"Pray, hope and don’t worry." — Padre Pio
I’m not Catholic (or even Christian), but I like the idea of praying to Saints. I’m more at home talking to a specialist than a general practitioner. And Saints are specialists in certain spiritual areas we can usually put faces to. My Mom is Catholic, which is how a Pagan like me found out about Saints. There are Saints or enlightened dead people who intercede with impersonal spirits on behalf of the living. Whether you believe in the Saints or Gods or not is not the point. Saints don’t seem to care what religion you are. They’re great to talk to when you can’t talk to anyone else about whatever is stressing you out. Here are a couple of Saints to pray to or talk to when you’re stressed.
Although there isn’t an official "Patron Saint of Worry" in the Catholic Church, Padre Pio (1887 - 1968) comes closest because he often counseled, "Pray, hope and don’t worry." He was a controversial Italian friar that tended to tick of the Church. He was blessed with mystical powers that make would make a Witch like me envious, but he also was cursed with terrible physical pains like that stigmata thing (Creepy!) He did the usual Saint stuff like miracles and also was devoted to feeding the hungry. He was made a saint in 2002. I’ve got a feeling he doesn’t like being called a Saint, but prefers "Padre Pio".
He’s great to talk to about animal worries. Others like to talk to him to help protect the enviornment (another source of stress in modern life). Legend has it that he was a rich man who renounced all of his worldly goods and spent the rest of his life helping feed the hungry, do miracles and other general good stuff. It’s nice to see a Saint who literally put his money where his mouth was.
Kuan Yin (Qwan Yin)
There are many different spelling variations to this Goddess of Mercy, who seems to have been based on a real woman. The legend is that the Buddhist saint Miao-shan was such a good person that when she died, she refused to enter Paradise because she heard the suffering of all the creatures left behind on Earth. Since then, she spends her time helping lost travelers, bringing comfort to the suffering and listening to the prayers of the stressed.
When All Else Fails
You can pray to Saint Jude, The Patron Saint of Lost Causes. Tradition says you should recite a certain prayer, but I find think he’s not that fussy. What’s in your heart is more important than what comes out of your mouth.
Hope this helps.
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