Across the years, friend and fellow member of the Third Order Franciscans Jackie Palmer also has managed to secure first-class relics – of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Thomas the Apostle. The latter bit of “Doubting Thomas” went to her husband George who, after decades, converted to Catholicism. “I prayed for him for 42 years,” she noted. [emphasis mine]Catholics seem to, in general, really excel at never giving up. Thinking of St. Monica, Augustine's mother, as well as a woman we've been sitting next to at daily Mass for close to three decades. She still keeps praying for her husband daily to come to know the Church. Looks like she could have another decade or so to go, but I hope not ... :)
Thank you for that post! Our pastor has asked me to research the saints in the reliquary he found. Once that is complete, he will compile 9 prayers; one for each saint. The reliquary will then be made available for parishioners to bring into their homes for 9 days. Once the 9 days of prayers are complete, the priest will return to bless the family and home with the relic.
Given the unique names of the saints from this reliquary, I have taken the approach of looking for a common thread. The one that immediately surfaces is the majority of these martyr saints all lived in the 5th century and came from the various churches of north Africa. It's truly an extraordinary find given that this year, we are celebrating the 1600th anniversary of the death of St. Maron, the spiritual father of the Maronite Catholic Church.