Last week for some reason I decided to pull a biography of St. Silouan the Athonite off the pile of books by my bed, where it had been sitting since November, and start reading it. It's really captivating. And since then, St. Silouan, about whom I knew nothing before opening this book, has been popping up in unexpected ways. It happened so much I thought, "Hmm, is he trying to get my attention for some reason?"
During the liturgy at the Market Hall in St. Francisville on Saturday, I prayed at one point to St. Silouan, asking him to show me what God wants me to see through his intercession, and to do what God wants me to do. After liturgy was over, I stood in the hall talking to folks who'd stuck around for coffee, and at one point I leaned up against a wall. I didn't realize it, but an icon was there, and it fell to the ground.
It was the icon of St. Silouan.
I mentioned this to a friend on e-mail later that night, telling her that it was kind of weird how St. Silouan, a saint about whom I knew exactly nothing until a few days before, keeps popping up in my daily comings and goings. My friend, who has been Orthodox for a while, told me similar things have happened to her with several different saints over the years. This brought to mind a wonderful story a Roman Catholic friend told me about St. Therese of Lisieux and roses -- it was so richly detailed and contained so many "coincidences" that had it happened in a film, you would have thought it was ridiculous. But it really did happen to her, and it brought her such comfort and joy.
Anyway, I wonder if anything like this has ever happened to any readers? Ever had a situation, or series of situations, in which it seemed pretty clear to you that a particular saint was trying to get your attention, or send you a message? How did you determine that there was something supernatural going on, instead of mere coincidence? What did you conclude from the experience? Did it change you in some way? Did it comfort you? Did it make you do things you otherwise wouldn't have done? (E.g., with me, St. Silouan was very big on loving one's enemies, and I'm praying hard now for the grace to do that, inasmuch as it's very hard for me to do).
Stories. Give me stories.
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i prayed one day to st. doobie, a little known patron of a small carribbean isle. that afternoon, i found extra money in my stash drawer.
Although your probably being disrespectful, you actually gave me a good belly laugh!
I understand such things are associated with the Virgin Mary...?
Yes. That happened to me once, rather dramatically, after a lengthy period praying the rosary for direction.
The few expereinces I have had w/ St. Herman (venerating his relics a couple of times), I have smelled pine. It wasn't till we visited Spruce Island, that my wife pointed out to me the smell all around us, that we already recognized....
My mom had grown up Catholic, but converted to Protestantism later in life and raised us in a strong evangelical home. When I was a teenager, my mom and I were riding in the car and she was telling me about St. Anthony. I brushed it off with usual teenager attitude, saying that "that saint stuff doesn't work." About a minute later, I opened up my purse, and found a piece of jewelry that I had been looking for forever but had eventually given up on. I've been asking him for help ever since, and he's certainly proven to be tried and true. A similar situation happened to my brother too - said it didn't work and right away he found something he was looking for. I'm an Anglican, but I have no problem giving a shout-out to the saints, especially St. Anthony.
Fr. Dcn. Raphael, the Transfiguration Monastery in Ellwood City, Pa. is a lovely place. I live fairly close to there and visit it often.
http://www.oca.org/DIRlisting.asp?SID=9&KEY=OCA-RO-ELCHXC
The strong scent of roses is also associated with Padre Pio.
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