St Benedict & His Prayer

"The Lord turns deserts into pools of water,
the dry land into springs of water."
Psalm 107:35

This very special candle is a gift from a Friend. It was blessed by a Deacon during an Adoration Service.

St Benedict protect us from evil

St Benedict's prayer - very powerful

The Word

"The word of the Lord endureth forever."
1 Peter 1:25

St. Kolbe

"I am the door: by me, if any man enter in,
he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."
John 10:9

Saint Cecilia

"I am the light of the world:
he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life."
John 8:12

Saint Cecilia the martyr, her feast is on 22 November.
She is the saint patroness of poets and musicians. She is often portrayed in pictures playing various instruments including the organ, the flute, violin, harpsichord and with roses as well.

Saint Clara

"The Lord thy God,
He is God, the faithful God,
which keepeth covenant and mercy
with them that love Him."
Deuteronomy 7:9

Santa Clara was born in Assisi, Italy. Her real name was Chiara Offreduccio.
Her feast day is 11, 12 August.

John Paul II

"Whosoever will save his life shall lose it;
but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's
the same shall save it."
Mark 8:35

Saint Therese Again

"Draw nigh to God,

and he will draw nigh to you."

James 4:8

St. Judas Thaddaeus

"The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants:
and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate."
Psalm 34:22

 Saint Thaddeus aid us

Saint Joseph

The card is a token of the Christmas priest visit which took place in the 60s.

Joseph was born in I BC/ died in 20 AD. He was the husband of Mary, Jesus' mother.

The feast day of  Saint Joseph's is on 19 March and 1 May. He is the saint patron of fathers, families, farmers, workers, and carpenters. Saint Joseph's attributes are a lily, a hammer, a plane (carpenter's tool), and Baby Jesus

Saint Paul and Saint Peter

"Whosoever will save his life shall lose it;

but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's shall save it."

Mark 8:35

Saint Paul and Saint Peter the Apostles both died as martyrs.

St. Paul's attribute is a sword, St. Peter is usually portrayed with a key/two keys.

Their feast day is 29 June.

St. Paul is a saint patron of missions, theologians and evangelists.

More about St. Peter the Apostle in another post.

Saint Therese of Lisieux

Marie Therese Martin was born on 2 Jan. 1873 in Rue Saint Blaise, Alençon, France. Her parents Marie-Azelie Guerin (lacemaker) and Louis Martin (clockmaker) were deeply religious Catholics.
Marie Therese had eight siblings. She decided to become a nun at the age of 15, she joined the Carmelite cloister in Lisieux, France. Three of her sisters became nuns as well.

Marie Therese was of weak health. She died from tuberculosis at the age of 24 (on 30 Sept. 1987) in the Lisieux cloister. She was canonized on 17 May 1925.

Saint There's feast day is on 1 October. She is the saint patroness of Alaska, Russia, France, the Philippines, missionaries, florists, gardeners, parents who lost their children and people who suffer from AIDS.

Attributes: baby Jesus, a bunch of roses, a crucifix

The parents of Therese - Marie Azelie and Louis were canonized in 2015.

St. Andrew Bobola

Andrzej (Andrew) Bobola was born in a Polish noble family on 30 November 1591 in Strachocin, Poland. He was a missionary Jesuit, worked in Lithuania. Father Bobola was captured by the Cossacks in the village of Janów on 16 May 1657. He was tortured in various cruel ways and died as a martyr. On the day of his death, Andrzej Bobola was 65 years old.

Father Andrzej was canonized on 17 April 1938 by Pope Pius XI.

The card is a token of the silver priesthood jubilee of Priest Wojciech Zieliński who was ordained to the priesthood on 20 Dec. 1930 in Pelplin, Poland. Then, he served in the parishes of Tarpno, Koscierzyna, Chełmno, Kartuzy, and Gdynia-Obłuże.

Saint Andrzej Bobola is the saint patron of Poland. His feast day is on 16 May.

Maximilian Maria Kolbe

Maksymilian Maria Kolbe was born in Poland, on January 8, 1894, died in Auschwitz on August 14, 1941. His real name was Rajmund Kolbe. He joined the Order of Friars Minor Conventual in 1907 and became priest in 1914. Father Maksymilian Maria Kolbe worked as a missionary in Poland, China, Japan, and Italy.

He was imprisoned in Auschwitz. There he volunteered to be starved to death instead of Franciszek Gajowniczek (the latter one was among the men sentenced to death because three other prisoners had escaped from the concentration camp). After two weeks of starvation, Maksymilian Maria was still alive so the camp guards killed him with a lethal injection. He was the first Christian WW2 martyr.

Maksymilian Maria Kolbe was recognized as a Blessed Person in 1971. He was proclaimed Saint in 1982.

The two above cards I was given a long time ago, when I was a primary school kid. Maksymilian Maria Kolbe was still regarded as a Blessed one then.

Saint Maksymilian Maria Kolbe's attributes are his camp prisoner's number 16670, concentration camp outfit, glasses, a book, a rosary made of bread, and a palm leaf.

He is the saint patron of prisoners, families, journalists, blood donors, and Esperantists.
The feast day of St. Maksymilian Maria Kolbe is August 14.

Saint Anne

Anne was the mother of Mary and Jesus Christ's grandmother. Anne's sister was Sobe. The latter one was the mother of Elisabeth. Anne died when she was 80 years old.

The feast days of St. Anne (according to different calendars) are July 25, 26 and November 20.

St. Anne is the Saint Patron of many cities and countries including Spain, Canada and Brazil.
She is also the Patroness of (among others) married couples, childless people, miners, mothers, children, housewives, and grandparents.

Her attributes are a book, a door; she is also portrayed with Mary, Jesus and/or her husband Joachim.

Saint Anthony

Saint Anthony's real name was Fernando Martins de Bulhões. He was born in 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal. He chose monastery life and became a priest in 1219. In 1220 Fernando joined the Franciscans order and changed his given name to Anthony. He died in a monastery near Padua, at the age of 36, due to ergotism he had suffered from.

St. Anthony is the patron saint of many cities, lost things, children, miners, fishermen, married and engaged couples, the poor, pregnant women, missing persons and elderly people.
He is also the patron saint of minor animals, shipwrecks, and harvests.

The feast of St. Anthony was observed on June 13. The Saint's attributes are a book, a lily, a heart, a flame, fish, bread and a donkey.

Saint Dymphna

Dymphna was born in the seventh century. She was a daughter of Damon, an Irish king (who was a pagan). Her mother was Christian. Dymphna was baptized in a secret as well. After the death of her mother, Damon was willing to marry Dymphna. The girl fled to Geel in Belgium to escape the marriage. Dymphna, supposedly, was the founder of a hospital in Geel. Since she did not want to come back to Ireland, king Damon had her killed.

The feast day of St Dymphna is on 15th May. She is the patron saint of the emotionally and nervously disturbed, victims of incest, neurologists, psychiatrists, and psychologists. Her attributes are a crown, a sword, a lilly and a lamp.

St. Michael

'Whosoever shall call

upon the name of the Lord

shall be saved.'

-Romans 10;13

... and deliver us from Evil...

My other post about Saint Micheal The Archangel here.

John Paul II and Our Lady of Czestochowa

John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła) was born in Poland on May 18, 1920. He became Pope in 1978.

I remember the day when he was elected - a neighbor of ours came to our place to tell us the great news then, the lady also invited us to her place to watch the live TV transmission together. Well, we had a TV set of course, she just wanted to share the historical moment with us.

During his pontificate, John Paul II visited 129 countries, including Poland (8 times).  On June 11, 1987, he came to my city as well. That was a great day, when the Pope celebrated the service on the main city square. Mostly everybody, went there  - to see our Jan Paweł II (John Paul II) and participate in the mass. I can recall, the city center was so packed with people, I could not manage to get to the place where the mass was to be held. But I did find a spot on a street leading to Kosciuszko Square and saw the Pope's vehicle pass by. Furthermore, I remember the crowd, including myself, we all prayed ''Our Father" loudly. Frankly speaking, I found the moment quite unusual. I had never experienced anything like that - the solemn and joyful atmosphere and saying prayers standing among the crowd, on a pavement curb. I think I did not see the Pope himself, but it was once in a lifetime thing anyway.

On that day, in Gdynia, John Paul II spoke about the new meaning of Solidarity for the first time. If you do not know, his teachings and political influence helped to overcome communism in Poland. It led to system changes in other Easter European countries and the fall of the Berlin wall. 

Whenever 'the Polish Pope'  came to Poland, it was a kind of holiday in the country. He was our fellow countryman, known for his great intelligence, kindness and a bland and benignant smile. Whoever he talked to, he treated the persons in a most considerate way, no matter if they were politicians or simple and uneducated people. As many Poles, we watched his visits on TV. Thanks to live programs, we could also take part in the masses the Pope celebrated during his pilgrimages.

John Paul II died in 2005. National mourning was announced in Poland then. Many people felt as it was their close friend or relative who had died, not the Pope.

Besides being priest and Pope, John Paul II was also a poet, play-writer and philosopher. Have you ever tried to read on of his books?

The bookmark - at the top: picture of Our Lady of Częstochowa (original painting - supposedly painted by St. Luke/ in Jerusalem in 66-67). The painting was brought to Poland in 14th century and placed in the monastery in Częstochowa.

Our Lady of Częstochowa (called 'Black Madonna') is also known as Patroness, Protectoress and Queen of Poland.

John Paull's II motto, regarding Holy Mary, was 'Totus Tuus' (All Yours). He visited the monastery in Częstochowa a few times when he was young. In 1979 he paid his first official papal call there.

John Paul II was canonized in 2014.
Feast day of Saint John Paul II: 22 November

St. Michael The Archangel

Theme: Saints

St. Michael the Archangel - one of the main angels, protects against evil, the guardian angel of Christians, protector of Israel.

He is often depicted with a sword, a globe, a cross, javelin, lance or a buckler. His other attribute is the scales which he symbolically uses to measure good deeds.

St patron of:

• goldsmiths and engravers, grinders, police officers, soldiers, little children and pilgrims, fencers, radiologists and mariners;
• several cities such as: Kiev, Amsterdam, Brussels, Łańcut and Biała Podlaska;
• countries: England, Austria, France, Spain, Germany, Hungary.

Feast Days: Sept. 6, 19, 29, November 8, 19.