Saint Friends

Today's Saint Friend is a little girl who died living out her faith in a very intense way. While she isn't the first martyr mentioned on this podcast, she is the first heartbreaking story we've heard. She never got to learn or experience a lot of the things many of us take for granted in our daily lives. Today we walk in the garden with the little holy girl, our new Saint Friend, St. Maria Goretti.

In the first of multiple episodes about this Saint Friend, we look at the life of Simon, called Peter, as it appears in the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). How did Jesus come to choose this buff but obedient fisherman to lead the Church in the world? If he's as close to Jesus as we think, why does he deny him publicly so many times? Today we begin talking about one of the earliest Saint Friends: Saint Peter, the Prince of the Apostles.

How does a man go from being the son of a Roman prefect to the bishop of an Italian city? Well, it involves marriage, conversion, baptism, death, a surprise ordination on Christmas and a lot of writing. Oh, and he retired from his original job at the age of 26. Along the way, he became pretty good friends with six or seven other people who would all later be named Saints. Today, we are talking about our new Saint Friend, Saint Paulinus of Nola.

What does it mean to be a “canonized Saint?” Who was the first Saint that we knew made it to heaven? Well, we don’t really know his name but he was there with Jesus at the crucifixion because he was on the cross next to him. Tradition tells us that this friend’s name might be Dismas. “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus, as the head of the Christian Church, tells the man next to him that he will join with the angels in heaven that day and BOOM! the first canonized saint.

But what does that mean for us apart from some weird Catholic theological trivia? Well, come sit at the foot of the Cross with me and we’ll learn about what this Saint Friend’s life can teach us.

“Behold, your Mother.” With these words from on the cross, Jesus entrusts Mary to us, his beloved disciples, as our spiritual mother. There is a lot to unpack with Mary, especially from a Catholic perspective, but today we will focus on what we know of Mary’s early life in the Bible.

How would you react if an angel came to you on a Saturday afternoon and said God wanted you to give birth to His Son? Oh, and that child will be the savior of the world. No pressure, right? Can you even say “No?” We’ll begin to look at that situation as well as all those things Mary held “in her heart” while constantly being “full of grace.” Join me on a walk through ancient streets and gardens with one of my best Saint Friends, Mama Mary.

Who are Saints and why are they our “Friends?” Check out this brand new podcast about the lives of the Saints and learn how they are great examples for how we should live our lives today.