2012 Patron Saint for the Year Devotion - UPDATED with Results

Update:The 2012 Devotion Drawing is now closed.  Thank you for the 268 participants in this year's devotion!

I am very pleased to again be a facilitator for the Patron Saint of the Year Devotion.  I have been part of this annual tradition since 2006 and have helped coordinate devotions for hundreds of families.  It is my pleasure to now be part of the 2012 Patron Saint of the Year Devotion.

You can read about the past devotions at the following posts:

• 2006 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2007 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2008 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2010 Saint for the Year Devotion 
• 2011 Saint for the Year Devotion

Again, I would like to take a few minutes to explain the devotion, which has its roots in St. Faustina.

When will the saints be drawn?  This year I will start the drawing of saints on the Octave Day of Christmas after the 10 AM Solemn High Mass and the recitation of both the Veni Creator Spiritus and the Litany of Saints.  Saints will be emailed starting that afternoon and thereafter.

 St. Louis IX - Virgin and Child Adored by Saint Louis, King of France

What is the Saint for the Year Devotion? Here is my post on this from years past to clarify the matter. This is from the person that draws all of the saints. I don't draw the saints. I will merely pass on your name or screenname to her so that she will draw a saint for you. Also, I will pass on the name of any of your family or friends that would like to participate. This isn't superstition. St. Faustina did the same thing!

Last year dozens of people received saints to be their special patron, and there were miraculous connections. It was truly amazing. We pray that this year the Holy Spirit will again work so that all participants receive a saint that they will be able to pray to for aid throughout the entire year:

Saint for the Year

I want to tell you about the practice of picking a saint at random to be your “holy protector” for the year. Actually, the saint is the one who chooses us though. The tradition of letting a saint “pick you,” is not a new one. St. Faustina wrote about it in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. The excerpt is below.

“There is a custom among us of drawing by lot, on New Year's Day, 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 we came to refectory 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 leapt 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. But Jesus sweetly admonished me that I should be at that moment together with the sisters. I went immediately in obedience to the rule.”Excerpt from Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Diary of St. Faustina"

I have a container full of names ... I will be glad to pick out the name for you and send you the name if you prefer. I am so excited by my saint(s) ... I already picked mine. Well, I should say that they picked me ... I have Saints Marcus and Marcellianus ... they are twin brothers who were sent to prison before their death. St. Sebastian visited them continually in prison and helped keep their faith alive. They are buried near St. Felix and are specifically honored in Spain.

OK now ... here are a couple of immediate ironies in regard to these saints ... I have a SPECIAL place in my heart for twins! As a child, I LOVED reading the story about St. Sebastian. I had a children's book of saints and I think I wore out the pages on St. Sebastian! Felix is my grandfather's name! Silvia, our exchange student, is from Spain! I am so excited to have these two saints to walk through 2006 with me! I'm looking forward as to where and how they will intercede for me.

Please pass this message on through your blogs and/or email distribution lists, letting all of the Catholic blogsphere have the chance to participate. I only ask that you give me your email address so that I may contact you when your saint is drawn. Usually within one to two days I can email you about your saint.

So, please either make sure your email address is in your profile or please leave it below in the comment box when you ask to participate. If you wish to remain anonymous, please leave your initials instead of your name.  And, if you would prefer to email me directly and not write your email address in the comment box, please send an email entitled "Saint for the Year 2012" to acatholiclife [at] gmail.com

So, comment below and pass this message on throughout the entire Catholic Blogsphere!

Support

I participate in this devotion each year without any cost. Please take a minute and if you are a supporter of this devotion, please consider leaving us a free will donation. Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue working on this devotion and spreading it further.

Results:

To start things off, the turnout this year has been great.  I have posted below all of the results as 6:45 PM CST on January 1.  I was chosen by St. Joachim, the father of the Blessed Virgin Mary!  I am honored to be chosen by him and to read more on him in order to deepen my Marian devotion.  I know that it is for this purpose that God has willed for me to be chosen by St. Joachim as a special protector for 2012.

If you are not familiar your saint, I encourage you to research online and even pick up a copy of Father Hugo Hoever's "Live of the Saints," from which I read daily.  While the book does not include saints canonized in recent years, it is something that I am highly recommending.  You may find information on your saint on my page dedicated to the saints: http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2005/09/saints.html and here is a prayer to honor any saint: http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2006/01/prayer-to-venerate-any-saint.html

To save space, results and future result postings will be put in the comment box.

Read more >>

2011 Patron Saint of the Year Devotion

I am very pleased to again be a part of the coordination of the Patron Saint of the Year Devotion.  I have been part of this annual tradition since 2006 and have helped coordinate devotions for hundreds of families.  It is my pleasure to now be part of the 2011 Patron Saint of the Year Devotion.

You can read about the past devotions at the following posts:

• 2006 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2007 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2008 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2010 Saint for the Year Devotion

Again, I would like to take a few minutes to explain the devotion, which has its roots in St. Faustina.

 St. Louis IX - Virgin and Child Adored by Saint Louis, King of France

What is the Saint for the Year Devotion? Here is my post on this from years past to clarify the matter. This is from the person that draws all of the saints. I don't draw the saints. I will merely pass on your name or screenname to her so that she will draw a saint for you. Also, I will pass on the name of any of your family or friends that would like to participate. This isn't superstition. St. Faustina did the same thing!

Last year dozens of people received saints to be their special patron, and there were miraculous connections. It was truly amazing. We pray that this year the Holy Spirit will again work so that all participants receive a saint that they will be able to pray to for aid throughout the entire year:

Saint for the Year

I want to tell you about the practice of picking a saint at random to be your “holy protector” for the year. Actually, the saint is the one who chooses us though. The tradition of letting a saint “pick you,” is not a new one. St. Faustina wrote about it in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. The excerpt is below.

“There is a custom among us of drawing by lot, on New Year's Day, 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 we came to refectory 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 leapt 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. But Jesus sweetly admonished me that I should be at that moment together with the sisters. I went immediately in obedience to the rule.”Excerpt from Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Diary of St. Faustina"

I have a container full of names ... I will be glad to pick out the name for you and send you the name if you prefer. I am so excited by my saint(s) ... I already picked mine. Well, I should say that they picked me ... I have Saints Marcus and Marcellianus ... they are twin brothers who were sent to prison before their death. St. Sebastian visited them continually in prison and helped keep their faith alive. They are buried near St. Felix and are specifically honored in Spain.

OK now ... here are a couple of immediate ironies in regard to these saints ... I have a SPECIAL place in my heart for twins! As a child, I LOVED reading the story about St. Sebastian. I had a children's book of saints and I think I wore out the pages on St. Sebastian! Felix is my grandfather's name! Silvia, our exchange student, is from Spain! I am so excited to have these two saints to walk through 2006 with me! I'm looking forward as to where and how they will intercede for me.

Please pass this message on through your blogs and/or email distribution lists, letting all of the Catholic blogsphere have the chance to participate. I only ask that you give me your email address so that I may contact you when your saint is drawn. Usually within one to two days I can email you about your saint.

So, please either make sure your email address is in your profile or please leave it below in the comment box when you ask to participate. If you wish to remain anonymous, please leave your initials instead of your name.  And, if you would prefer to email me directly and not write your email address in the comment box, please send an email entitled "Saint for the Year 2011" to acatholiclife [at] gmail.com

So, comment below and pass this message on throughout the entire Catholic Blogsphere!

Support

I participate in this devotion each year without any cost. Please take a minute and if you are a supporter of this devotion, please consider leaving us a free will donation. Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue working on this devotion and spreading it further.

Read more >>

2010 Saint for the Year Devotion: Updated

Over the past few years, starting in December 2005, I started offering the Saint for the Year Devotion on my blog, along with Marianne, who actually draws the saints for this devotion. For the 2005 devotion alone, I have had 475 individual requests for a special saint for the year. This is amazing! And starting today I will be taking names of anyone that wants to take part in this devotion for the year 2010.


Devotion:

 St. Louis IX - Virgin and Child Adored by Saint Louis, King of France

What is the Saint for the Year Devotion? Here is my post on this from years past to clarify the matter. This is from the person that draws all of the saints. I don't draw the saints. I will merely pass on your name or screenname to her so that she will draw a saint for you. Also, I will pass on the name of any of your family or friends that would like to participate. This isn't superstition. St. Faustina did the same thing!

Last year dozens of people received saints to be their special patron, and there were miraculous connections. It was truly amazing. We pray that this year the Holy Spirit will again work so that all participants receive a saint that they will be able to pray to for aid throughout the entire year:

Saint for the Year

I want to tell you about the practice of picking a saint at random to be your “holy protector” for the year. Actually, the saint is the one who chooses us though. The tradition of letting a saint “pick you,” is not a new one. St. Faustina wrote about it in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. The excerpt is below.

“There is a custom among us of drawing by lot, on New Year's Day, 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 we came to refectory 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 leapt 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. But Jesus sweetly admonished me that I should be at that moment together with the sisters. I went immediately in obedience to the rule.”Excerpt from Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Diary of St. Faustina"

I have a container full of names ... I will be glad to pick out the name for you and send you the name if you prefer. I am so excited by my saint(s) ... I already picked mine. Well, I should say that they picked me ... I have Saints Marcus and Marcellianus ... they are twin brothers who were sent to prison before their death. St. Sebastian visited them continually in prison and helped keep their faith alive. They are buried near St. Felix and are specifically honored in Spain.

OK now ... here are a couple of immediate ironies in regard to these saints ... I have a SPECIAL place in my heart for twins! As a child, I LOVED reading the story about St. Sebastian. I had a children's book of saints and I think I wore out the pages on St. Sebastian! Felix is my grandfather's name! Silvia, our exchange student, is from Spain! I am so excited to have these two saints to walk through 2006 with me! I'm looking forward as to where and how they will intercede for me.

Please pass this message on through your blogs and/or email distribution lists, letting all of the Catholic blogsphere have the chance to participate. I only ask that you give me your email address so that I may contact you when your saint is drawn. Usually within one to two days I can email you about your saint.

So, please either make sure your email address is in your profile or please leave it below in the comment box when you ask to participate. If you wish to remain anonymous, please leave your initials instead of your name.  And, if you would prefer to email me directly and not write your email address in the comment box, please send an email entitled "Saint for the Year 2010" to acatholiclife [at] gmail.com

So, comment below and pass this message on throughout the entire Catholic Blogsphere!

Results:

St. Louis IX - Death of Saint Louis 1270 by Gustave Dore

The results of all individuals who request saints will be displayed below.  Only first names and/or initials will be used to identify individuals.  An individuals results will also be emailed to them.

Update: January 3 - all received requests thus far have been processed.  The results are below.  Please feel free to contact me still as this devotion has not ended!

1.     BearPaw - St. Paul of the Cross, 04/28
2.     Angelica - St. John the Silent, 05/13
3.     Anna - St. Radegundes, 08/13
4.     Vince, - St. Rogatian, 05/24
5.     Auliya Marie  - St. Elphege, 04/19
6.     John-Luc - St. Thomas More and St. Raymond of Penyafort
7.     Monique - The Sacred Heart
8.     Frances - St. John Baptist de la Salle
9.     Claudette - The Blessed Virgin Mary and her Miraculous Medal, 11/27
10.     Nicholas - St. Nicholas of Myra, 12/06
11.     Natile - St. Hospitius, 05/21
12.     Ida - St. Finnbar, 09/25
13.     Helen - St. Stephen, the First martyr
14.     Seminarian Edward - St. Hugh of Grenoble, 04/01
15.     Mark M - The Eighteen Holy Martyrs of Saragossa, 04/16
16.     Kim,  - St. Simeon, Bishop, 02/18
17.     Gene, - St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe
18.     Erin,  - St. John Bosco, 01/31
19.     Daniel,  - St. John the Evangelist, 12/27
20.     Paul  - St. Louis Mary de Montfort, 04/28
21.     Annemarie - St. Stephen, the First Martyr
    
22.     James - St. Raymond of Pennafort, -1/23
23.     LW - St. Fabien, 01/20
24.     Holly Hall - St. Anthony-Mary Claret, 10/23
25.     Nevaeh - St. Vitus
26.     Bryan D - St. Finan or Finian, 12/12
27.     ivarbjoe  - St. Benedict
28.     Cassidy - St. Thomas More
29.     Marjorie H., - St. Isidore the Farmer, 05/15
30.     Mike H.,  - St. Louis Bertrand, 10/09
31.     Michael H.,  - St. Christina, 07/24
32.     Matthew H. - St. Servulus, 12/23
33.     Melissa H. - St. Agatha, 02/05
34.     Steve  - St. Anacletus, 07/13
35.     Toni - St. Joseph Calasanz, 08/25
36.     Stephanie -- St. Peter and his Chair at Rome, 01/18
37.     Trissi  - St. Peter Fourier, 12/09
38.     Ken - St. Epiphanius, 05/12
39.     John - St. Perpetuus, 04/08
40.     Dan - The Blessed Virgin Mary and her Miraculous Medal, 11/27
41.     Chris - St. Claude, Apollinaire, 01/08
42.     Rudy - St. Oswald, 02/28
43.     Julie H - St. Vincent, 01/22
44.     Cy - St. Raymond Nonnatus, 08/31
45.     Cy sister - St. Brendan, 05/16! 
46.     Francis Carmelle - St. Pantaenus, 07/07 
47.     Fran - The Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, 03/10 
48.     Ann - Bl. Maximin Giraud,  09/20! 
49.     Christine - St. Eligius or Eloy, 12/01
50.     Jam - St. John, apostle and evangelist, 12/27
51.     DJ - St. Gerard, abbott, 10/03
52.     Wally - St. Martin de Porres, 11/03
53.     Yaya - St. Agnes, 01/21
54.     Jazmyn - St. Joseph
55.     Katelyn - St. John of Sahagun or of St.Fagondez
56.     Ursula - St. Osmund
57.     deProfunis -  St. Lambert, 09/17 
58.     Jarrett - St. Tarachus, feast day on 10/11 
59.     Lucy - St. Benedict - Joseph Labre, 04/16
60.     Demetria - St. Jeanne - Antide Thouret, 05/23
61.     Jeannette - St. Michael the Archangel, 09/29
62.     Cesar - St. Martin de Tours, 11/11 
63.     Brian T - St. Philogonius, 12/20 
64.     Lara - St. Francis de Sales
65.     Meghan O. - St. John Chrysostom
66.     Hank - St. Margaret, queen of Scotland, 06/10
67.     Timber - St. John the Evangelist, 12/27 
68.     Xman - The Immaculate Heart of Mary, 08/22
69.     Lightning and Family - St. Paul, 06/29
70.     Stace and family - St. Matthew, 09/21
71.     Mix - Bl. Maximin Giraud, 09/20
72.     Joy - St. Thomas Aquinas 
73.     Pam - St. Catherine of Sweden, 03/22
74.     Hilda - St. Blandina, 06/02
    

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2008 Saint for the Year Devotion

In both 2006 and 2007 I have helped facilitate a Saint for the Year Devotion, by which participants have a saint chosen for them for the year. It is a devotional activity and each person is asked to pray to the saint in a special way throughout the year. For more information on this devotion, which even St. Faustina participated in, please visit my 2007 Saint for the Year Post. This year I was chosen by St. Julius, feast day on April 12!

This year, however, since I am in seminary, I do not have the time to continue the Saint for the Year Devotion. I hope to resume this devotion in later years.

Read more >>

If You Liked the Saint for the Year Devotion...

...then you'll love this!

(Moved to the top due to popularity)

The creator of that devotion had the brillant idea of starting another devotion where we receive a fruit/gift of the Holy Spirit. With Pentecost approaching, it would be great not just to pray for all the gifts/fruits but to focus on one special one. I received the gift of wisdom in the drawing, and I have been really praying for greater wisdom now. Just like the Saint for the Year devotion, this is a way to grow closer to God.

If you would like to join this devotion please read the introduction that the woman doing this has written, and just leave your name in the comments box. I will leave all results in the comments box, so please check there after you ask for one to be pulled for you.

Introduction:


Many people have enjoyed having a patron saint "pick" them for the year ... There has been many testimonies on all the connections and intercessions that have occurred. How wonderful it is to know that we are not walking alone!

In the same sense, we are doing the same thing with Pentecost and the Holy Spirit "picking" a fruit and gift just for us to reflect on and pray about for the year.

Curious? Read on ...

As we approach Pentecost, let's reflect on what happened to the Apostles on that day and what happened to us when we were confirmed.

The Holy Spirit is first introduced to a Catholic the day that they are baptized, because the entire Holy Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — are invoked at the ceremony. During Confirmation, God the Holy Spirit comes upon the person, accompanied by God the Father and God the Son, just as he did at Pentecost. The Feast of Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit from heaven to earth upon the 12 apostles and the Virgin Mary, occurring 50 days after Easter and 10 days after Jesus' Ascension (Acts 2:1–4).

This sacrament is called Confirmation, because the faith given in Baptism is now confirmed and made strong. Sometimes, those who benefit from Confirmation are referred to as "soldiers of Christ". This isn't a military designation but a spiritual duty to fight the war between good and evil, light and darkness — a war between the human race and all the powers of hell.

Confirmation means accepting responsibility for your faith and destiny. Childhood is a time when you're told what to do, and you react positively to reward and negatively to punishment. Adulthood, even young adulthood, means that you must do what's right on your own, not for the recognition or reward but merely because it's the right thing to do. The focus is on the Holy Spirit, who confirmed the apostles on Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4) and gave them courage to practice their faith. We, as Catholics, believe that the same Holy Spirit confirms Catholics during the Sacrament of Confirmation and gives them the same gifts and fruits.

Traditionally, the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chastity. These are human qualities that can be activated by the Holy Spirit. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. These gifts are supernatural graces given to the soul.

When was the last time you thought about these blessing bestowed upon you? Have some of your "fruits" rotted or dried up? Are your gifts sitting on a shelf, collecting dust?

To commemorate Pentecost, how about asking the Holy Spirit to look inside you, deep inside you and pick out one particular fruit and one particular gift that is unique to you that He wants you to pray about? He may want you to develop this gift and fruit. He may want you to share this gift and fruit. He may want you to be an example of your fruit and gift. Only you and the Holy Spirit will know. You may have an instant connection with the fruit and gift that the Spirit picks for you. Or you may wonder what in the world is He thinking? Everyone's will be different and everyone's will be unique, just for them.

I would suggest doing some research on your particular fruit and gift and then reflecting on how they play in your life. Do a lot of listening, the Holy Spirit will be doing a lot of talking!

To have a fruit and gift for the year, please contact me. I have a container full of all the fruits and all of the gifts and will be happy to pick one and send it to you. Just let me know!

God bless!

Read more >>

More Saint for the Year Results

I was able to get several more results for the Saint for the Year Devotion, so I wanted to be sure to post them here:

John- St. Frances of Rome and St. Paula
Mary - St. Rose of Lima and Our Lady of Guadalupe
Stephanie- St. Mary of the Incarnation 06/02
Christine - St. Dunstan
Kalanna - Sts Philip the Apostle and James the Lesser

The response to this devotion has been incredible. I originally posted about this back in 2005, and I'm still getting requests. If you are interested in having a special patron saint chosen for you for this year, please see my original post. If you'd like to look at some of the results, see the results page.

Total # of Participants so far: 398

May the prayers and friendship of these friend's of God bring us closer to Our Lord!

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The Saint for the Year Devotion Continues

(Moved to the top of my blog)

This is my last reminder about this devotion for this year. If you have not participated yet, I strongly encourage you to do so.

The devotion of having a special patron saint for the year chose you is still ongoing! This isn't built on superstition or the like. Rather, a friend of mine over the Internet has a tin of 1500 saint names. I relay each name/screenname to her that askes for a saint, and she pulls a saint name for each person. The connections for some have fit to the tee and others have had to dive deeper into a relationship with their saint.

Above all, saints are alive in Heaven and continue to intercede for us. This is a part of our faith as stated in the Nicene and Apostle's Creeds. Their intercession is a wonderful part of our faith

If you would like more information please see the original post, and I've just posted more results so please also see my Results Page.

If you'd like a special saint, just ask and it shouldn't be more than a few days. This is a great tradition and if you have not participated yet, it's a great addition to our lenten purpose of getting back to Christ.

Here is a comment below that is from the person that is drawing the saints:

Let me just say that it is NEVER too late to request a patron saint for the year! Believe me, they are just sitting back and waiting for you to request them! For those that are wondering how to build a deeper relationship with their saints, I would recommend "googling" their saint and getting as much information as possible ... for so many, the connections will be obvious and almost frightening! For others, the connections will not seem to be there at all ... but don't fret and don't give up hope! Pray, meditate and talk to your saint and ask them why they chose you. Believe me, you will find out! Probably when you least expect it. Take a good, hard look at your life and compare things in your saint's life with your own. Maybe your saint is telling you something about how you are living your life. Perhaps your saint is a patron saint for some difficulty or cross in your life. Perhaps your saint's feast day is an important day in your life. Maybe your saint bore their cross in a way that will make your cross easier for you. Who knows and who will know better than you? And when you find out ... let us know. God bless and have fun finding out what your heavenly intercessor is all about!

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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Saint for the Year Devotion Continues

I'm so overwhelmed with joy on the Saint for the Year devotion. Over 300 people have requested special patron saints for 2006. I've just posted a few more results on the results page.

If you would like a special saint to grow closer to God with this year, please just see my original post on this devotion and just ask.

Thank you!

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The Saint for the Year Devotion Continues

I cannot thank some of you enough. The Saint for the Year Devotion has spread greater than my highest hopes. Well over 300 requests have been made! I've just posted a few more results.

If you would like a special patron saint for this year, or if you know someone that would, please just see my original post and reply.

God Bless and Thank you

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I have a special Saint for this year

Last Update: The 2007 Devotion will begin on December 1, 2006. Watch my blog's main page for updates.

Important Update: I have received many requests, so I will contact you or post your saint on my blog as soon as I get an email from the woman doing this on who your saints are. It shouldn't be much longer than a few days at most.

Jan 8th Update: Thank you for your interest in the Saints Project. I'm still getting requests :) If you asked for a saint then check the results page. That is the only page that I will post the results on.

This is a long post, but please read this. I received this email from a kind woman who is drawing saints randomly for others. If you would like a saint please just ask.

Saint for the Year
I want to tell you about the practice of picking a saint at random to be your “holy protector” for the year. Actually, the saint is the one who chooses us though. The tradition of letting a saint “pick you,” is not a new one. St. Faustina wrote about it in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. The excerpt is below.

“There is a custom among us of drawing by lot, on New Year's Day, 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 we came to refectory 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 leapt 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. But Jesus sweetly admonished me that I should be at that moment together with the sisters. I went immediately in obedience to the rule.”Excerpt from Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Diary of St. Faustina"

I have a container full of names ... I will be glad to pick out the name for you and send you the name if you prefer. I am so excited by my saint(s) ... I already picked mine. Well, I should say that they picked me ... I have Saints Marcus and Marcellianus ... they are twin brothers who were sent to prison before their death. St. Sebastian visited them continually in prison and helped keep their faith alive. They are buried near St. Felix and are specifically honored in Spain.

OK now ... here are a couple of immediate ironies in regard to these saints ... I have a SPECIAL place in my heart for twins! As a child, I LOVED reading the story about St. Sebastian. I had a children's book of saints and I think I wore out the pages on St. Sebastian! Felix is my grandfather's name! Silvia, our exchange student, is from Spain! I am so excited to have these two saints to walk through 2006 with me! I'm looking forward as to where and how they will intercede for me.

I was very excited and asked for a saint and she picked St. Apollonius (feast day 04/18) for me. Would anyone like me to ask her to pull a saint for them? Please give me some way to contact you, though, whether it is email or through another blog.

Thanks for all of the interest in this devotion

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