Joan Carroll Cruz - Saints for the Sick: Heavenly Help for Those Who Suffer

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Copyright 2010 by Joan Carroll Cruz.

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ISBN: 9780895559579; 0895559579

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Our Lord once said, The poor you have always with you. (Matthew 26:11). The same might also be said of the sick, who are all about us, suffering in one way or another from conditions that are annoying, serious, or life-threatening. For the suffering souls who have come to our attention, would it not be comforting and reassuring for them to find a Saint who endured the same problemsone who understands the difficulties and would willingly pray for them? Here you will find scores of Saints and a list of well over 100 physical conditions which these saintly, suffering souls accepted as the will of God. (When referring to those not canonized, we are of course using the term Saint in an unofficial sense.)

Counted among them are priests and nuns, nobles and the humble, martyrs, mothers and fathers, teenagers and even children. All bear a title, that of either Saint, Blessed, Venerable or Servant of God, whose causes for beatification have been accepted by the Vatican. Accounts of many of the heroic sufferings of those listed here have been generously provided by those who attended them and by those family members who are anxious to demonstrate the saintly qualities of their relatives. Here you will find saintly persons who suffered atrocious pains, yet they suffered patiently and without complaint, while offering their pains for the salvation of souls and for the good of the Church.

How were these Saints able to accept their sufferings so patiently and with confidence in the mercy of God? They had a secret, and it is this: time after time, it is found that when the sufferers abandoned themselves completely to Gods holy will, they were given the grace to accept their sufferings willingly and without complaint.

While reading these biographies, it is to be remembered that not all medical conditions progress in the same manner. What a current patient is enduring will not necessarily worsen, or develop complications, or even be life-threatening, as was the ailment of the Saint who suffered the same sickness. It is to be considered that medical science has vastly improved, with more advanced diagnostic methods, new medications, new procedures and cures. In fact, after reading about the resignation of these holy souls and their determination to accept willingly the plan of God for them, the reader, it is hoped, will feel inclined to invoke these holy souls; as a result, his condition may very well improve. If not, then through the example of these holy souls the reader will surely be given the grace to accept his condition with more patience and confidence in the merciful love of God.

For those who cannot find a Saint whose condition is like their own, it is recommended that they read the chapter about Venerable Mari Carmen Gonzalez-Valerio, who was only nine years old at her death; Venerable Anne de Guign, who was 11; St. Lydwine of Schiedam, who endured a whole catalog of sufferings; and Bl. Margaret of Castello, who was born hunchbacked, dwarfed, blind and lame. A list at the back of the book gives various physical conditions and the Saints who endured them as recommendations or suggestions of whom to pray to for assistance in various types of ailments.

It is my hope that patients will find here a source of encouragement in their sufferings and perhaps may select one or two of these saintly souls as their advocates in Heaven. Writing this book has been an inspiration to me, as I pray reading it will be an inspiration for you.

H E WAS called by his contemporaries The wonder and miracle of our age. Seven centuries later Pope Pius XI still recognized him as a great writer whose works, in addition to those on theology and philosophy, included writings on botany, mineralogy, astronomy, physics, chemistry, anthropology, cosmography and many other subjects. His study of nature included the writing and cataloging of 114 species of birds and of various aquatic animals, serpents and other creatures. He was familiar with medicinal herbal remedies, surgery, medicines and even dentistry. As to philosophy and theology, he had no equal. At the time of his death it was said: He knew everything that was knowable.

St. Albert was born the eldest son of the Count of Bollstadt in Lauingen, Swabia, Bavaria about the year 1206. We know nothing of his earlier training, but we do know that he studied at the University of Padua and joined the Order of St. Dominic in 1223. His studies continued at various universities. He apparently passed his subjects with great distinction, so that he almost immediately began teaching theology in Hildesheim. Albert then returned to Paris, where he received a Doctors degree in theology and resumed his teaching career. One of his students in Paris was the great St. Thomas Aquinas, whose genius Albert quickly recognized. St. Albert became the spiritual director of St. Thomas and also predicted his future greatness.