The converting power of the saints

I owe an incalculable debt to the saints of the Church.  In my younger days I was mostly aware of the legendary figures of earlier times like St Francis and St Augustine of Canterbury and St Bede.  Indeed, saints for me were figures of the remote past.  As I drew closer to the Church, I began to learn about the wonderful individuals that the Catholic Church had raised  to the altars in more modern times like Therese and Maria Goretti and Maximilian Kolbe.  These were specifically Catholic saints who represented the Catholic ideal of holiness, and it dawned on me more and more that this ideal was the very ideal shown to us in the New Testament.  I was a great Bible man and this thought made a very deep impression on me.  If the Catholic saints lived the Gospel with such passion, should I not follow them into the Church?

Intercessions:

Rosemarie -  multiple ailments

Imogen, - living the consequences of a hugely demanding operation

Siena – infant with severe medical issues

Bernard – cancer, and his wife Angela as she cares for him

Marie - cancer