There are layers upon layers to dive into when it come to the saints. These men and women have lived through all the different time periods, face every difficulty imaginable plus more (!), and each one has a different story. I love learning about their lives, becoming acquainted with his or her person, and learning from them. Scripture is a wonderful tool to use to grow in holiness (of course!), but the saints provide concrete examples of sinful human beings (like us!) walking the hard Christian walk. And another wonderful thing is that the Pope is canonizing more saints all the time! Just a few short weeks ago, he canonized 5 more men and women. More holy men and women to learn about and be an example to me.
I have always considered myself 'lucky' or blessed to have my birthday fall on the Feast day of 'All Saints Day' in the Catholic Church. I vividly remember reading chapter books about St. Bernadette and St. Therese the Little Flower when I first was reading chapter books.
This past year I have been concentrating more specifically on a few saints, namely St. Teresa of Avila and St. Therese the little flower. I have known their stories for some time, but as I read their autobiographies or other books they wrote, I learn more about them the insights they have in spiritual life.
This is what is new to me: I can actually have a sort of relationship with these women. I can ask for their intercession in daily prayer and novenas. I was spending some time with a friend a few weeks ago and she gave me the novena for St. Therese the Little Flower. She said several years ago as her family was going through some harder situations, she invited St. Therese into her home and asked her to be an 'older' sister to her.
Having a relationship with the saints makes more and more sense to me as I continue to miss my own earthly mother. And Mary has been right there for me through this journey. This relationship with Mary started in a more serious way in fall of '07 when I was pregnant with Faustina. When I felt terribly nauseous I would sit in the bathtub and say a rosary. Saying the rosary became a habit from this point on. Well, in January of '09 when I was pregnant with Jude, I was saying the rosary and I had an inspiration to especially pray for my Mom and her health concerning cancer. I was so struck by this because I never worried much about Mom's cancer returning and this was a scary new thought for me. 3 weeks later we found out that Mom's cancer was back and the hard year of '09 began. Mary, however, continued to sustain me with grace through this hard time. Thank you, Mary!
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