Marian Helper • Fall 2024 • Marian.org 27 with all humility, “The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects” (Jas 5:16). Regarding this Holy Sacrament, our Lord told St. Faustina: When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1602). Invoke the Saints In North America, we also have our own saints, and others on the path to sainthood, to call upon for intercessory prayer for our nation. A few of these have been recently singled out in my “North American Sanctity” series posted on Marian.org. Among these: Saint Kateri Tekakwitha , a convert to the faith in the mid-17th century and the first Native American to be canonized. Saint Kateri offered extreme fasting for the conversion of her people. Pope Benedict XVI entrusted her with “the renewal of the faith in the first nations and in all of North America .” Saint Junipero Serra , an 18th-century missionary to the Native Americans in California. His motto for evangeliza - tion was, “ Siempre Adelante! Keep moving forward!” He saw God in the faces of everyone he met. He defended the native population from those who were mistreating them and was responsible for baptizing 6,000 in the faith. Saint Damien de Veuster of Molokai , a 19th-century missionary to the leper colony on the Hawaiian island of Molo -kai. He worked to give dignity back to the island ’s inhabitants by living out the Corporal Works of Mercy in their midst. He said, “I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ .” Saint Katharine Drexel , the foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and dozens of schools, missions, and churches for Native and African Americans beginning in the late 19th century. Said Pope St. John Paul II, she “served to raise awareness of the continuing need, even in our own da y, to fight racism in all its manifestations” and “gave her life” in the service of God and neighbo r. Blesse d Solanus Casey, a priest who served in Michigan , Indiana, and New York in the early 20th century, was famous for his wisdom and counsel to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. He was prophetic and had the gift of healing by his prayers. He always encouraged his 150-200 daily visitors to “Thank God ahead of time,” trusting that their prayers would be answered. Blessed S r. Miriam Teresa Demjanovich , a nun from New Jersey who died at the age of 26 in the early 20th century. She was known to offer up many inconveniences and sufferings, like St. Faustina, in prayer for others. She said, “If people only sought God in all earnestness, they would find Him. And if all would only make use of the ordinary duties and trials of their state in the way God intended, they would all become saints.” May we seek to emulate these countrymen and women and their virtuous examples of faith and service. Pray like Faustina Saint Faustina, too, was concerned about her homeland of Poland. Although she died in 1938 before the outbreak of World War II, she forecast the evil on the horizon: I intensified my prayers and sacrifices for our dear native land, but I see that I am a drop before the wave of evil. How can a drop stop a wave: O yes! A drop is nothing of itself, but with You, Jesus, I shall stand up bravely to the whole wave of evil and even to the whole of hell. Your omnipotence can do all things (Diary, 686). May St. Faustina’s words be light and hope for us, trusting in the omnipotent God of All Mercies. Together, let us ask Our Lady’s intercession for America by daily praying the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and/ or attending Holy Mass. Never forget that even one Our Father or one Hail Mary can effect positive change! May we recommit anew to be one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all! Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States, pray for us! SAINT KATERI BLESSED SOLANUS SAINT JUNIPERO BLESSED MIRIAM Never forget that even one Our Father or Hail Mary can effect positive change!
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