Pope Benedict XVI in a homily for Epiphany in 2013.
The saints are God’s true constellations, which light up the nights of this world, serving as our guides.
On New Year’s night, we still have the monastic custom of drawing a saint to be our example through the year. This year I had the duty to select the saints for all and decided to have only women. Of course there were some old friends such as Sts Lucy and Agatha, Sts. Hildegard and Gertrude, but I also added lesser known contemporary saints, such as Elizabeth of the Trinity (my saint for this year), St. Faustina, Bl. Benedetta Porro, St. Mariane of Moloka’I, and St. Josephine Bakita.
Seeking the intercession of a particular saint does not mean that one cannot approach the Lord directly in prayer. It is the same as asking a friend to pray for you, except, this friend is already in Heaven, and can intercede for us without ceasing. It is the communion of saints, in actual practice.
Pope Francis has said that “ saints are not disconnected from the realities of daily life but faithfully live the Gospel to the fullest within the communities in which they find themselves.
Saints do not come from a ‘parallel universe’ but are believers who belong to God’s faithful people and are firmly grounded in a daily existence made up of family ties, study, and work, social, economic, and political life… the saints strive constantly, without fear or hesitation, to carry out God’s will.”
