Three Saints You Need Right Now and Why
Why is this happening? How will I survive without seeing my friends? What am I supposed to do until this is over?
These are questions you’ve probably asked yourself a thousand times. It’s true, we live in difficult times. The Coronavirus has disrupted, even devastated our everyday lives. We’re stuck at home probably feeling somewhat purposeless and fearful of what the future may hold. We’ve become disconnected from some of the things we enjoy doing and, worst of all, from some of the people we love.
But there are those who’ve lived through this and worse in the past and they just might have some of the answers.
I’m talking about saints, a group of people that are hard to put in a box. However they all have one thing in common, in times of trouble, they trusted in God.
Devotion to a saint means asking them for their prayers and allowing their story to inspire you. The saints have shown us time and time again how to live with Christ in His resurrection and draw closer to Him! This season of Easter is a great time to learn more about the saints lives and how God worked through them all.
All the saints can be profound examples of faith and humility but I would like to present to you three saints now in particular. Since the time when God put these people in my life, they have given me heart and enlivened my faith. I hope they will do the same for you.
- Saint Sebastian -
The year was 283AD and one of the most courageous soldiers of the Roman Empire was receiving a promotion to the role of Praetorian Guard, the personal guard of the emperor and one of the highest roles in the empire.
St. Sebastian was born not in Rome but in an area on the western edge of the empire now called Narbonne, in modern day France. He was raised a Catholic and devoutly practiced his faith.
He was keeping this second personal detail very much secret however, as at this time the faith was persecuted and the punishment for being found Christian was death.
He had joined the army in order to secretly convert soldiers and prisoners of war from within and this promotion had come as a surprise to him. He would often visit prisons in secret to encourage Christians who were soon to be executed. He also converted the prison guards and even the prefect (the local leader) of the area.
Tragically, in the year 288, word reached the emperor of Sebastian’s evangelising efforts and in his fury he called for Sebastian to be killed by a squad of North African archers. He was left for dead tied to a tree and covered with arrows, but was discovered and nursed back to health by a woman named Irene who would later become St. Irene of Rome.
Upon regaining his health Sebastian returned to the emperor and publicly spoke against his persecution of Christians. This act of courage made St. Sebastian one of the greatest saints of his time.
The emperor then ordered for Sebastian to be beaten to death. This attempt was successful and Sebastian’s body was thrown into the local sewer. For his bravery and faith, God took him into heaven with him to begin his new mission, praying for those on earth.
Many Romans had previously prayed to Apollo the god of plagues and of arrows. However, when St. Sebastian survived death by arrows they put their faith in his prayers to God to save them from disease rather than in the “power” of their pagan god. From that point he became the primary saint called on in times of plague.
Sebastian is a resounding model of courage to us and is praying strongly for us even now against the Coronavirus. He is also a brave example of standing up for what is right and going against the culture in order to love others.
- Saint Roch -
Starting his life in the lap of luxury, the heir to one of the most powerful family’s in France, spending his adult life on a pilgrimage to Rome and back, and then dying in prison only to have an angel appear at his death bed, stories don’t get much more extraordinary than that of St. Roch.
Born the son of the governor of the city of Montpellier in 1295AD, Roch, much like the other saints we’ve seen gave up his position of power and wealth. He, however, decided to make a long pilgrimage to Rome and back through a plague stricken Italy.
At the time Italy would have very much resembled the world today, plague was sweeping through the land and people were isolating themselves in their villages for fear of what they called, the Black Death. When arriving in a village on his way to Rome, Roch would pray for those who were sick and afraid and God performed many miraculous healings through him. He worked in hospitals, in homes and in churches and quickly became famous throughout all of Italy.
After a long period of avoiding illness, on his way back from Rome, he finally caught the Black Death himself and decided to quietly walk into the forest to die. Legend goes however that a dog found him there and brought him food, alerting its owner to Roch’s dire situation. Roch was nursed back to health then finally returned to Montpellier.
Once home, he refused to reveal his identity as the son of the governor. His uncle not recognising him, thought he was a spy and had him thrown in prison where he remained for the rest of his life.
It is said that when his body was removed from his cell, an angel appeared and wrote on the cell wall in golden letters that anyone who prayed to St. Roch in times of plague or disease would be delivered from harm by the Lord.
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The third and final saint the Church needs right now is a modern day saint. A saint that is still alive and represents the best hope for the Church and the world today in the time of the Coronavirus and beyond.
They lived a fairly ordinary life up until recently but the Lord has been preparing them in isolation. Helping them to spend more time alone with him and growing closer to him in love.
Just as Maximilian Kolbe faced the evil of WWII or St. Dominic faced lies about the truths of our faith, this saint has been given a great enemy to face but it’s this enemy that will make this saint a hero, just like the others.
In years to come, stories will be told of this saint who healed in a time of sickness, who gave hope in a time of despair and who loved in a time of fear.
This third saint is…
YOU
What you may not yet realise is the loneliness you feel unites you to Jesus in his loneliness. Your sadness in his sadness. Be assured that in turn, you will receive the joy and peace Jesus gives to his saints.
As a Catholic you will be challenged for a period as the sacraments become closed to you, but Jesus is placing a hunger in your heart for them. When you can finally receive them again you will receive them regularly for the rest of your life, the sacraments will help fuel your sainthood.
I need you and the world needs you, to become a great saint. To show bravery like St. Sebastian, to perform miracles in faith like St. Roch.
Will you let the Coronavirus be the ember that sparks greatness, that sparks sainthood within you?
Sebastian is from Oxford in the UK but now lives in Perth, Western Australia. He has a degree in Human Biology and French from the University of Western Australia and intends on studying a Masters in Speech Pathology next year. He worked in Youth Ministry in Perth in 2018 and 2019 and is now serving on the 2020 Melbourne Youth Mission Team. He is interested in languages and enjoys travel and music as well as seafood.