Saint Martha (July 29)

St. Martha, Patron Saint of Housewives, Waiters, and Waitresses. Please help housewives, waiters, and waitresses so they may be able to maintain the household, and provide food for all people, especially for those who are old of age, sick, or unable to serve themselves.  Let us pray to the Lord. Amen.

Celia C.

Saint Christina of Bolsena (July 24)

Dear God,

In honor of St. Christina, please pray for all of the people who gave up their life for God.  Please pray for all people that St. Christina watches over and lead them through life happily. Also, please pray for any person who is going through a tough time in life. St. Christina had a terrible father who didn’t allow Christina to follow Christ, but she put aside all the horrible things that her father did to her because she had the strongest faith in God. St. Christina was a strong leader to all the people who may not be accepted for their religion, but she showed people that it is always possible, so I pray for all the people like my Saint.  Amen.

Mary F.

 

Tradition says that Christina was a girl of 13 or 14 who died for her faith around 300 A.D."^[8].  The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Cleveland, Ohio claims "In the Resurrection Chapel, below the altar, is the reliquary of St. Christine, including her entire skeleton and small vial of her blood. The relics were presented to Archbishop Schrembs in 1928 by Pope Pius XI.

Learn more about Saint Christina of Bolsena  (aka St Christina of Tyre) , the Patron Saint of archers, mariners and millers HERE, HERE and HERE; not to be confused with Christina the Astonishing, (aka Saint Christina Mirabilis), the Patron Saint of psychiatrists, and mentally ill and against insanity.   

 

 

 

Saint Anne, Mother of Mary (July 26)

Anne or (Ann) is the patron saint of Christian mothers and or women in labor. 

Prayer to Saint Anne and Joachim:

Parents of Mary, pray for all parents that they may provide the loving home and faithful teaching that your provided our daughter. Amen.                                      

 Lauren M.

Malala Day is July 12... Another 'Independence Day'

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (Jan. 4)

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, known for her Catholic boarding school, love of books, and commitment to education, that if she were still here today, she would want to help the 88% of young girls and women in Afghanistan who don't have a good education and are not given the right to go to school. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton would have that belief abolished no matter the cost. So, Lord, please bless all those women denied a good education, and hope one day that they will have better life and freedom. We ask that children and young girls who live in a world where schooling is disliked for them, that in the near future that will change. We pray to The Lord, Amen.

                                Jessie

Malala Day, July 12, is a great day to remember Elizabeth Seton who dedicated her life to God and the education of young woman. Elizabeth Ann Seton didn't have social media, but we do and with current technology we can make a difference the way she might have done today, and as the courageous 17 year old Malala is doing.  



Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize Winner (2014) wrote a blog for the BBC when she was 11 and 12 years old under a false name, explaining what life was like under Taliban control. Despite death threats against her and her family in Pakistan, she and her father, the school founder, refused to stop advocating for girls' rights to attend school and be educated. In 2012, at the age of 15 she was shot on her school bus for defying the oppressers of her country.   Malala, a true contemporary of Elizabeth Seton, Joan of Arc, and many saintly agents of divine-inspired change, is still fighting to help others as a high school student, author, speaker and subject of a film to be released this October. 

Learn about her campaign, Books Not Bullets, and latest efforts to educate children around the world and to promote peace...  

 

"world leaders have the money to fully fund primary AND secondary education around the world - but they are choosing to spend it on other things, like their military budgets...

In fact, if the whole world stopped spending money on the military for just 8 days, we could have the $39 billion still needed to provide 12 years of free, quality education to every child on the planet."

sources: 
                            http://www.malala.org/
https://www.facebook.com/MalalaFund
 

Saint Paul (June 29)

Source: A Word Among Us

Saint Paul, Patron Saint of Writers, please pray for all writers so that they may be inspired, that they will be successful in their careers and provide for their families, that they may be helpful in their community, that they may please you.  Thank you for giving them the opportunity to write.  Let us pray to the Lord.

George

The May 22 -  8 Days of Greatness post on this blog includes a map of St Paul's journeys. Learn more about St. Paul and test your knowledge with the quiz in the same post.

Saint John the Baptist (June 24)

John the Baptist cried 'Prepare the way of the Lord!'  Lord, help us become a light in the darkness for all the world to see.  May our lives be ever in service to you. Amen.

Doug S.

Many of the events in John's life are portrayed in works of art and it is his humility that typically captures the imagination of the artists. In many Mediterranean countries, the summer solstice is dedicated to St. John.