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Life is tough. Nuns are tougher.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Buggy


Is there a saint to invoke against infestations? Like, insect infestations? Ugh...

Patron saintage. My favorite topic.

Of course there is a patron saint of insect infestation! Is the Pope Catholic?

Flying or walking?

And be careful...you don't want to accidently get a saint who is pro insect, like Pope St. Felix, the patron saint of spiders. In the early days of the Church, Pope St. Felix was running from Roman soldiers. He found a hole to hide in and spiders quickly spun a web over the opening of the hole. Pope St. Felix spent the rest of his days covered in cobwebs and dripping with spiders. He never allowed anyone to kill a spider in his presence. He liked spiders.

City or country? If you're out on a farm you'll want St. Magnus of Fussen, the patron saint against caterpillars and locust type crop killers.

There at the house I think you'll want to go with St. Dominic Silos. You'll be tickled pink, I think.

St. Dominic was in charge of a swell monastery when the king decided he wanted the monastery lands for himself. Poor Dominic was kicked out and landed at the world's most delapidated monastery. It must have looked like my house. (Meaning the house in which I live. Heaven knows it isn't MINE.)There were only six monks there (three up on us!). The place was falling down around their ears. (Been there, done that.)

I'm sure this is why he is that patron saint of insect infestations. The reason is not specifically mentioned. But he lived in Spain. I'm thinking termites, for starters.

He is also the patron saint of having babies (along with St. Gerard and St. Raymond Nonnatus), but he should be the patron saint of fund raisers. Not only did he turn the old monastery into a world class joint that still stands today as a model of architecture and art work, he ransomed folks who were held captive by the Moors (which was also St. Raymond's claim to fame), fed the poor, worked lots of healing miracles and got the monastery up and running with gold and silver art works. He managed all of this by getting rich folks to donate money. Not bad for a former shepherd who became a monk because he liked the quiet life.

He is the patron saint of having babies because a woman once prayed for his intercession one hundred years after his death. She wanted another son. She gave birth to St. Dominic. THE St. Dominic, founder of the Dominicans who made the Rosary a popular item. (Many people think this St. Dominic invented the Rosary, but he didn't.) She named her Dominic after her intercessor, our friend the fund raiser and insect fighter.

Certainly, before you drag out the aerosol can of poisonous bug annihilator, consider the words of St. Isidor, patron saint of Spain, who was adament that we extend the Lord's kindness to bugs. He fed "the ants, too, since they are God's ants, and His royal bounty is for all His household."

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good to know the patron of fundraisers! Thanks, I wouldn't have thought to ask that.

Anonymous said...

I never kill spiders either... I kinda like them. They are very smart for one thing. But I don't think there are any spiders in Heaven, whereas I DO believe there MUST be kitty cats in Heaven. Surely God is a cat-lover! I bet He has a big, fuzzy white kitty on His lap right now!

PraiseDivineMercy said...

St. Isidore, in addition to insects, is also the unofficial patron saint of the World Wide Web.
http://wdtprs.com/blog/a-prayer-before-connecting-to-the-internet/

As for me, I am sure to spare the daddy long-legs, crickets, and other insects I can identify as safe. Cockroaches inspire only murderous intent in me.

Anonymous said...

I can't even think about spiders. Anything in my house with more than four legs and less than two legs must die.

Anyway... Sr. Mary Martha, I was hoping you could help me identify these saints (you're good at this). My parish has very nice paintings for the Stations of the Cross. I noticed there were these two children with halos in some of the stations. They appear about the time Simon helps carry the cross and are no longer in the picture when Jesus is nailed to the Cross. They're carrying shovels or spades. Who are these saints?

I continue to pray for you, your mother, and your convent. Thank you for this entertaining and informative blog! MWAH!

Anonymous said...

married2ajoseph,
So YOU killed Uncle Fred?!

Charles Conner said...

I am almost 70 years of age, and when I was in the 7th grade of a Catholic School, my Benedictine teacher read the class stories about the lives of various saints. The only story that remains in my memory is about a young woman who lived in a house infested with insects. A man intended to do the woman harm, but he was attacked by the insects and driven away. Who was that woman?

Anonymous said...

I know they are all God's creation, but we're talking about bed bugs here, in home where the couple are in their late 80's and early 90's and absolutely devasted. They need St Dominic's help fast!!!!