I have enjoyed the readings from the Letter to the Hebrews that we have had in our daily masses these past two weeks. Today, what struck me in the reading, was the mention of the “cloud of witnesses” that surround us on our journey of faith. Yesterday, we had a wonderful ALPHA session on prayer. It mentioned how we Christians usually present our prayers to the Father, through the Son, by the presence of the Holy Spirit with us. There are different styles and manners of prayer in our Catholic faith. Yes, the cloud of witnesses, the community of saints, those who are great examples of faith, are there for us. They are not observers who stand at the side and watch us. They are there to help us, to lead us, to guide us, to pray with us. We pray with the community of saint and through the community of saints. Through learning about the saints, through uniting our prayers with theirs, they are a integral part of our journey.
St Agatha is the saint we celebrate today. She was martyred as a young lady in the Early Church in the first half of the third century on the island of Sicily, Italy. The year after died, Mount Etna erupted on Sicily; her intercessions are attributing to the calming of that volcano. Today, St Agatha is remembered as the patron saint of nurses, miners, those suffering from breast cancer, and Alpine guides.
As we remember St Agatha and the members of the community of saints, we unite our prayers to theirs and we thank them for their presence in our lives of faith.
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