Saint John of God

1495 – 1550

Feast Day: March 8

A Portuguese mercenary who fought in several wars, sold slaves, and lived hard, John was known to “think with his heart” by acting impulsively. At the age of 40, while a bookdealer in Granada, he heard a sermon that changed his life. The thought of all the wrongs he committed in his life drove him to madness. Incarcerated in a filthy hospital, he suffered the mistreatment of the insane first hand.  As he recovered his sanity, he began helping the nursing staff. Upon his release, he devoted the rest of his life to the sick and destitute. He founded the Order of the Brother Hospitallers and opened a hospital, funding it by befgging in the streets. When his hospital was burning down, he ran in and carried each patient out one by one. He is frewquently depicted carrying a hospital patient. Because of this he is also considered a patron of firefighters.

While recovering from an illness, he leapt into a river in anunsuccessful attempt at rescuing a drowning boy. He died on his 55th birthday from an overexhausted heart.

Patron of: those suffeering with Heart Ailments, the Dying, the Sick, Hospitals,, Booksellers, Firefighters, Nurses, Printers.

Invoked against: alcoholism

NOVENA PRAYER TO SAINT JOHN OF GOD FOR A CURESaint John of God, heavenly Patron of the Sick, I come to you in prayer to seek your help in my present sickness. Through the love which Jesus had for you in choosing you for the sublime vocation of serving the sick, and through the tender affection with which the Blessed Virgin Mary placed upon your head a crown of thorns as a symbol of the sufferings you would undergo in the service of the sick to attain to your crown of glory, I beg you to intercede for me to Jesus and Mary that They may grant me a cure, if this should be according to the Will of God.

How patiently you bore the sufferings of your own disease! Teach me to carry with cheerful resignation the cross that God has given me. Let me never complain or lose courage. Help me to understand that suffering is a very important means of sanctifying my soul, of atoning for my many sins, and of reaping a plentiful harvest of merit for Heaven. I trust in your great love for the sick and in the power of your intercession to help them. Help me, good St. John, and beg the God whose name you bear to touch me as He touched the sick while on earth, that through His almighty power health may return to my body. And as you derived strength in your own sufferings from the crucifix, so may I be able to say what you did to Jesus Crucified: “Lord, Thy thorns are my roses and Thy sufferings my paradise.”

Good Saint John, lover of those who suffer and special Patron of the Sick, I confidently place before you my earnest petition.

(Mention your request.)

I beg you to recommend my request to Mary, the Mother of Sorrows and Health of the Sick, that both Mary and you may present it to Jesus, the Divine Physician.

Saint John of God, patron of the Sick and beloved of Jesus and Mary, pray to Them for me and obtain my request. (Three times.)

In honor of Saint John of God:

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Saint John of God, Patron of the Sick, pray for us.

 

Say this novena nine times in a row for nine days in a row.

   Saint Blaise

One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers

D. 316     Feast Day: February 3

An Armenian bishop known for his healing powers, Blaise took refuge in a forest during a time of persecution. When many animals stayed by his side, angry hunters reported him to the authorities. While in prison, he healed a boy choking on a fishbone by praying in his cell. Condemned to death, he then promised to protect all who brought a candle to church on his feast fay. He is commemorated on his feast during the “Blessing of the Throats.”

Other Patronages:  Croatia, sick cattle, wild animals, builders, carders, laryngologists, mattress makers, swineherds, wind musicians, wool workers

Invoked against: Goiter, Throat Disease

(Above excerpt from the book, “Patron Saints: A Feast of Holy Cards” by Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua. Image from the collection of Father Eugene Carrella.)

Novena to St. Blaise to Cure Disorders of the Throat

O God, deliver us through the intercession of Thy holy bishop and martyr Blaise, from all evil of soul and body, especially from all ills of the throat; and grant us the grace to make a good confession in the confident hope of obtaining Thy pardon, and ever to praise with worthy lips Thy most holy name. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

St. Blaise, gracious benefactor of mankind and faithful servant of God, who for the love of our Saviour didst suffer so many tortures with patience and resignation; I invoke thy powerful intercession. (Your intention here.)Preserve me from all evils of soul and body. Because of thy great merits God endowed thee with the special grace to help those that suffer from ills of the throat; relieve and preserve me from them, so that I may always be able to fulfil my duties, and with the aid of God’s grace perform good works. I invoke thy help as special physician of souls, that I may confess my sins sincerely in the holy sacrament of Penance and obtain their forgiveness. I recommend to thy merciful intercession also those who unfortunately concealed a sin in confession. Obtain for them the grace to accuse themselves sincerely and contritely of the sin they concealed, of the sacrilegious confessions and communions they made, and of all the sins they committed since then, so that they may receive pardon, the grace of God, and the remission of the eternal punishment. Amen.

My Lord and my God! I offer up to Thee my petition in union with the bitter passion and death of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, together with the merits of His immaculate and blessed Mother, Mary ever virgin, and of all the saints, particularly with those of the holy Helper in whose honor I make this novena.

Look down upon me, merciful Lord! Grant me Thy grace and Thy love, and graciously hear my prayer. Amen.

Novena to Saint Agatha  Feast Day: February 5

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes  Feast Day: February 11