Seven Saints to Help You Through this Year of Mercy

As Uncle Jesse said, “Have Mercy!” 

With this Year of Mercy in full swing, here are some saints to befriend during this jubilee year.

7. St. Vladimir

Have you ever completed an examination of conscience with the Ten Commandments? Ever get to “Thou shall not kill," think to yourself, “Didn’t murder anyone this year!” and move on? For some of his life, St. Vladimir could not have said as much. Vlad the Bad was a 10^th century Russian ruler who killed a fair share of people. He converted after witnessing the successful spread of Christianity through the testimony of Christians.

6. St. Dismas

Known as the penitent thief, Dizzy experienced firsthand the mercy of Jesus as the two hung on crosses beside each other. Just read Luke 23:40-43--you’ll see what I mean.

5. and 4. Sts. Peter and Paul

This pair needed mercy like nobody’s business. Peter denied Christ three times; imagine how Petey felt when Jesus came back and told him to not be afraid. Paul persecuted Christians before experiencing a conversion and becoming the greatest missionary of all time. These two are perfect examples of how God not only forgives us, but also gives us the grace to become leaders of His Church.

3. St. Maria Goretti

God’s mercy can manifest itself in the relationships we have with one another. For example, when this saint was attacked and stabbed to death, she forgave her assailant. He eventually repented, converting to Catholicism. He was present at her canonization.

2. St. Augustine

St. Augustine’s pre-conversion life sounds like that of a typical rowdy high-schooler. Parties, drunkenness, and impurity enslaved him. Eventually, God’s mercy, the beauty of the Gospel, and the prayers of his mother, St. Monica, led Augustine to the Church. Today, he is renowned as one of the greatest minds in Catholic history.

1. St. Faustina

Divine. Mercy. If you are looking for a best friend for this Year of Mercy, Faustina is your homegirl. Her diary should be at the top of your reading list this year. Venerate the image of Jesus with red and white rays shining forth from his heart, pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet, read Faustina's diary, and you have yourself a solid holy hour.

“‘I am love and Mercy Itself.  There is no misery that could be a match for My mercy, neither will misery exhaust it, because as it is being granted – it increases.  The soul that trusts in My mercy is most fortunate, because I Myself take care of it.’” – The Diary of St. Faustina

Our Good, Good Father

I have a confession to make. I have been in serious spiritual desolation for the last four months. And y’all, it stinks. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. But it’s the Year of Mercy! And this morning, our good Father hit me over the head with His mercy!

This morning, as I was trying to pray morning prayer, I reached the end of the intentions portion, and I realized that I didn’t have the strength to pray for anything that wasn’t already scripted for me. So instead of trying to spout off the thousands of intentions I know that I should pray for, I opened my hands and my heart to God and cried out, “Father, you know the intentions of my heart even better than I do, and I don’t have the strength to pray for them myself, but I give you this empty vessel I call a heart and hope that it’ll be enough for You.”

And despite the fact that it’s a very meager gift for the King of kings, I think it was the most pleasing thing I could have given Him.

Maybe this is the mercy of God—that it is more pleasing to Him when we come to Him with empty hands and breaking hearts than when we come to Him with what we think is perfection and righteousness.

Because the reality is that we’re never going to be sinless or perfect in this life. There will always be something within us that is lacking, that needs to strive for a higher degree of perfection. It’s the price that comes with being fallen creatures in a fallen world.

And you know what? I think God prefers it that way. If we were already perfect, or if belief in God were the only necessary requirement for Heaven and it didn’t matter how we lived or sinned (a common misconception in our modern culture), then we wouldn’t need a Savior now. We would only have needed Him to die for us that one time 2,000 years ago, and we wouldn’t need Him now. We don’t still need a Savior if we’re already saved, right? Sure, we might still really love Him—after all, how can you not love someone if you truly believed that He died for you? But we wouldn’t need Him, not really.

But here’s the thing: God is a Father. And like any good father, He wants His children to need Him. 

So often, I’m tempted to think that I need to pick myself up from my sin and make myself perfect before I can approach my Father’s throne. But more often than not, I can’t do that. Most of the time, when I approach that throne, I do so with empty hands. And sometimes, I have to crawl my way to that throne, because I don’t have the strength to pick myself up and walk.

And as I was praying about that this morning, you know what I heard Him speak to my heart? Well obviously you don't, so I'm about to tell you: He prefers it that way. He wants to be the one to pick us up. He doesn’t want the finished product. He wants all of us, all of our brokenness, because He wants to be the one to fix us, to make us whole.

There’s this song that I love. I want you to take a few moments to listen to it now, because I think we all need the reminder. It's called Good Good Father, click here.

Oh I’ve head a thousand stories of what they think you’re like, but I’ve heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night, and you tell me that you’re pleased and that I’m never alone. 

You’re a good, good Father, it’s who you are, it’s who you are, it’s who you are, and I’m loved by you, it’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am. 

I’ve seen many searching for answers far and wide, but I know we’re all searching for answers only you provide, cause you know just what we need before we say a word.

The mercy of God lies in the fact that He loves us. Not because of who we are, but because of who He is—goodness itself. 

Today, I’m thankful for my brokenness in a way that I have never been before. Because it is only when I acknowledge and embrace my brokenness that I can clearly hear that tender whisper that reminds me who I am—a daughter loved and cherished beyond belief.

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Catie Destatte is a senior Theology and Catechetics major. She has a passion for writing, Mama Mary, ministry to women, and evangelization. Her life motto is Totus Tuus Maria, and she tries to live that out in her every moment. Along with being a member of Women's Ministry Core Team, she's involved in Capture My Heart Core Team, Liturgy Committee, and Totus Tuus Maria Household. Her five great loves are JPII, St. Peter, tea, praise and worship music, and the ocean. Along with Shannon, one of Catie's roles in Women's Ministry is to run this blog. You can find out more about her here.