My Army of Saints

Photo taken by Pam Spano

When I first became a Catholic, I wanted to learn all the prayers. I felt overwhelmed just thinking about it. So I started with the rosary. I had a pamphlet that I would follow as I slowly memorized the prayers. I used the rosary to ask Our Blessed Mother for her help when I was raising our children. My own mother and I had a contentious relationship and I didn't feel very confident in my own maternal instincts. Praying to Our Lady gave me a confidence in those maternal instincts that I didn't expect.

Another aspect of the Catholic faith that I wanted to learn about was the saints. I had no clue as to who they were and what was their role or purpose in my faith. I picked up the book Voices of the Saints by Bert Ghezzi and was introduced to saints I had never heard of. Their lives and their voices reached out to me through those pages.

As I grew in faith, I began to understand the role of the saints in my prayer life. Cradle Catholics would recommend certain saints to me for specific intentions. I started collecting prayer cards as a way of keeping the saints close to me.

In recent months I have been praying for the intercession of many saints. My current army of saints consist of St. Monica, St. Augustine, St. Jude, St. Joseph, and St. Expedite (some would say he’s not really a saint). My prayers weren't answered the way I thought they should be, but I was happy with the outcome. In most of my intentions, things are still unfolding.

As I get to know these people better, I find myself eager to know more about each one. Their intercession in my life has brought me such joy and gratitude and I find it hard to thank them.

[Tweet "Praying for saintly intercession can lead us to strive for our own sainthood. By @CatholicReally"]

Maybe the whole point is not to thank them. Maybe the whole point to their intercession is for us (and me!) to follow their extraordinary example and strive for our own sainthood.

Who is in your army of saints? Which of the saints do you turn to the most?