When the Saints Go Marching In …

…-to our lives IS WHEN WE INVITE THEM to help us show our divine spark within.  Catchy title* for lofty cause : today  I want to talk about working with saints.

 

There are many saints to work with.  Actually, the tally of just how many saints there are, varies.

 

The book by Rev. Butler called ‘Lives of the Saints’ counts over 2500 saints, however, the exact number of saints in unknown, and must far exceed this. This is, as the Catholic Church once explained, because the church doesn’t make anyone a saint, but rather recognizes a saint. And so it is in other religions as well. There must be many more saints than we know of. 

 

 

What Makes a Saint a Saint

In many religions, Saints are considered a step closer to the Divine Power than we are. Religions being man-made organizations rather than Divine-made organizations, the details of what it means to be a Saint varies from one to the other as well.

 

 

The Process of Recognition of a Saint

For example, the Catholic path to sainthood is as follows: 

 

In the Catholic church, canonization follows beatification. Canonization is a formal many-year process of investigation whether an individual is a saint. The first step is an in-depth investigation of the virtues displayed during the person’s life by the local bishop.  When sufficient information is gathered, the saint-candidate becomes titled a  "Servant of God". 

 

Upon further investigation and approval, the person’s then elevated to  ‘Venerable or Heroic in Virtue’.   At this stage, believers are encouraged to ask for miracles by the saint-candidate.  A minimum of two important post-humus miracles are needed for the saint-candidate to receives the title ‘Blessed’.  This step is called  ‘beatification’.  

 

The final step is the recognition as ‘Saint’ by the pope himself.  Once a person has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church, his/her soul is believed to be surely in Heaven while the body & personal belongings of the saint have become holy relics.

 

Some of the saints have one or more symbols that represent their life.   For example, Saint Teresa of Avila if often shown with a white dove flying towards her and a notebook and feather pen in hand.   She’s been an avid journal, book and letter writer on theology in daily practice. (Her most famous books: ‘The Interior Castle‘, The Way of Perfection and The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila.) 

 

 

Saints are meant to be honored & respected.  One can pray to saints to ask for help, just as one can ask another person to pray for them.

 

However, the power of saints is granted by God. Therefore,  worship however, should be reserved for the pure Divine, or God.

  

 

 

In some ways, the question still remains:

What Makes a Saint a Saint?

"A saint is .. someone through whom

we catch a glimpse of what God is like"

~ Kenneth Woodward,

"Making Saints:
How The Catholic Church
Determines Who Becomes A Saint,
Who Doesn’t, And Why"

 

Perfect quote on sainthood.

 

 

The Universal Saint

Embracing all kinds of religions and paths of spirituality (beyond the Catholic church), the attributes of what they consider a Saint seem to always:

1. Be an exemplary model

2. Be an extra-ordinary teacher

3. Be a source of benevolent power, or perform miracles

4. Be selfless, ascetic in our behavior

5. Have an especially close relationship with the Divine Power.

 

 

How Can We Work with Saints?

In several ways:

• 1. We can pray to them and ask for a miracle or otherwise support.  When we pray to saints, we can not help but be inspired by them also….. Which brings me to the second and third ways:
• 2. We can choose them as our role models: the typical characteristics of saints  offer lofty guiding principles to support our every day action.  
• 3. We can choose them as our teachers. Beyond these general characteristics, every saint has his/her own personality and character traits, which may inspire awe.

I think that over time as we work with a saint on our spiritual path, we gradually move from 1. ‘a source of support’ to 2. ‘an inspiration’ to 3. ‘teacher.

 

 

Which Saint Inspires You?

For me, there are several who really inspire me, each in their own way.  For example,  the words of St. Teresa of Avila seem to so befit the ‘We Are One World Healing’ initiative, and that’s why they are posted here.   Mother Teresa symbolizes compassion in action to me, and that’s why I wrote about her here.  Other sources of inspiration have been Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi. Mother Mary to me is one to turn to for family/mother-kind of affairs. I have been in several holy places dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, and found his energy touchable there.  And my journey goes on.

 

 

I think it does not really matter who you choose as your friend, role model & teacher in heaven.  The point is that you do work with saints. 

 

May you find solace in 
their encounter with you.

 

 

 

 

 

* Footnote 1

‘Oh When the Saints Go Marching In’ is a spiritual expression, an American Gospel hymn, and a slow funeral song sourced from New Orleans.  The traditional verses of the song are apocalyptic, with imagery from the Book of Revelations, e.g. solar and lunar eclipses; and the trumpet of Archangel Gabriel, announcing the Last Judgment.  The hymn expresses the wish to go to Heaven, which is appropriate for funerals. …. I thought to remind you of this, just before altered jazz versions of this song pop into your head.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

Footnote 2

Why I write about Saints on a blog about Reiki?  Most importantly, the ultimately Reiki goal is for us all to develop enlightenment, to become more Divine, to live in and give in unconditional love.  Reiki heals at four levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.  The last one is at least as important as the first one.

 

Why not instead talk about Reiki hand positions or the Reiki clients I had yesterday directly? Because there is a time and place for everything, and I find that the spiritual aspects on many Reiki blogs is not that strongly represented.  It is also the most difficult.

 

Basic public information about Reiki is already written about on this healing blog and on my own (distance) Reiki website.   Reiki 1 or 2 training materials are provided in my Reiki manual.  You are welcome to obtain a copy of it for your personal practical Reiki training.

Combat Worry w Positive Thought & Saintly Help

Now that the stock market raises concerns for us all, I thought to offer a bit of solace.

First. I would love to remind everyone including myself that life is about love, and not money.

Second. repeat.

Third. For those of you who are not that familiar with Reiki healing: it comes with a set of fundamental principles which to live by. One of these Reiki principles is the deceptively simple creed: ‘Just for today, … do not worry’. By taking the stress, worry, and anxiety off our own shoulders for a whole day, we are free to… ENJOY the day!!! At the end of the day, we realize, we didn’t miss anything. Instead, we gained a whole, pleasurable day of your life. At times, part or all of the problem we could have been worried about has resolved all by itself by day’s end.

Fourth. Complementing this Reiki principle, is one of my own personal sayings and belief: ‘The world is a perfect place’. To me, this means that while sometimes things are not exactly to our liking in the short term, in the long run they are for our highest good.

Trusting and affirming that the world is a perfect place helps us to be firmly in this world. Also, when we mediate, go to a place of oneness, and embrace all of life in its totality, we may be able to acknowledge and understand that a re-balancing, a shift, can only bring us closer to enlightenment.

Being in a state of ‘need’ can help us create a stronger sense of community… It takes us out of our comfort zone and can help us to take a step out into the unknown that is a completely new and wonderful world for us. I reminiscent of last year’s long power outage causing entire streets to have outdoor group BBQs in the freezing cold but in warm spirits…. They may have never met their neighbors before.

Fifth. If all this wasn’t enough for you to put your worries to one side for a day or more, economic downturn tends to make us more spiritual. This makes us aware: … We are not alone in this world! There are archangels, angels, and highly evolved spirit guides who are waiting in the sidelines to help us find and further ourselves on our path of most light. All we have to do is ask or pray for their help.

Saintly Help

Here are some specific saints to pray to when you’re stressed & worried:

a. The Asian Goddess of Mercy, Quan Yin
Helps lost travelers, comforts sufferers, listens to prayers of the stressed.

b. Saint Jude
He is the Patron Saint of lost causes & desperate cases.
A specific prayer to him:
“Most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered thy beloved Master into the hands of His enemies hath caused thee to be forgotten by many, but the Church honors and invokes thee universally as the patron of hopeless cases, of things despaired of. Pray for me, who am so miserable. Make use, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded to thee, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and succor of Heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly — (Mention your request) and that I may praise God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity. I promise, O blessed Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor thee as my special and powerful patron, and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to thee. Amen.

c. The Italian priest & Saint Padre Pio
His advice was: “Pray, hope and don’t worry. The Spirit of God is a spirit of peace.” He had a sense of humor and was extremely popular as a confessor. When people would leave things out, he’d tell them what they’d left out. As well, he could read their hearts, and was capable of prophecies. In 1947, he heard the confession of Karol Wojtyla who was then a young priest. Padre Pio told him he was going to be pope. And indeed, he became Pope John Paul II.

Padre Pio held masses in which miracles occurred. He had many supernatural gifts (bi-location, mystical conversations with Mother Mary and Jesus and others). He bore the wounds of Christ (stigmata) for fifty years.

d. The Italian Saint Francis of Assisi
Saint of nature/animal-related worries.

Learn More About Saints

To learn more about how to relate to them, see this article on saints.

Saintly References
Quan Yin
St. Jude
Padre Pio
St Francis of Assisi

Last. In my recent Roman travels, I came across the saying ‘action is the antidote to depression’. Don’t get worried. Don’t get depressed. Do something constructive.

When I contact angels, archangels and/or my spirit guide, I receive help often in the form of great ideas. I am convinced that even if you’ve never once prayed before: when you become open to receiving answers to your prayer, you too will receive ‘divine inspirations’ to take certain actions, to make certain calls, to take certain turns.

So, Act with faith and love.

Copyright 2008 Astrid Lee, Reiki Master Teacher.

Learn how Reiki heals & book your own Reiki session at www.TherapeuticReiki.com

Reiki, spiritual healing, alternative therapy, healing energy, distant Reiki