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Seven Saints for Healing and Comfort

Whatever your need in life is, there is a patron saint who is standing by to help you.

By Thomas J. Craughwell

For centuries, the saints of the Roman Catholic Church have served as both inspirations and intercessors. From the lives they lived to their deaths--many as martyrs--they serve as an example of what a devout and holy life can be. They embody the virtues that most of us only strive for on our best days.

Many people also look to saints as intercessors who can understand our earthly struggles and will join us in prayers to God for assistance. While there are saints associated with all sorts of situations and conditions (there's even a saint for the Internet) the seven saints featured here are associated with illness and chronic health conditions.

St. Anne (First century)

The Patron Saint of Infertility

According to a second-century apocryphal work called The Protoevangelium of James, Anne lived with her husband Joachim for many years without bearing a child. But at long last God sent an angel to announce to Anne that she would become pregnant and give birth to a daughter. The angel also promised Anne that her child would be spoken of around the world. "Now I know the Lord God has blessed me exceedingly," Anne said to Joachim. "I, the childless, shall conceive." Anne and Joachim's daughter was, of course, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Since St. Anne is the mother of Mary and the grandmother of Jesus, Christians have always believed that her prayers must have great influence in heaven. Devotion to St. Anne is especially strong among women who long for children but have a hard time becoming pregnant.

St. Juliana Falconieri (1270-1341)

The Patron Saint of Chronic Illness

Juliana Falconieri grew up among saints. Her uncle, St. Alexis Falconieri, was one of the seven founders of the Servite order. The priest who taught her as a child and acted as her spiritual director was St. Philip Benizi, one of the early superiors of the Servites. Inspired by the holiness around her, Juliana decided to affiliate herself with the Servites as a nun. Juliana added works of charity to the Servite way of life by going out into the streets of Florence to help the sick, the helpless, and the abandoned.

Because of her own struggle with sickness, St. Juliana became the patron of people suffering from any type of chronic illness. During the last years of her life, she was plagued by an undiagnosed stomach ailment. Eventually the illness proved fatal. As she lay dying, she was seized by such a severe bout of vomiting that the attendant priest deemed her unable to receive Holy Communion. Instead, at Juliana's request, he covered her chest with a corporal (a linen cloth) and laid the consecrated host over her heart. According to the story, the Eucharist vanished a few moments later.

St. Agatha (About 250)

The Patron Saint of Breast Ailments

Many a history textbook describes the ancient Romans as noble, enlightened, and civilized--even though their judicial system perpetrated some of the most gruesome crimes imaginable. The Romans believed that criminals (a category that included Christians) were less than human, so brutalizing them was perfectly acceptable.

By these standards, the agonies experienced by St. Agatha were just business as usual. Her troubles began with a consul named Quintianus. As the man who governed Sicily, Quintianus could have whatever he wanted--and he wanted Agatha. But she was a wealthy Christian who had consecrated her virginity to God, and she turned him down flat. Enraged by the rejection, Quintianus ordered Agatha to be arrested and stretched on the rack. Despite excruciating pain, she refused to renounce her faith or accept him as a lover. He then instructed the executioners to slice off her breasts.

Agatha was unconscious as the jailers carried her to a prison cell and left her to die. Then St. Peter arrived, descending from heaven, and restored her breasts. When the jailers reported that Agatha was alive and healthy, Quintianus had her rolled over hot coals until she died.

Because of the mutilation endured during her martyrdom, she has always been the patron of women suffering from any type of breast ailment. In recent years, she has been invoked especially against breast cancer.

St. Peregrine Laziosi (1260-1335)

The Patron Saint of Cancer

Peregrine Laziosi's conversion came about in the middle of a street brawl. He was one of the young hotheads of Forli, an Italian town that had sided with the holy Roman emperor in his power struggle with the Pope. The priest St. Philip Benizi was dispatched to urge the Forlians to come back to the Church. Peregrine Laziosi charged across the piazza, grabbed the front of St. Philip's religious habit, and struck him hard across the face. In response Philip turned the other cheek, waiting for another blow. Faced with such perfect Christ-like meekness, Peregrine's rage turned to shame. He joined St. Philip's religious order and became a Servite priest.

For many years Peregrine suffered from an acute pain in his right leg. It was eventually found to be cancer. In a last-ditch effort to save the priest's life, the physician planned to amputate. The night before surgery, the suffering Peregrine dragged himself to the life-size crucifix that hung in the monastery. He sat at the foot of the cross and prayed until he fell asleep, dreaming of Christ climbing down from the cross and touching his cancerous limb. When he awoke, the wound on his knee had healed and not a trace of the cancer remained.

St. Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591)

The Patron Saint of AIDS Patients and Caregivers

As the eldest son and heir of a wealthy family in 16th century Spain, Aloysius was expected to marry well, raise a family, expand the Gonzagas' wealth and influence, and, if the opportunity arose, slaughter their enemies. Yet secretly he was planning to renounce his title and become a Jesuit priest. At age fifteen, he revealed his intentions to his parents. He gave up his inheritance and set off to become a Jesuit novitiate in Rome.

Aloysius was aggressive and unyielding, with a pronounced antagonistic streak. He brought the same ferocious energy to religious life that his ancestors had carried onto the battlefield.

Suspecting that the young nobleman needed to learn the virtues of obedience and humility, the Jesuit superior sent Aloysius to work in one of the city's hospitals. Aloysius did as he was told, but he loathed every minute of it. It took all his Gonzaga willpower to get through each day.

Aloysius had a change of heart, however. In January 1591 a terrible epidemic struck Rome. Soon the city's hospitals were overwhelmed with patients, so convents and monasteries threw open their doors. Aloysius went out every day to collect the sick and dying. He found beds for them, washed them, fed them, comforted them, and prayed with them. Sadly, his heroic service lasted only a few weeks; he himself fell victim to the epidemic and died.

In recent years, AIDS patients and their caregivers have adopted as their patron St. Aloysius Gonzaga, the man who overcame his fear of the sick and the dying and became their most kindhearted nurse.

St. James the Greater (First century)

The Patron Saint of Arthritis and Rheumatism

One of the first apostles to join Jesus, St. James was also the first such follower to be martyred. Of the twelve apostles, St. James, his brother St. John the Evangelist, and St. Peter formed a privileged inner circle. Christ allowed them to witness miracles the other apostles only heard about later: the raising from the dead of Jairus's young daughter, the healing of St. Peter's mother-in-law, and Christ's display of his heavenly glory at the Transfiguration. While the other apostles carried the gospel to far-off lands, James stuck close to home, preaching in Judea and Samaria. Consequently, when King Herod Agrippa began to round up Christians, James was easy to find. He was arrested, given a quick trial, and beheaded.

Legend tells us that as the king's men led James outside Jerusalem for execution, he passed a man crippled by arthritis or rheumatism who was sitting by the side of the road. The man begged James to cure him. Pausing for a moment on his way to martyrdom, James said, "In the name of Jesus Christ, for whom I am being led to execution, stand up and bless your Creator." As the soldiers dragged James away, the crippled man stood and then ran to the temple in the city to give thanks to God. That's the type of cure people who suffer arthritis pain pray for.

Blessed Margaret of Castello (1287-1320)

The Patron Saint of Disabilities

Blessed Margaret's life is one of the most heart-wrenching stories in the roster of saints. She was born blind and with severe curvature of the spine; her right leg was an inch and a half shorter than her left, and her left arm was malformed. She never grew taller than four feet.

Her parents kept little Margaret hidden away in their house in Metola, in the Italian province of Umbria. When Margaret was six years old, the family traveled to a shrine at Castello, hoping for a miracle. When none took place, her mother and father abandoned her.

Some women of Castello found the terrified child and took care of her. A husband and wife, Venfarino and Grigia, adopted Margaret and treated her with love and kindness as their own daughter. She appears to have spent the rest of her life with them.

Margaret's disabilities did not make her bitter; rather, she became one of the most generous, sympathetic people in Castello. She nursed the sick, consoled the dying, and visited prisoners. She regarded her own disabilities as a means to unite her pain with the suffering Christ endured on the cross. Her courage, patience, and deep religious devotion won her the affection of everyone in town.

At Margaret's funeral, the crowd was immense. The parish priest planned to bury Margaret in the churchyard, but the mourners insisted that she have a tomb inside the church, alongside the other distinguished dead of Castello. The priest was still arguing the point when a girl whose legs were crippled dragged herself to Margaret's coffin. She touched the casket and then stood up and began to walk. The priest gave Margaret a tomb inside the church.

Posted by angel-healing at 7:20 AM BST

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http://myzerowaste.com/ 

A lovely site created by a family who really want to make a difference! THEY EVEN HAVE A MONTHLY COMPETITION YOU CAN ENTER!!

Join a family of four in the UK, as they set about challenging themselves to creating zero waste!

We know that the amount of rubbish we generate in the UK is a serious problem. Landfill space is running out, incineration can lead to toxic fumes being released and we dump many items that still have useful life in them.

For years, we like many other households, have been throwing away one or two bins worth every week of rubbish, but in recent years we’ve become more aware of the impact this is having on our environment, wildlife and our health.

Freak weather, climate change, air pollution and species becoming extinct are all symptoms of our wasteful Western lifestyle.

We created My Zero Waste after being inspired by Almost Mrs Average’s Rubbish Diet. We aim to share information, chart our progress and reach out to like minded people. We hope that we can empower one another with practical, workable and realistic goals and that we can all begin to feel optimistic and inspired to make positive changes.

Many people feel defeated about climate change because it feels so overwhelming. There is a lot of conflicting information and pessimism which leads to confusion and a feeling of defeat before we’ve even started.

The truth is that we can ALL make a difference! If we all come together and make small changes, the collective results can be life changing.

The environment needs to be saved, and together we can do it.

Posted by angel-healing at 8:32 AM BST

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click

http://www.consciousone.com/friends/index.cfm?PID=431

Posted by angel-healing at 7:15 PM BST

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Date	Course/workshop etc	Venue/area
January 2008
Wednesday 9th	Reiki II Evening Class	--Lam Rim
Wednesday 16th	Reiki II Evening Class	--Lam Rim
Thursday 17th	Reiki Taster	-- ARA
Friday 18th	Evening Reiki Share	-- Montpelier
Wednesday 23rd	Reiki II Evening Class	--Lam Rim
Thursday 24th	Reiki I Class	-- ARA
Wednesday 30th	Reiki II Evening Class	--Lam Rim
Thursday 31st	Reiki I Class	-- ARA
February
Friday 1st – 3rd	Imbolc Women’s Gathering	-- Glastonbury
Wednesday 6th	Reiki II Evening Class	--Lam Rim
Thursday 7th	Reiki I Class	-- ARA
Wednesday 13th	Reiki II Evening Class	--Lam Rim
Thursday 14th	Reiki I Class	-- ARA
Sunday 17th	Reiki III Class	-- Matara Centre
Monday 18th	Reiki I intensive	-- Filton College
Tuesday 19th	Reiki I intensive	-- Filton College
Wednesday 20th	Daytime Reiki Share	--Lam Rim
Saturday 23rd	Well-being Day	-- Easton Community Centre
Thursday 28th	Reiki I Class	-- ARA
March
Thursday 6th	Reiki I Class	-- ARA
Friday 21st	Evening Reiki Share	-- Montpelier
April
Sat 12th-20th	Rachael away at: Low Impact Building Course	-- West Wales
Sunday 20th	Reiki III Class	-- Matara Centre
Monday 21st	Reiki II review session	--SPAN
Monday 28th	Reiki II review session	--SPAN
Wednesday 30th	Daytime Reiki Share	--Lam Rim
May
Sunday 5th	Red Tent Day	-- St Werburghs
Monday 12th	Reiki II review session	--SPAN
Friday 16th	Evening Reiki Share	-- Montpelier
Saturday 17th	Reiki II review session	-- Montpelier
Monday 19th	Reiki II review session	--SPAN
Saturday 31st & Sunday 1st June	Moon Times at Bristol Vegan Fayre	--stall 99 Harbour side Bristol
June
Monday 2nd	Reiki II review session	--SPAN
Wednesday 4th	Daytime Reiki Share	--Lam Rim
Monday 9th	Reiki II review session	--SPAN
Wednesday 11th	Reiki I Class	-- ARA (for ARA clients only)
Saturday 14th  & Sunday 15th	Moon Times at Hereford Garden Festival	--Hereford
Tuesday 17th	Confidence and Relaxation Class	--Badock School, Southmead
Wednesday 18th	Reiki I Class	-- ARA (for ARA clients only)
Monday 16th	Reiki II review session	--SPAN
Saturday 21st	Solstice Women’s Workshop	--St Werburghs
Sunday 22nd	Bristol Big Bike Ride Community Garden Transition BS3 Action Day	--Bristol --Bedminster
Monday 23rd	Reiki II review session	--SPAN
Tuesday 24th	Confidence and Relaxation Class	--Badock School, Southmead
Wednesday 25th	Reiki I Class	-- ARA (for ARA clients only)
Thursday 26th	Reiki I Class	--LCT, Bedminster
Saturday 28th	Moon Times at the Green Parenting Show	--London
July
Tuesday 1st	Confidence and Relaxation Class	--Badock School, Southmead
Wednesday 2nd	Reiki I Class	-- ARA (for ARA clients only)
Thursday 3rd	Reiki I Class	--LCT, Bedminster
Tuesday 8th	Confidence and Relaxation Class	--Badock School, Southmead
Wednesday 9th	Reiki I Class	-- ARA (for ARA clients only)
Thursday 10th	Reiki I Class	--LCT, Bedminster
Friday 11th-13th	Sacred Arts Camp AGM	-- Dorset
Tuesday 15th	Confidence and Relaxation Class	--Badock School, Southmead
Wednesday 16th	Reiki I Class	-- ARA (for ARA clients only)
Thursday 17th	Reiki I Class	--LCT, Bedminster
Friday 18th	Evening Reiki Share	-- Montpelier
Saturday 19th  & Sunday 20th	Weekend Reiki I Class	-- Montpelier
Tuesday 22nd	Confidence and Relaxation Class	--Badock School, Southmead
Thursday 24th	Reiki I Class	--LCT, Bedminster
August
NO REIKI SHARE

 

September
Thursday 25th	Reiki II Class	--Montpelier
Friday 26th	Evening Reiki Share	-- Montpelier
October
Thursday 2nd	Reiki II Class	--Montpelier
Thursday 9th	Reiki II Class	--Montpelier
Wednesday 15th	Daytime Reiki Share	--Lam Rim
Thursday 16th	Reiki II Class	--Montpelier
Thursday 23rd	Reiki II Class	--Montpelier
Thursday 30th	Reiki II Class	--Montpelier

Posted by angel-healing at 9:41 AM BST

Updated: Wednesday, 19 November 2008 9:44 AM GMT

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Mood:  a-ok

Raising Caring Kids

 We've heard a lot recently about bullies and violent kids. But how do you raise a compassionate child, a kid with a heart who shares with others or helps those who are being mistreated? Beliefnet parents share their parenting tips for raising empathetic children in a "me first" culture.

Teach Kids to Handle Peer Pressure

 When my son was in grade school, he came home talking about a new kid at school that looked and acted a little different. The new student was taunted by friends of my son and they did not make him feel welcome. My son was neutral and did not step in to make the poor kid feel good either.

This was an opportunity for me to talk about having compassion for others and doing the right thing despite the peer pressure to do the opposite. I asked him to put himself in the shoes of the new student and see how he would feel being taunted because others did not like the way he looked.

I also let him know that those who bully are often bullied themselves at home and he needs to have some compassion for his friends who bullied.

--Dovemom

Emphasize Respect for Others

 As a mother of 3, I've always made it a point to show my children injustices and how to respect others. I've told them that you don't have to be someone's best friend to show respect. I think that has gone a long way in how they handle situations at school.

My son was telling me in his 7th grade class how some students were being mean and making fun of one of the special education students. He said that he was kind to her and talked with her. I was so proud that he had shown respect for this child and did not join in with the other kids. Whenever you see something or hear of someone being treated unfairly, take that time to teach them what compassion is.

--Sarahsmile40

Involve Other Caring Adults

 As parents, we are their 1st teachers, and children are very quick to mimic what we say and do. If they're exposed at an early age to others who are also compassionate, loving, respectful people--grandparent, aunts, uncles, etc.--that gives them a solid foundation to be that way themselves.

We raised two boys into adulthood and they both turned out to be kind, compassionate young men who freely gave to charities. The credit isn't all ours, though. Others helped to shape them along the way, and we're also a very faith-filled family.

--shaner
Avoid Spoiling

 Spoiling is number one...this newfangled stuff where we are supposed to turn kids into selfish care bears who think they are "special"...that isn't conducive to a caring attitude. "Princess Syndrome" is rampant nowadays. Ya know, the self-esteem thing: "I'm special and beautiful 'cuz I got born." Self-respect is earned by doing the right thing.

Don't abuse or spoil...make sure the kiddies earn the right to feel special. That creates future caring adults.

--stevegraywolf
Give Them Pets

 We taught our children by example and gave each of them pets to care for. Animals seem to have the ability to draw out the best in a child that few other things can.

Appreciate a Sensitive Temperament

 I was an introverted and empathetic child. It was difficult for me growing up for various reasons. I wanted to add something. In my adult years I have learned that being introverted and empathic are wonderful qualities. If your children are either or both, there are really good books available. One is for raising highly sensitive children and the other is for raising introverted kids.

--Sfltracey
Get Them to Think Before They Act

 You teach them by making them think about what they are doing. When my kids would do something like pull the cat's tail (as every 3-year-old has probably done), I would sit on the floor with the cat in my lap and my kid in front of me and ask "Why do you do that? Do you want me to pull your hair?" Then I'd gently pull her hair, not enough to hurt, but just enough to make her realize that it is attached and COULD hurt. Then I'd explain that we must be gentle and kind to every animal, even people. Because it's awful to be hurt, and no one likes to be hurt. To this day my kids will defend anyone they see being picked on.

--Tmarie64

Take Time to Explain

 When I was little I was confused because people would tell me "that is the way it is" with never an explanation. [As a mother,] I always tell my children from beginning to end why certain things are the way they are. My daughter told me one Mother's Day, "The reason I love you is because you always tell me the truth." Both my children amaze me with small and large acts of kindness. The best way to teach them is to be an example yourself!

--Pattydel
Model Compassion

 I believe you first must have those qualities you want to teach to your child. Children listen to about 20% of what you say and 40% of what you do...and the remainder will be outside influence. When you go and volunteer on Christmas to feed or pass out gifts, then your child sees and experiences the compassion that you are showing. If your child has a friend that is less fortunate than him and wants to share his toys, a compassionate parent encourages that or suggests that, because we know in the end material things mean nothing. Parents are not required to be perfect, but if we analyze ourselves from time to time, then our children will be just fine.

--toolite

Help Them Stand Alone

 It's rare to see kids possess the strength of character to support those who are picked on. A lot of kids I know or have observed are so very conscious of appearing out of place, they would never dream of going against the crowd. I'm thinking that one thing compassionate kids need to understand is that they sometimes have to stand up alone against a crowd or do the opposite of what the majority are doing. Hope they have support--like their parents--behind them.

--IreneAdler
SPONSORED BY http://www.responsibilityproject.com/
--namchuck

Posted by angel-healing at 7:56 AM BST

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