4 Saints

Apparently, someone reads my blog, and enjoys reading about the saints. So, here are the ones that are missing. And there shall be brief summaries of more saints to follow.

John the Apostle

Patronage against poison; art dealers; Asia Minor; authors; bookbinders; booksellers; burns; diocese of Cleveland, Ohio; compositors; editors; engravers; friendships; lithographers; diocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; painters; papermakers; poisoning; printers; publishers; Sundern, Germany; tanners; Taos, New Mexico; theologians; typesetters; Umbria, Italy; writers

Notables:

• The only one of the Twelve not to forsake the Savior in the hour of His Passion, standing at the foot of the cross.
• Made guardian of Our Lady by Jesus
• Emperor Dometian had him brought to Rome, beaten, poisoned, and thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, but he stepped out unharmed and was banished to Patmos instead.
• Drove out a demon who had lived in a pagan temple for 249 years.
• Once a year his grave gave off a fragrant dust that cured the sick.
  

Prayers
O Glorious Saint John, you were so loved by Jesus that you merited to rest your head upon his breast, and to be left in his place as a son to Mary. Obtain for us an ardent love for Jesus and Mary. Let me be united with them now on earth and forever after in heaven.

Agnes of Rome

Patronage affianced couples; betrothed couples; bodily purity; chastity; Children of Mary; Colegio Capranica of Rome; crops; engaged couples; gardeners; Girl Scouts; girls; rape victims; diocese of Rockville Centre, New York; virgins

And, she's really super cool....Read:

• At age 12 or 13 Agnes was ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods and lose her virginity by rape. She was taken to a Roman temple to Minerva (Athena), and when led to the altar, she made the Sign of the Cross. She was threatened, then tortured when she refused to turn against God. Several young men presented themselves, offering to marry her, whether from lust or pity is not known. She said that to do so would be an insult to her heavenly Spouse, that she would keep her consecrated virginity intact, accept death, and see Christ.
• Died: beheaded and burned, or tortured and stabbed to death, or stabbed in the throat (sources vary)
  

Prayers
All-powerful and ever-living God, You choose the weak in this world to confound the powerful. When we celebrate the memory of Saint Agnes, may we like her remain constant in our faith. Amen.

Anthony the Abbot

Patronage against pestilence; amputees; animals; basket makers; basket weavers; brushmakers; Burgio, Sicily; butchers; cemetery workers; domestic animals; eczema; epilepsy; epileptics; ergotism; erysipelas; gravediggers; graveyards; hermits; hogs; Hospitallers; monks; pigs; relief from pestilence; Saint Anthony's fire; skin diseases; skin rashes; swine; swineherds

Why he grabs my attention:

• Following the death of his parents when he was about 20, he insured that his sister completed her education
• At age 35 he moved alone to the desert, living 20 years in an abandoned fort.
• He miraculously healed people, and agreed to be the spiritual counselor of others. His recommendation was to base life on the Gospel.
  

Prayer
Father, you called Saint Anthony to renounce the world and serve you in the solitude of the desert. By his prayers and example, may we learn to deny ourselves and love you above all things.

Teresa of Avila

Patronage bodily ills, headaches, lacemakers, laceworkers, loss of parents, opposition of Church authorities, people in need of grace, people in religious orders, people ridiculed for their piety, sick people, sickness, Spain

Stuff:

• She grew up reading the lives of the saints, and playing at "hermit" in the garden.
• Crippled by disease in her youth, which led to her being well educated at home, she was cured after prayer to Saint Joseph.
• Her father opposed her entry to religious life, so she left home without telling anyone, and entered a Carmelite house at 17.
• She began receiving visions, and was examined by Dominicans and Jesuits, including Saint Francis Borgia, who pronounced the visions to be holy and true.
  

Prayer to Redem Lost Time
O my God! Source of all mercy! I acknowledge Your sovereign power. While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that You, Lord, can in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that You can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Your grace, both now and in the future, that I may appear before You in "wedding garments." Amen.

Sitting and Waiting, as always.....

I stopped posting the Saints on here because I was sick of looking at my blog and only seeing them. I've still been researching, and there are some pretty awesome ones. Let me know if you wanna know more about a saint.....

I'm in a weird funk this week. I am entering that phase that I was in in January where I know I'm not supposed to go out soon, so I've started to go out less. Eff that, done with it here and now. That and everyone has been pretty busy. Midterms week, projects due, all of that stuff. Plus, my volunteering and work ended last weekend and I had all week to wait until this Saturday when it starts again. There was nothing to break up my monotony.

It feels as though I've spent every day in anticipation only to be let down. Each let down seemed to pile on the last. I am frustrated because it seems this cycle will last another couple of weeks. I was supposed to go to Ohio this weekend, but due to my work schedule, I cannot go. Next week will be just like this week, and the next weekend the same. I feel like I'm caught in a vicious cycle and don't know how to get out of it.

For some reason, I'm starting to feel as though I am an unwelcome burden to everyone around me. This feeling comes for various reasons. I don't have a car, I can't go places and do things that cost money because I'm broke. I also feel like a pain to one of my friends. I feel as though he has grown to hate me. We have times when we will hang out and we get along quite well. I enjoy his company and I remember what it was like to be his friend. However, it seems as though he gets in moods where he would prefer I would not be around. These moods are almost always the case when other people are involved. I don't know how to fix this. I just know that it results in me feeling more alone when there are people at my house than I do when I am by myself.

I think I have too much time again. To much time alone to think. I've been trying to formulate plans. I've come up with a plan of action for myself over and over. It just depends on other circumstances to make this plan fall into place. And when I think, I think too much. I start to question my feelings, and I think I create problems that are not really there. I get obsessive and that's never healthy. At best, I start to convince myself that I am crazy. Which, I guess is good because the fact I think that means I'm really not, right?

I'm just sick of this persistent feeling of anticipation. I know it has to let up soon. However, next week will be comparable to this week... And I'm not even ready to think about that yet.

Regardless, everything will change in 2 weeks. And that is something to which I can look forward....