Happy Trails

We're still on the patron saint trail today. Wonderful for me! My favorite hobby.

My other favorite hobby is reading non fiction. I don't have anything against fiction, there is just so much I still need to find out about and so little time to read. Right now I'm reading "Ben Franklin" by ....the guy who wrote "Ben Franklin".

I should say I WAS reading "Ben Franklin" until I received a gift copy of "My Cousin the Saint". It starts off with quite a bang, I'll tell you. I'll be back with a full book report one of these days.

Today's saints:
Do you have a patron saint for my friend Anne? She is still terribly angry at her exhusband of 20 years and the woman he married 20 years ago. She's livid, not just peeved. She is losing her relationship with her daughter over her attitude, as she wouldn't go to the daughter's wedding since he would be there. He was a pig 20 years ago, but she has to move on at some point. Who can help her with this? Also, have you ever heard of the Crosiers or St. Odillia? I was at a retreat there last week and it just didn't feel "right". Thanks for your advice!

Poor Anne. Though I will never discount the power of saints to move mountains, and I indeed have a couple of saints in mind for her, has anyone thought of ....therapy? Festering bitter anger with no attempt at forgiveness is actually a sin. Has anyone mentioned that to her? Poor thing. Here she is blaming two people for ruining her life and the truth is she is doing it all by herself and taking everyone down in flames with her--and not just figuratively.

Ah well. I suggest two saints: St. Rita, the patron saint of rotten marriages for starters. St. Rita was married to a real winner. She didn't have to worry about getting an annulment, though, because the Mafia took care of her problem for her. Not actually for her, but...no more husband. St. Rita was really worried that her two sons would try to avenge their father's death and just end up getting themselves killed. She prayed and prayed that they wouldn't do that and her prayers were answered. They both died of illness.

At that point, St. Rita was free to fulfill her lifelong ambition of becoming a nun. The nuns would have none of it. Rita did everything she could think of to get herself into the convent, but a widow with two sons, even dead ones, was not acceptable nun material back in those days. She finally parked herself outside the convent walls. Angels lifted her over them.

The nuns did everything they could think of to get rid of her, making her life miserable to prove to her that she was not acceptable nun material. When St. Rita received the stigmata, they had to back down. They still didn't have much to do with her, though, because her stigmata wound, which consisted of a single thorn from the crown of thorns, festered and smelled to high Heaven. She had to stay in a room by herself. After her death, and even now, her former room smells of roses. St. Rita herself is incorrupt and on display. She is said to move around in there from time to time, float up and down, look at people, that sort of thing.

I would also suggest, for poor bitter Anne, St. John the Baptist, patron saint of a fresh start. Even though I'm sure John wasn't so fresh himself out there on the desert, he offered freshness to everyone else.

You could also try St. Paul. There's a great example of a 180 degree turn.

And St. Peter, for anger management.

And maybe St. Lazarus, in the hope that someday soon Anne, too, will be back from the dead.

As for the Crosiers and St. Odillia, yes, I have heard of them. I can't think why they bugged you. Although... St. Odillia was the companion of St. Ursula, as in St. Ursula and the thousand, ten thousand, whatever number goes with whateve version of her story, martyrs. We don't really know how many martyrs there were or what exactly happened there as the story has gotten all out of hand. The Crosiers veneration of St. Odillia is based on private revelation and we are not required to go along with any private revelation.

Dear Sr. Mary Martha, Here is another patron saint match request. My adopted daughter was born deaf and she now has cochlear implants which enable her to hear at some level. We are trying to teach her to speak, but it is a difficult process. How about a patron saint of the deaf or speech impaired? By the way, do you think it is coincidental that my children have similar behaviors or qualities (not always good) as their patron saints? Thanks, Regina

The real question is, "do we believe in coincidence at all?"

The patron saint of the speech impaired is St. Raymond Nonnatus. That's because he had his mouth padlocked shut. St. Raymond spent all his time ransoming captives until he was finally taken captive himself. Then he spent all his time preaching and railing against people who take other people captive. Hence the padlock.

I'm sure it is a difficult process. But also such an exciting one!