Saints and Resolutions for 2016

Our family is continuing the tradition of choosing a patron saint to be our special intercessor for the new year.   A friend of mine who has a special devotion to St. Faustina first told me about this beautiful tradition a few years ago when she shared the following excerpt from Faustina's diary:

"Jesus likes to intervene in the smallest details of our life, and He often fulfills secret wishes of mine that I sometimes hide from Him, although I know that from Him nothing can be hidden.  There is a custom among [the sisters in our convent] of drawing by lot, on New Year's Day, for special patrons for ourselves for the whole year.  In the morning during meditation, there arose within me a secret desire that the Eucharistic Jesus be my special patron for this year also, as in the past.  But hiding this desire from my Beloved, I spoke to Him about everything else but that.  When the sisters gathered for breakfast, we blessed ourselves and began drawing our patrons.  When I approached the holy cards on which the names of the patrons were written, without hesitation I took one, but I didn't read the name immediately as I wanted to mortify myself for a few minutes.  Suddenly, I heard a voice in my soul:  I am your patron.  Read.  I looked at once at the inscription and read, "Patron for the Year 1935--the most Blessed Eucharist."  My heart lept with joy, and I slipped quietly away from the sisters and went for a short visit before the Blessed Sacrament, where I poured out my heart.  (entry 360)


So, here are the saints God chose for us this year, with a brief bio of each because some of them I had never heard of before!  :)

Paul’s Saint:

• St. Marcellinus:  Feast day is June 2^nd, a priest, martyred by Dioclecian in 304, buried under Constantine’s basilica, invoked during the First Eucharistic prayer.

Maria’s Saint:

• St. Luise de Marillac:  Feast day is March 15, desired to be a nun but eventually married and had 1 son who was difficult to raise, became a nun after her husband’s death and worked with St. Vincent de Paul to start the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul all over France, patron saint of social workers and parents with difficult children.

Joseph’s Saint:

• St. Gothard:  Feast day is May 4^th , an abbot and later a Bavarian bishop who helped revive the Rule of St. Benedict in monasteries, helped build many churches, founded many schools and hospitals, patron saint of traveling merchants

Michael’s Saint:

• St. Audifax:  Feast day is January 19^th, born to the nobility, son of Sts Maris and Marth, brother to St. Abachum, a convert, martyred in 270  with his whole family during the persecutions of Aurelian as they made a pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles. 

Dominic’s Saint:

• St. Maria Goretti:  Feast Day is July 6, she is the patron saint of the youth and of purity because she died as a martyr to protect her purity.  She forgave the man who killed her and appeared to him in a dream while he was in prison, which led to his conversion.

Nathanael’s Saint:

• St. Thomas Moore:  Feast Day is June 22, patron saint of lawyers, he became the Lord Chancellor for King Henry VIII who later had him martyred for staying true to the teachings of the Catholic Church regarding marriage and the supremacy of the Pope.  His dying words word: “The King’s good servant, but God’s first.”

Isaiah’s Saint:

• St. Anthony Zaccaria:  Feast Day is July 5, became a doctor who helped the poor and later a priest who helped lead the Counter Reformation in Italy.  He promoted the frequent reception of the Eucharist, the 40 Hour Devotion, and the ringing of church bells at the 3:00 hour.  He was the cofounder of the religious order called the Barnabites, of which he is the patron saint.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION(S):

I am also continuing the tradition of praying about a word to be my theme or "New Year's Resolution," and this year I felt like two words were placed on my heart:  JOY and MERCY.   I continue to struggle with some health issues (ie: low progesterone and adrenal fatigue) that make"joy" seem illusive to me many days, but I know that God will give me the grace to embrace the joy He wants me to have if I trust in Him and continue to ask Him to heal me.  And perhaps that is why He also placed the word "Mercy" on my heart, because mercy heals and ultimately leads to joy.  I know I need to work on being more merciful to others (especially to my husband and children), and to more readily accept Christ's mercy for myself (instead of beating myself up constantly about my failures), so I have great hope that these New Year's Resolutions will make me more like Jesus who is full of mercy and joy!  May your New Year be full of Jesus' joy and mercy too!

P.S.  If any of you would like me to draw a saint name for you, I'd be happy to do so!