A friend who attended Catholic Grade School and High School recently admitted that she knew almost nothing about the saints. She said that when she retired she would read about them. Since she is in her sixties, that day isn't too far away. But, I wonder if she will.
I was a publican (I am a cradle Catholic who never attended Catholic School). I knew very little about the saints. This was in part because I have a very Protestant mother who had no understanding of saints. It was in part because after Vatican II teaching of the faith was sometimes a bit sketchy. Apparently this is even true in Catholic Schools from my friends admission.
But, I came to be interested in St Frances Cabrini who shares her saint day with my birthday. When you see a particular saint listed every year on your birthday, you tend to get curious if you are me. So, I had read something about her. Then she cropped up at a moment of crisis of faith for me. Suddenly, I got a whole lot interested in her and in all of the saints. So, I read some things. And I read some more things. I would be the first to admit I am no expert on saints, but I know most of the big names and something about them. There are a few saints I feel especially drawn to, St Frances Cabrini is one of those. I have a relic from Rose Phillipine Duschene whose shrine is just a few miles from my house. I live in a town and a county that have saints names. I know a few saints.
It isn't hard to study the saints. One might sit down with a book of the lives of saints, but that isn't my chosen method. Sometimes I want to know the patron of a certain thing, or the saint whose feast is a certain date and I look it up. I think that it is more beneficial to know a few saints than it is celebrities. Sometimes I ask for their prayers in a tight spot. Knowing the saints, or the ones that I do anyway, makes me feel not so alone in my life. There is always a saint to pray for me.
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