Question for my Christian homies - need a patron saint

[eSDee]

Hey all, my aunt is dying of cancer but she's fighting it tooth and nail. She's always been spiritual and she is doing a lot of praying to her crucifix, however I'd like to give her a little gift of maybe a patron saint of some sort. I was thinking that it would be nice to give her one that might mean something special to her. She's really scared so I want to do something special.

Can anyone help me out? TIA.

[guiseppewv]

Patron Saints for Cancer Patients:
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/pst00108.htm

listing of many Patron Saints:
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/patron00.htm

Hope this helps!

I'll say a prayer for your aunt. What kind of cancer does she have?

[oblongmelon]

St. Jude is always a good one to pray to...patron saint of help for the hopeless..loads of cancer patients pray to him.

[eSDee]

Thanks you guys! Those are great leads :thumb:



I'll say a prayer for your aunt. What kind of cancer does she have?

I'm not sure exactly what kind it is, but she has cancer in her hip, on her brain, and in one of her lungs :(

[guiseppewv]

I'm not sure exactly what kind it is, but she has cancer in her hip, on her brain, and in one of her lungs :(

Damn, man. :( I will keep her in my prayers.

[ArkiStan]

Pardon my ignorance, but what's a patron saint?

eSDee, I wish your Aunt a fast and healthy recovery.

[oblongmelon]

Pardon my ignorance, but what's a patron saint?

eSDee, I wish your Aunt a fast and healthy recovery.

Here you go!

http://www.scborromeo.org/patron.htm

The word "saint" comes from the Latin word sanctus, which translates to "consecrated" or "holy."

Saints are men and women who have lived their lives (and very often gave them up freely) in such a way as to be rewarded with the Kingdom of God. The road to being officially recognized by the Church as a saint in a long one. In the earliest stage, the saint-in-the-making is identified as a "Servant of God." That stage is followed by a recognition of being "Venerable" and then "Blessed" before being recognized by the Church as a saint or "Friend of God." This official recognition by the Church as a saint comes at the conclusion of the process and ceremony called "canonization."

These saints, living exemplary lives, provide for us examples to follow so that we may, in turn, follow them to Heaven.

"Feast Days" are recognized for each saint. These feast days are very often the day of the year in which they died, especially if they gave up their lives for their faith. These special saints that gave up their lives for their faith are called "martyrs."

Based on the course of their lives and the circumstances surrounding them, some of the saints serve as "patrons" of certain peoples, places, things, and occupations, as they intercede for us before God.

There is no such thing as an ignorant question! Especially if it's not something you grew up not knowing about or participating in..
Alot of times Arkistan, people chose a patron saint to pray to when they are in times of need or "help"..take Saint Dymphna, I know alot of people with emotional problems pray to her..When my mother was pregnant with me, she prayed to St. Paul of the Cross..for a few reasons..she was raised in the Catholic faith at what is now St.Ann's Basilica in Scranton PA..at the time it was a just a Passionist Order Monestery later a designated Minor Basilica. St. Paul of the Cross is the one who established the Passionist Order back in the 1700's..he is well known to Italians around the world. My family has great faith in St. Paul and the Passionists, and because my family was very devout, they literally became part of our family, growing up along side my mom, aunts, uncles, cousins..there was never a Sunday Afternoon that my grandmother didn't have two or three of the Brothers (as they are called) seated at her dining room table for a cup of coffee and a nice meal..When my mom was pregnant with me, both her and my dad said a novena to St. Paul of the Cross, (a series of daily prayers)to honor those "Brothers" who always looked out for our family. I happened to arrive on a very nice lovely day in October, and it just happened to be October 20th..which is also the feast day of St. Paul of the Cross! Which is one of the reasons why my given name is Paolagianna (Paula to you English speaking folks!) Coincidence? Or holy intervention? You decide!

{I know when you are looking to sell a home, you should stick a statue of St. Joseph upside down in the ground on the property that you are trying to sell!}

[ArkiStan]

..snip..

Thanks for the explanation obby. I live around a lot of religious people but for some reason I had never heard of the practive of praying to a patron saint. That's really interesting. As I can see from guiseppewv's links that they're like model saints that were known for their special background in everything from cancer (James Salomone) to caterpillars (Magnus of Füssen).

So is there a certain prayer that you use to each of these saints or do people just make their own prayer but simply direct them at these saints?

[oblongmelon]

Thanks for the explanation obby. I live around a lot of religious people but for some reason I had never heard of the practive of praying to a patron saint. That's really interesting. As I can see from guiseppewv's links that they're like model saints that were known for their special background in everything from cancer (James Salomone) to caterpillars (Magnus of Füssen).

So is there a certain prayer that you use to each of these saints or do people just make their own prayer but simply direct them at these saints?

Usually there is a designated prayer that is said to each saint.