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Calling on the saints for help
Hey all,
you've probably all heard of those great stories where someone would be in trouble and they'd call on a saint, ex: St. Mina, St. George, Baba Kyrollos, and they'd be helped. miracles of course
..but if you call on a saint for help, and for most people, the saints don't appear to them. how then do they help them?
sometimes i feel like they'll put this little voice in your head, giving you advice. but this small voice, couldnt it be YOUR conscience?
this confuses me, if i call on a saint for help, then i sort of try to think what they'd say to me, and i say it to myself. but then it's like i'm giving myself advice, where is the saint?
i'd love it if you all could share some of your experiences; like how saints have helped you-- it doesnt have to be like if they've appeared to you, but the common day to day experiences.
-Your sister :)
you've probably all heard of those great stories where someone would be in trouble and they'd call on a saint, ex: St. Mina, St. George, Baba Kyrollos, and they'd be helped. miracles of course
..but if you call on a saint for help, and for most people, the saints don't appear to them. how then do they help them?
sometimes i feel like they'll put this little voice in your head, giving you advice. but this small voice, couldnt it be YOUR conscience?
this confuses me, if i call on a saint for help, then i sort of try to think what they'd say to me, and i say it to myself. but then it's like i'm giving myself advice, where is the saint?
i'd love it if you all could share some of your experiences; like how saints have helped you-- it doesnt have to be like if they've appeared to you, but the common day to day experiences.
-Your sister :)
Comments
I'm going to color my post, so it's easier to read :)
Last semester, I got in quite a bit of trouble in school and made a mistake that was going to affect and ruin my entire future. I desperately called to the help of Anba Karas, having 100% faith that he was going to help me (so rule #1: you cannot test the saints or doubt their abilities, you have to trust they will help you, which takes a quite a bit of faith and surrender) and although he didn't appear to me or talk in my head, he did change around circumstances, by giving me grace in other peoples' eyes (rule #2: the saints work in a billion of different ways. for example, they can comfort you during your troubles, but may not solve the problem because it might not be God's will... but you'll still feel peace inside you. Or they can prevent you from a certain action that will possibly destroy you, without you even realizing). After the situation was resolved, I gave thanks to Anba Karas by doing a tamgeed (glorification) for him (rule #3: you should not only talk to the saints when you are in trouble. you should constantly be in conversation with them, so they are close to your heart, and you in theirs. That way if any troubles ever arise, they will speedily come to the rescue, because you are very dear to them. Remember to say 'thank you' and be polite in your requests; they have feelings too.)
My intercessor (St. Moses) the Black has helped me in more ways than I can describe. Yet at the same time, there are things that I've been praying about for months now that still have not been answered. But I know he hears me, and when something gets answered for me because of his prayers I can feel right away that he played a part in it. It's a great feeling.
What I've always wanted to achieve is a relationship with a saint just like the relationship between Pope Kyrillos VI and St. Mina. I've heard that they were so close that they would even joke around and argue and bicker with each other. I'd love to have something even close to this with St. Moses, but I don't want to feel like I'm leaving God out of my prayers too much.