When I was younger, I was rather fond of obscure saints. I figured nobody was tapping them up for intercession and so I'd be much more likely to have my prayers heard by them than if I went to an overbooked saint like St. Therese, St. Francis, or St. Joseph.
Yes, it was a juvenile understanding of the Church Triumphant, but I learned a great bit about a great many otherwise forgotten saints. And they were, and still are, quite generous intercessors (besides the few I deemed rightfully obscure when they ignored my fervent requests).
Anyway, I saw a 7 1/2 hour movie (with subtitles) of St. Teresa of the Andes
and was immediately smitten. In hindsight, the movie isn't quite as great as I thought it was at the time, but it made quite an impression on me and I fell in love with her. Shortly thereafter a kind Aunt sent me a book about her
which arrived, coincidentally, on the good saint's feast day. After watching the movie, reading that book, and another book about her, I knew she was going to be my Confirmation patron.She was young (died at age 19), was a contemporary (died in 1920), was a Carmelite (my favorite spirituality), she was also a glutton for multiple names (her Baptism name was Juana Enriqueta Josefina of the Sacred Hearts Fernandez Solar though she was usually called "Juanita") and she was obscure. Score!
Even though she's not on the American calendar, I still encourage you to learn more about her and celebrate her feast today, July 13th.
St. Teresa of the Andes, pray for us!
Who is your Confirmation saint, and why did you choose him/her?
12 comments:
I'm even greedier than you are. I tried to choose three names (After St. Joan of Arc, Bl. Kateri, and St. Edmund Campion) but I think the bishop only gave me the first. Just as well, since St. Joan is by far my favorite anyways.
I think she is just amazing. She is unique, had a great sense of humor, was sharp as a whip, talented, attractive, and had such faith to do something so, well, weird, from a saintly point of view.
Have you read Mark Twain's biography?
Saint Therese of Lisieux. She was my mother's favorite saint and had many examples of what she took to be little flowers from heaven. I rejoined the church and received Confirmation as a result of my mother's faith facing death, so it seemed appropriate.
No, I never did read that biography. I did see the movie from the 20's, though... The Passion of Joan of Arc.
Yeah, I've only technically got two names, but I've got a whole truckload of saints... I took all saints who are named Teresa (and Therese, Theresa and Teresita) under the figurehead of St. Teresa of the Andes :-D. And the same goes with Elizabeth (although Elizabeth of the Trinity is the technical one).
Beautiful, Jules!
St. Cecelia, patron of music. I chose her as I was a choir member throughout middle and high school.
I just recently found your blog when Jennie C. issued a "take that" on her turkey post ;) I don't have any connection to a farming life, born and bred suburbanite ;), but I do enjoy reading of ways of living that are so different from my own. I read thru a lot of your popular posts and really enjoyed your insights!
Hi Kristy, thanks for stopping by and leaving a kind comment! :)
St. Cecilia is definitely a favorite :-D, great pick!
I have two favorite semi-obscure “Blesseds.” The first is Blessed Margaret of Castello, who I learned about when I was a teenager. She was born blind, dwarfed, lame, and hunchbacked—and basically imprisoned by her noble parents because they were ashamed of her. Despite all that, she never became bitter toward anyone. Instead, she let her experience of pain and abandonment make her gentle and compassionate toward everyone. She was such cheerful and courageous soul, and a true example of humility. She is a great patroness for the pro-life movement because her parents didn’t want or love her, but she was such a blessing to the world, and so very loved by God (read more at: http://catholicism.org/blessed-margaret-castello.html) Plus, she’s incorrupt, which is always cool!
The second Blessed I have come to love since having embarked on the joys and challenges of married life is Blessed Conchita of Mexico (AKA: “Concepcion Cabrera de Armida”). I can identify with her as a relatively modern day woman (died in 1937), a wife, and (hopefully, one day) a mother and grandmother. If I am ever widowed and decide to found a religious order, well, then she would still be my go-to gal, because she went through that, too. On the outside, she appeared to others to live an ordinary life as a wife and the mother of nine children. No who knew her suspected that she had such a profound interior life, or even that she was a prolific spiritual writer. They just noticed her serenity and deep love for the poor and suffering. They noticed that they felt peaceful when they were around her. Her children describe her as balanced, simple, fun-loving, and always having a way of turning conversation toward Christ without boring anyone. Man, I wanna be like her!! I highly recommend “Conchita: A Mother’s Spiritual Diary,” which is a whole book about her that is totally free at this link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/25494858/Conchita-Diary-the-Venerable-Concepcion-Conchita-Cabrera-de-Armida
Citywife: I know this was long, but thanks for letting me share about these two beautiful, blessed ladies!
Holy moly, those two are awesome! I've always been quite fond of your first obscure saint, but I'd never heard of Blessed Conchita; thanks for sharing, Cassilynn! Between bread risings today, I'm definitely going to read the book you recommended about her.
I was really into nature and animals when I was in 8th grade, so I wanted to take St. Francis of Assisi, however, I didn't want a boys name after some teasing from some of my friends, so I went with Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. It's always a wild card whenever you play "Guess my confirmation name" and is fun to listen to people try to pronounce it! Also, Kateri is her native variety of Katherine, my granmother's name. I told her this and she said it makes sense because I always did Pocahontas dances for her whenever she babysat and I was little. Funny how it all falls into place!
What a sweet story! Thanks so much for sharing, Michelle!
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