Hey y'all,

When I converted to the Catholic Church, I discovered many many friends. And I don't mean just the friends that I interact with on this Earth. I mean the heavenly friends, the saints.

I mean, why not make friends of those in heaven? If we ask for friends to pray for us while we're here on Earth, how much more would heavenly prayers be?

Out of all the thousands of saints that I've learned about, I've found many that have parallels to my own life. And for this Faith post, I'd like to highlight those saints :)



St. Megan (St. Margaret Ward) - Megan is my baptismal name. Megan is the Welsh form of Margaret, and so while any St. Margaret would be correct (and believe me, there are a lot of them!) the name St. Megan is often attributed to St. Margaret Ward who was an English martyr.

St. Timothy - Being born on his feast day, I guess you could call him my "natal patron saint". St. Timothy is also the patron saint of stomach problems, and since adolescence, I've had my fair share of those.

St. Catherine Laboure - My confirmation patron saint, and the namesake that I took for my pen name. When I first converted, I had a huge devotion to the Miraculous Medal, and to St. Catherine. I credit both of them (and Our Lady and Our Lord) for helping along my conversion process. I do feel a special affinity to St. Catherine personally, as she is also a country woman.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton - She is hugely special for me, ever since I found out that she was an Episcopalian convert. I've been to her National Shrine in Emmittsburg before and will be making a trip again there soon. I've since placed the conversions of my mother and brother into her hands.

St. Philomena - Patron saint of the Junior Sodality of Our Lady of Good Success, of which I was inducted as a member when I was 15. Not much is known about her, but it is proven by other saints that she is a powerful intercessor in Heaven!

St. Michael the Archangel - I would be remiss if I did not mention my family's patron saint! I invoke St. Michael a lot for spiritual warfare concerns, and I hope to name a son for him :).

St. Raphael the Archangel - I knew about St. Raphael's intercession for single people, but he is also interceded for healing, traveling and other causes that I've been struggling with. I have a holy water font with his image on it.

St. Thomas More - The whole Tudor period is fascinating to me, but St. Thomas More is one of my favorite saints from that period. His balance of being in the world and not of it, is something to emulate. It may or may not have to do with the movie....

St. Bernadette Soubirous - Yet another saint I was introduced to by a movie! I love stories of visionaries as well, and that whole story of Lourdes is so powerful :)

St. Mary Magdalene - As someone who struggles with impurity and melancholy, I look to her as an example of repentance. I hope to dedicate The White Rose, my debut novel, to her intercession.

St. Joan of Arc - Being of a militant spirit, I am hugely drawn to St. Joan of Arc. I'm not fond of the cross-dressing aspect of her life, but she is such a fascinating study of fortitude and confidence that I hope to emulate.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha - She stuck out to me when I first learned of her, because I am actually have a small claim of descendency from the Mowhawk tribe. Being that my Protestant grandparents have heavy Native connections due to their business, there are often arguments as to which native customs to engage with, as many are laced with naturalism and paganism - both of which I cannot support. I'm encouraged by St. Kateri's example who rejected those beliefs and prayed for the conversion of her people.

St. Catherine of Siena - If I had not chosen St. Catherine Laboure, this woman would have been the other choice for my Confirmation namesake. I have placed her in patronage of a small writers group that I've created through NaNo. Her example, especially in her apologetic works, really inspires me in learning how to heal divisions while sticking to orthodoxy. An example that should be employed today too....

St. Padre Pio - I'm fascinated by mystic priests in general, but I really like Padre Pio because of his stance on purity and modesty. He also has the best philosophy - "pray, work and don't worry"! I had the priviledge of venerating a glove of his during a retreat one year.


Those are my "main" saints, though there is a giant list of others. I've been reading more and more about the saints this Lent, due to my daily reading of Butler's Lives of the Saints. It's one of my favorite spiritual readings. 

What "heavenly friends" do you know and invoke? Chat with me in the comments below!

Old-fashionably yours,

Catherine