I think our crazy friends over at Nuns4Fun.com have lost their minds on this one...

Saint* Christina the Astonishing

     She was a strange girl. She had seizures and one day she appeared to be dead. But at her own funeral, she sat up in her coffin. Then she told everybody she had died, she went to hell and purgatory, and then she went to heaven.
But God told her to go back to Earth and keep living. So she woke up in her coffin. But from that day on, she told everybody she couldn’t stand the smell of human flesh. In fact, she would climb high into trees, sit in the church rafters, anything to get away from people.

     Not surprisingly, she’s the patron saint of Therapists and Lunatics.



[*So, after further reading, apparently the 'paperwork' was never finished for Christina, and she was never officially canonized.  Follow this link for more of her ASTONISHING life.]


 

Saint Winifred of Wales

     She has a pretty simple story. She was a beautiful girl and there was a wealthy man who wanted to marry her, but she didn’t want that. There are a lot of saint stories like this. There are lots of MeToo stories in the Bible. But Winifred is a little special. See the guy had her beheaded and her head fell to the ground and where it fell, a stream of water gushed forth. Like the Lourdes of Wales.

     At some point, Winifred’s uncle found her head in the stream and re-attached it. Yes, he put it back on her body and she lived for many more years.

     Where do you think they got the idea for that Re-Animator movie?

(Serious link: Winifred of Wales.)


 

Saint Wilgefortis

     Patron saint of the best Halloween costume. She was about to be married off to some awful guy her father picked, and she didn’t want it. So she prayed and prayed to God to make her ugly. And when she woke up, she had a full beard. Menopause overnight!

     Of course, the guy left her at the altar. And her father was so mad, he had her crucified. Her holy card shows her on the cross, with her full beard. It confused many, who thought the image was Jesus on the cross, but it’s not. She’s called Wilgefortis in Wales, but she’s known as Unencumber in England and Liberata in Italy.

     She’s also the patron saint against unwanted suitors and trying husbands.
 

   Can’t think of October without thinking of Halloween.

     The origin of Halloween can be traced to the festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in, which rhymes with cow-in), meaning summer’s end. The ancient Gaelic festival celebrated the end of the harvest and the beginning of the “dark half” of the year.

     The ancient Celts believed that the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest during Samhain. This was an ideal time to communicate with the dead. The Celts also believed that ghosts could pass through the veil and damage their crops. So they built huge bonfires to ward off the spirits.

     In later years, the Irish used hollowed-out, candlelit turnips carved with a demon’s face to frighten away spirits. They brought this idea with them to the United States, where they used pumpkins instead of turnips. Thank goodness for that!

     When the Romans took over some of the Celt lands, they borrowed some of the traditions, too. Including that Samhain celebration. Who wouldn’t! Bonfires, dancing in the moonlight, enjoying a bit of the harvest.

     Now fast forward to the Roman Catholic Church, which changed up the whole holiday, creating All-Hallows Eve, and All Saints’ Day, and eventually All Souls’ Day. Halloween is part of a trilogy, or trinity, of celebrations.

     And the whole tradition made it to the U.S., where we enjoy parties, trick-or-treating, scary movies, and trying to spook our friends! Oh, and honor the Saints and the Souls. Can’t forget them.
 

OCTOBER is also the Official Month of the Holy Rosary

     It’s officially October, which means it’s officially the month of the Holy Rosary! Are you as excited as we are to celebrate?

     These three quotes will help you understand why the Church sets aside an entire month out of every year to focus on praying the Holy Rosary.

“The Rosary is the ‘weapon’ for these times.”
– St. Padre Pio

“One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world.”
– St. Dominic

"There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.”
– Sister Lucia dos Santos

     The devotion to the Rosary is the key to overcoming the problems that our world is facing.