence. I absolutely love this chaplet. I love St. Michael the Archangel, I owe him so much.
I couldn't agree more. I'd recommend praying for a relationship with a saint, then waiting for them to choose you.
for those of you familiar with my recent scripture enlightenment I suppose its no surprise that when I hit the button I got St Matthew the apostle,, feast day 21st september,, thank you Jesus St Matthew pray for us
I think we often get taps on the shoulder from heaven, but we are much to busy to feel them. I foten get visits from members of my greater family group calling to say hi.. Also of course from the Holy Souls. I think everyone gets these knocks on the door, the problem is many of us don't hear them. I particularly love the angels coming close . I just so love them, they remind me of the Elven Folk in Lord of the Rings.
All great suggestions! RosaryWielder, a good idea too is to start with the basics- your name and middle name if they are saint's names. The saint on the day you were born, your baptismal day, your confirmation saint. These are all saints given to you by God and they are very powerful for you. For married people, the saint on the day when you were married. As others have mentioned, look for a saint who had the same problems in life that you are struggling with. When I came back to the faith, I had a strange problem with remembering the Apostle's Creed. Since I remembered St. Bernadette had a problem learning the Creed, I asked for her help. Only problem was every time I asked her and tried to say the Creed, it felt as if an elephant was sitting on my chest and I couldn't breathe{that girl really did have really bad asthma}. So I gave up and said OK St. Bernadette, I give up, take care of it. It immediately stopped and I suddenly could say the Apostles Creed.
God and Our Lady seem so close up hear I hope those poor climbers the chopper is bringing down are good,prayers please.
I have used the Saints Name Generator a couple of times in the past, I looked it up again last evening and Pope St. Damasus I came up, I actually had his name come up before one of those times in the past, so now I'm going to take a closer look at him.
