Do you pray to the saints much? I know that this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you don’t pray to the saints, let me encourage you to do so. In the Catholic tradition, the saints are both our patrons and our companions. As companions, they show us the way to live a Christian life, by their examples. The Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner said that a saint shows us what it means to be holy in this particular way. But the patron model is also an important one. The saints pray for us in heaven. And if you have trouble with that, like many people do, you might think about it this way: you probably ask for people on earth to pray for you – you might ask a friend for his or her prayers. Why wouldn’t you ask for someone in heaven to pray for you too? There’s nothing strange about that. If you’re in trouble, or even if you need help in your spiritual life, ask the saints for help. Try it. I do it all the time. Besides, they’re praying for you already!
--Fr. James Martin
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