When it comes to picking favourite saints, I always pull a child-of-heretics thing and go for the lesser-known saints, like the medieval women martyrs like Uncumber, or St. Christina the Astonishing. Perhaps it’s the way that I was the fourth disciple in a very small passion play in our church, so we had John, Peter, Judas, and Thaddeus (nobody ever remembers Thaddeus). More seriously, I guess it just reminds me that… saints were sometimes entirely weird, but even without that aloof dignity, they’re still holy.

But really, I pray to St. Dymphna because she’s a patron saint of mental illness, and I deal with my own illness and the constant depression of teens I know, and it’s a constant reminder to treat them and myself as more than our problems (which is partly inspired by the treatment of the insane in Gheel, where she was first venerated).

Jon, we share a favorite saint. St. Jerome is also my favorite. ” title=”Very Happy” />

~Victor