Poll: Who is your favorite patron saint of headaches?

First of all, a confession, I am not a Roman Catholic. However, I have always been fascinated by the fact that there is a patron saint for almost everything. There is one for every day of the year, every country, most cities, and almost everything else.  (in case you were wondering, today March 18 is St. Cyril of Jerusalem's day. He was a bishop who fought against Arianism, embraced orthodoxy and was Bishop of Jerusalem during the latter part of the fourth century AD}

There are, in fact, several saints who claim to be the "Patron Saint of headaches" and a few who are the "Patron saints of migraine sufferers". These saints of the church, of course, intervene on behalf of the sufferer, they do not cause headaches. Having coming up with a list of the front-runners for this, I thought I would let democracy decide the favorite. Feel free to vote in the poll at the end of this post.

There are ten saints who share the title "patron saint of headaches", but I have narrowed the field to four.

1. St. Anastasius the Persian (died 628}
        Martyr, originally a Persian called Magundat. Once a magician, Anastasius was a soldier in the army of King Khusrow II, ruler of Persia, when that ruler carried the Holy Cross from Jerusalem to Persia. He was so impressed with the relic and with the demeanor of the Christians that he left the army, became a Christian, and then a monk in Jerusalem. After seven years, Anastasius went to Persia to convert his own people. He was taken prisoner and promised honors by King Khusrow if he denied Christ. Remaining constant in the faith, Anastasius was strangled and beheaded with 68 or 70 other Christians on January 22, 628. His remains were taken to Palestine, and later Rome.


2. Saint Bibiana (d. 363
      Her parents, Saint Flavian of Acquapendente and Dafrosa of Acquapendente, were martyred in the persecution of Julian the Apostate, and Vivian and her sister Demetria were turned over to awoman named Rufina who tried to force her into prostitution. Upon her continued refusal, Vivian was imprisoned in a mad house, then flogged to death. A church was built over her grave, in the garden of which grew an herb that cured headache and epilepsy. This and her time spent with the mentally ill led to her areas of patronage.


3. Saint Denis (died 258}
      Missionary to Paris, France. First Bishop of Paris. His success roused the ire of localpagans, and he was imprisoned by Roman governor. Martyred in the persecutions of Valerius with Saint Rusticus and Saint Eleutherius. Legends have grown up around historture and death, including one that has his body carrying his severed head some distance from his execution site. Saint Genevieve built a basilica over his grave. His feastwas added to the Roman Calendar in 1568 by Pope Saint Pius V, though it had been celebrated since 800. One of theFourteen Holy Helpers.


4. St. Teresa of Avila 1515-1582
      Born to the Spanish nobility, the daughter of Don Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda and Doña Beatriz. She grew up reading the lives of the saints, and playing at “hermit” in thegarden. Crippled by disease in her youth, which led to her being well educated at home, she was cured after prayer to SaintJoseph. Her mother died when Teresa was 12, and she prayed to Our Lady to be her replacement. Her father opposed her entry to religious life, so she left home without telling anyone, and entered a Carmelite house at 17. Seeing her conviction to her call, her father and family consented.Soon after taking her vows, Teresa became gravely ill, and her condition was aggravated by the inadquate medical help she received; she never fully recovered her health. She began receiving visions, and was examined by Dominicans and Jesuits, including Saint Francis Borgia, who pronounced the visions to be holy and true.She considered her original house too lax in its rule, so she founded a reformed convent of Saint John of Avila. Teresa founded several houses, often against fierce opposition from local authorities. Mystical writer. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on 27 September 1970 by Pope Paul VI.




Note all the information for this post came from either /saints.sqpn.com/ or Catholic Online. 



    

What shall I do now?

What am I to do now?

I stand, suddenly, my world goes black and I fall down again.

There appears to be no end to this living nightmare.

So what do I do?

The choices are there- to live with this or end it.

The only choice is life, which means a daily fight-

One that is possible, but sometimes seems impossible.

But though the fight will be long, and hard, and even if it means walking through hell itself, I will fight.

And, Lord, with you at my side, giving  me strength,

Preparing a table with the bread of life and the wine of salvation before this horrible, invisible enemy, I will prevail.

If I survive, it is with your grace. If this disease takes my life, I will live in you.

Either way, Lord, one day, you shall free me.

Then, I shall walk and not faint, run and not be weary, for there I shall be free. 

The Battle

The Battle

Here I am again- silent and terrified in the midst of this bloody and never-ending battle.

This constant struggle between two diseases vying for control of my body.

I fight with weapons old and new- with potions, pills, wires, shocks and prayer.

The medicines grant relief-for a time, a short reprieve from the fight, hours gained to live a bit, but with a price, knowing that I must fight again.

In truth, there is not enough morphia to win the battle, only to hold it back for a time.

Wires and shocks also grant relief.

But still, the fight goes on.

I long to surrender sometimes, to let the diseases win, but the spirit within me and all my prayers tell me that is not an option.

And so, I fight on. I crawl upstairs, dragging my broken and battered body through the field of battle and I curl up on a bed and pray.

I pray for the battle to cease and for rest and strength to face what may come.

Though the battle doesn’t cease, I hear a voice telling me to put the armor on, not to waver, but to fight on, and with His armor and His strength, I will win.