Favorite saints: baptismal & confirmation namesakes, whimsical patronages? :)

Morning all! *weak smile* I'm soldiering on through my week. Due to the lost keys catastrophe of yesterday, I popped a keyring from my car keys onto my temporary office keys featuring two of our recent popes. I figure a pope keyring *has* to provide the good mojo such that I won't lose them again.

As I browsed Catholic keyrings yesterday, I got to thinking about how much devotion to the intercession of the saints means to me, and how I have worked to instill that in my children. The kids really seem to gravitate toward stories of the saints and the wacky things they encountered in their lifetime. :) St. George battling a dragon, anyone?

So I thought I'd make a list of the saints that are important in my life, and find out which are important in yours. :) It's always good to learn about new saints, in my opinion, or learn more about someone you never paid much attention to. I'm a big fan of lists, so let's get all organized here, I'll break out my librarian ways.

*adjusts bun*

Baptismal saint: None, really. :( My mom used to iron her hair straight on an ironing board and wear bell bottoms, so this gives you a sense of when my parents grew up, and the cultural influence. :0 I read in a Catholic baby naming book that Tiffany is derived from Epiphana, and so I take St. Epiphana (an early martyr) as my patron and celebrate my feast day on the Epiphany. *halo*

Confirmation saint: St. Cecilia. I'll be honest: I picked her because I thought the name was pretty, and I never really loved my given name. :0 In fact, I was a bit annoyed when another girl in my confirmation class who was directly before me in the line to present ourselves to the bishop also chose Cecilia, and so I finally had my moment to choose a name for myself, and it was the exact same as the person I followed. *snort* Pretty superficial, but I was rather nostril-flarey about the whole thing. ;-) However, in time, St. Cecilia came to play a significant part in my adult reversion back to the faith, and I feel very close to her now, especially in November each year near her feast day. I feel like she looks out for me, and I'm very grateful to her and her witness.

Dominican name: Our Blessed Mother, which all Dominicans take as part of their name due to the order's devotion to her and the rosary, and St. Gianna Beretta Molla. She's not a Dominican, but her witness to the sanctity of human life is so inspiring to me, and fits with Dominican spirituality so well, that I wanted to honor her in this way.

Saints I have grown close to in my adult reversion years: This is quite a lengthy list, so I'll subdivide. #TypeA

St. Therese. Her "Little Way" really appeals to me as something easily applied to the everyday life of ordinary Catholics, whether they be religious or laypeople. She also comes into play again below, with regard to Anne. :)

Pope St. John Paul II. I adore this man. I've written about him in the past, and how his pontificate shaped my life and young adulthood. He was the only pope I knew for most of my life. *sniffles*

St. Kateri Tekakwitha. She is very key in my family's faith story. I've been to her shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, NY, and I hope to go back and bring the kids with me.

Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta. This is a recent one, due to the rosary that captured my imagination of late. I've been praying with that rosary for a week, and thinking about the fact that we have power in prayer over spiritual dryness and darkness.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. I found her in my late 20's via some philosophers in my Catechism study group. This is the type of feminism I can really get behind. :)

St. Faustina Kowalska. I adore the Divine Mercy devotion and chaplet. It doesn't take very long to recite, and boy does it pack a punch.

St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher. Mike and I watched "The Tudors" several years back, and ever since then these two guys, and their courage in faith, have a firm place in my heart.

St. Monica. Have a fallen away Catholic in your life? St. Monica is your gal. :)

Mike's namesakes: St. Michael the Archangel and St. Patrick. It seems to me that these are two strong saints to have on your side. :) St. Michael is also Mike's confirmation patron.

Henry's namesakes: St. Henry II, and the Biblical figure David (also my dad's name). Technically, Henry wasn't named specifically for St. Henry II, but I still count him as his patron. Mike had always wanted to name a son Henry, and so long as it was a saint name, I was cool with it. That's my rule: any child of mine *must* have a saint name. :0 This comes from the trauma of my own lack thereof, see above. ;-)

Anne's namesakes: St. Anne, mother of Our Lady, and also my mom's middle name. And St. Therese. Mike and I love the simplicity of Anne's name, and what a wonderful patron. I wanted her middle name to be Kateri, but Mike loved Therese, and how could I argue with that? :) I recently ordered her a St. Therese Saint Softie for her St. Nicholas feast day gift:

Saints I have come to know via my children:

St. Maximillian Kolbe. I think he is Henry's absolute favorite. We acquired yet another children's biography of St. Maximilian for our nighttime reading pile, and Henry just never tires of the bravery in his story.

St. Isidore the Farmer. I think it's the part about the angels plowing the field in his stead while he attended Mass that draws Henry to him so much. :) And he is Henry's gift for the feast of St. Nicholas this year:

St. Dominic Savio. This is a perfect role model saint for young boys. Henry loves reading about a saint close in age to his own.

St. Nicholas of Myra. Last year we started celebrating the feast of St. Nicholas, leaving the kids' shoes by the hearth, and we all loved it. I like emphasizing to them that *this* is really what Santa Claus is all about.

St. Lucy. Eyes being gouged out makes the story pretty fascinating. :) And the feast day thing with the crown of candles. This appeals to my belly dancer fire balancing sensibilities. :0

So, that's my list. Who is on your list? Expound to your heart's desire in the comments. :)