St. Gemma Galgani ~ Saints and Scriptures Sunday

St. Gemma is the patron saint of back pain and spinal illnesses, pharmacists, orphans, and those struggling with temptation and seeking purity of heart. She lived at the end of the nineteenth century and was miraculously cured of an spinal illness that had left her bedridden. She then joined a religious order. The religious order was hesitant to accept her because of her previous health problems, so she had to prove her recovery was complete by going without even her back brace only two months after she was so ill she was given Last Rites.

When I was going through RCIA (the process through which an adult converts to Catholicism) one of the questions people asked me most frequently was "So, what's with the whole praying to a saint thing?" The best explanation I heard was from one of our RCIA speakers who described it as calling a friend who was a very devout Christian and asking them to pray for you. The Saints are all of our friends, and we can call on them at any time and ask for their prayers for a specific issue that they understood well during their mortal life. I figure I need all the friends praying for me I can get right now, so I'm gonna call my girlfriend Gemma. Drop by and visit Dianna today for Saints and Scripture Sunday - it's good for the soul!