The Saints Can Prompt Us to Pray

Monica McConkey reflects on some of the many ways the Communion of Saints offers us inspiration to pray in all circumstances.

The Communion of Saints offers us mentors in our Catholic faith, patrons of almost anything you can think of for intercession, and models of persistent pursuit of holiness, wholeheartedly seeking virtue, prayer, and union with God. While many of the saints gave us specific teaching about prayer, we can also look to their particular patronage as a special prompt to pray as they did or to pray for their intercession.

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First and foremost, we can always ask Jesus and our Blessed Mother to prompt us to pray! Our Lady wants nothing more than to draw us closer to Her Son. She magnifies the Lord. She mentors us in humility and shows us firsthand how to love and serve God and surrender to His Holy Will.

We can pray for Our Lady’s help to love and serve her Son and draw closer to Jesus through her Immaculate Heart.

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We are prompted to pray for Saint Anthony’s help when something is lost and must be found. We can also pray, asking for Saint Anthony to find a solution for us in our struggles, God’s Plan as we face decisions, healing for our pain or illness, peace when we are anxious, and an indication of where we are to go, when we are lost.

We pray for Saint Michael’s intercession, when we face temptation or aggression, blatant evil or spiritual attacks. We can renounce lies and negative thoughts that lead us astray or steal our peace.

Saint Joseph kept his family safe by listening to the messages he received, following God’s Will and trusting in Him. We ask Saint Joseph to make us humble and obedient and to help us to recognize and trust in God’s Plan.

When we are concerned for our marriage or family or specific loved ones, we can pray for Saint Joseph’s help or Saint Monica’s intercession.

We pray for Saint Thérèse’s help when we’re frustrated by our littleness and sin. Saint Thérèse would remind us that our littleness endears us to God! We can run to Jesus like a little child and let Saint Thérèse show us the way!

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We can look to the saints' particular patronage as a special prompt to pray as they did or to pray for their intercession. #CatholicMom

We pray with Saint Gertrude throughout the month of November (and all year long!) for the Holy Souls in purgatory and for sinners:

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. Pray With Us!

We pray for Saint Jude’s or Saint Rita’s intercession when we face a desperate or hopeless situation.

When we pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, we pray for the assurance of God’s Mercy. We imagine Jesus giving us the words, as He gave them to Saint Faustina.

We can ask Brother Lawrence and Saint Benedict to remind us to pray as we work and throughout all of our daily tasks. We can ask them to prompt us to remain mindful of God’s Presence.

We can ask for the intercession of Saint Raphael, Saint André Bessette, or Saint Peregrine (or any of our other favorite patron saints or Blesseds) when we need healing.

When we need courage, we can ask for help from Saint Michael, Saint Joan of Arc, Saint Lawrence, Saint Lucy, or any of the saints and martyrs.

We can ask Saint Teresa of Calcutta to help us to serve others and to see the Face of Jesus in each person we encounter.

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As we prepare for Confession, we can ask for help from Saint John the Baptist, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, or Saint Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) to help us examine our conscience and to reveal our sin to us.

When we need to trust in God, we can choose to repeat the words with Saint Faustina and Saint Kateri: "Jesus, I trust in You," and consciously surrender our concerns to Him.