Is there a patron saint for Lotto?

You know. We Catholics like Patron Saints. We should also be very lucky with the Lotto since we have saints to help us win. Or do we? The will of God must take precedent. Also we must be mindful that God provides and that the love of money is the root of evil. Having said this let me show what my internet research has revealed in reference to a Patron Saint of Lotto.

SAINT CAJETAN:Well there is a patron Saint for Gamblers. Saint Cajetan (1480-1547) was an italian heir to great wealth. With his own money, and help from others, Cayetano formed a consortium, a bank of sorts, and extended loans to his parishioners, offering an alternative to the usury and high interest loans of the cutthroat bankers. Cayetano opened pawnshops, where he extended low, or no interest rate, loans. Cayetano, always among his flock, became known as the Patron Saint of Gamblers. His parishioners would bet Cayetano a rosary or blessed candle, that he would not do some special favor for them. If they lost the bet, if Cayetano did do that something special for them, and he often did, they would have to pay up. The usual pay-up: they had say their rosaries. Tales of his humility were limitless. He had a special ability to care, and be compassionate.

SAINT MATTHEW: Now, Saint Matthew is the Patron Saint of Money. He was a tax collector. but he gave up his lavish lifestyle to follow Christ.

SAINT PANTELEON: In Italy, Pantaleon supposedly gives favourable lottery numbers in dreams. Pantaleon converted his father, upon whose death he came into possession of a large fortune. He freed his slaves and, distributing his wealth among the poor, developed a great reputation in Nicomedia. A phial containing some of his blood was long preserved at Ravello. On the feast day of the saint, the blood was said to become fluid and to bubble.

Saint Eligius was also knoiwn as Eloi or Eloy. Eigius took advantage of this royal favor to obtain alms for the poor, and to ransom captive Romans, Gauls, Bretons, Moors, and especially Saxons, who were arriving daily at the slave market in Marseille. He is not the patron saint of anything to do with money. He is the Patron Saint of Goldsmiths.

You know there is one more thing to be mindful of......

neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Was Saint Eligius instrumental to winning the Lotto?

I came across an interesting story. It is a New york court case from 1984: Pando v. Fernandez.

WIKI: Christopher Pando, a deeply religious minor, sought to impose a constructive trust on the proceeds of a winning $2.8 million (21 annual payments; no cash option) ticket that he purchased with Dasyi Fernandez’s money. Pando alleged that Mrs. Fernandez agreed to share the prize money equally with him if he prayed to a saint to cause the numbers he picked for her to be the winning numbers. At the time that Pando purchased the ticket, Mrs. Fernandez was 38 and the mother of three children on welfare. Christopher Pando was 16 (too young to buy lottery tickets) and was a friend of her son. Mrs. Fernandez denied that she ever asked Pando to buy the tickets or pick the numbers, and also denied the fact that she offered to share.

And who did the young Chris ask for intercession? St. Eleggua of course. Well the problem is that Eleggua is an Orisha name. The Closest saint name to Eleggua is Eligius.

The story and history of Saint Eligius. Eligius, a goldsmith at Paris, was commissioned by King Clotaire to make a throne. With the gold and precious stones given him he made two. Struck by his rare honesty, the king gave him an appointment at court, and demanded an oath of fidelity sworn upon holy relics; but Eligius prayed with tears to be excused, for fear of failing in reverence to the relics of the Saints. On entering the court he fortified himself against its seductions by many austerities and continual ejaculatory prayers. He had a marvellous zeal for the redemption of captives, and for their deliverance would sell his jewels, his food, his clothes, and his very shoes, once by his prayers breaking their chains and opening their prisons. His great delight was in making rich shrines for relics. His striking virtue caused him, a layman and a goldsmith, to be made Bishop of Noyon, and his sanctity in this holy office was remarkable. He possessed the gifts of miracles and prophecy, and died in 665. His feast day is December 1st.

Saint Eligius was also knoiwn as Eloi or Eloy.

memorare

REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother;
to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions,
but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.


The actual author of the Memorare is unknown. It has been traditionally attributed to the abbot St. Bernard of Clairvaux from the 12th century. This is possibly because it was championed by another Bernard, the French priest Claude Bernard, who used it extensively in his ministry to the poor and to prisoners (including some quite hardened criminals!) in the 17th century.

Desiderata

-- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --

The word Desiderata is latin, and it's Latin meaning is "The things wanted, needed, or necessary." The word is plural. It's singular noun form is Desiderium.


Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

footprints in the sand

Footprints in the sand - Mary Stevenson

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord, "You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you."

THE US REPUBLICAN RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE 2012 - The faith of the candidates

The next United States presidential election will be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Presidential elections occur quadrennially or every four years (the count beginning with the year 1792). It is held on the first tuesday following a monday - that is, no earlier than November 2nd and no later than November 8th.

Barack Obama (from the Democratic Party) intends to run for a second term, but the eyes of America and the world is on the Republican Party campaign - to see who his challenger will be for the elections.

As of January 22nd there are four people vying to be the Republics choice for the Presidential election.: Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

The 2012 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the Republican Party will choose the party's nominees for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States, will be held during the week of August 27, 2012, in Tampa, Florida at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. A candidate must accumulate 1,144 delegate votes to win. So far the running is:

Mitt Romney - 31
Newt Gingrich - 26
Ron Paul - 10
Rick Santorum - 8

So Mitt Romney is clearly in the lead. So what do we know about these peoples faith:

MITT ROMNEY: Mitt is a practicing Mormon. His faith is not separate from his life. His biography tells the story of a man who's father was governor and who lived his life as a mormon, even in politics. Wikipedia notes "Mitt served as a Mormon missionary in France. He received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University, and thereafter earned Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration joint degrees from Harvard's law and business schools. Very active in his church, he served as ward bishop and later stake president in his area. He ran as the Republican candidate in the 1994 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, losing to incumbent Ted Kennedy. Romney organized and steered the 2002 Winter Olympics as head of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and helped turn the troubled games into a financial success. In his church life (as a Pastor) Romney tried to balance the conservative dogma insisted upon by the church leadership in Utah with the desire by some Massachusetts members to have a more flexible application of doctrine. He agreed with some modest requests from the liberal women's group Exponent II for changes in the way the church dealt with women, but clashed with women who he felt were departing too much from doctrine. In particular, he counseled women not to have abortions except in the rare cases allowed by LDS doctrine, and also in accordance with doctrine encouraged prospective mothers to give up children for adoption when a successful marriage was not present. Romney later said that the years spent as pastor gave him direct exposure to people struggling in economically difficult circumstances different from his own affluent upbringing, and empathy for those going through problematic family situations." His worth is between 20 to 100 million US dollars.

NEWT GINGRICH: According to Wikipedia "Gingrich was raised a Lutheran. In graduate school he was a Southern Baptist, and he converted to Catholicism on March 29, 2009, (the faith of his third wife Callista Bisek). He said "over the course of several years, I gradually became Catholic and then decided one day to accept the faith I had already come to embrace." The moment when he decided to officially become a Catholic was when he saw Pope Benedict XVI on his visit to the United States in 2008: "Catching a glimpse of Pope Benedict that day, I was struck by the happiness and peacefulness he exuded. The joyful and radiating presence of the Holy Father was a moment of confirmation about the many things I had been thinking and experiencing for several years."Gingrich has stated that he has developed a greater appreciation for the role of faith in public life following his conversion, and believes that the United States has become too secular. At a 2011 appearance in Columbus, Ohio, he said, "In America, religious belief is being challenged by a cultural elite trying to create a secularized America, in which God is driven out of public life." In 2007, Gingrich authored a book, Rediscovering God in America, arguing that the Founding Fathers actively intended the new republic to not only allow, but encourage, religious expression in the public square. In a 2011 interview with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Gingrich addressed his past infidelities by saying, "There's no question at times in my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate." In December 2011, after the group Iowans for Christian Leaders in Government requested that he sign their so-called "Marriage Vow", Gingrich sent a lengthy written response. It included his pledge to "uphold personal fidelity to my spouse"."

RON PAUL: There is not much about Ron Pauls Faith other than what he says on his website when he decided to run for President: "My faith is a deeply private issue to me, and I don’t speak on it in great detail during my speeches because I want to avoid any appearance of exploiting it for political gain. Let me be very clear here: I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, and I endeavor every day to follow Him in all I do and in every position I advocate. It is God Who gave us life. As He is free, so are those He created in His image. Our rights to life and liberty are inalienable." Ron Paul is a Christian (baptist).


RICK SANTORUM is a Catholic. The following is from WIKI - "In 2003, Santorum and fellow Republicans heard from Hillel, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Zionist Organization of America about combating anti-Semitism in American colleges. Santorum drafted language on "ideological diversity," which Race & Class magazine suggested was tantamount to "policing thought." Inside Higher Ed suggested that he was pandering to David Horowitz and had no deep-seated position on the legislation. Santorum added a provision to the 2001 No Child Left Behind bill that would have promoted the questioning of the theory of evolution in public school science classes and required the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative. The bill, with the Santorum Amendment included, passed the Senate 91-8 and was hailed as a victory by intelligent design theory promoters. In an interview with the National Catholic Reporter, Santorum said that the distinction between private religious conviction and public responsibility, espoused by President John F. Kennedy, had caused "great harm in America." All of us have heard people say, 'I privately am against abortion, homosexual marriage, stem cell research, cloning. But who am I to decide that it's not right for somebody else?' It sounds good, but it is the corruption of freedom of conscience. In his 2005 book, It Takes a Family, Santorum advocates for a more family values-oriented society centered on monogamous, heterosexual relationships, marriage, and child-raising. He says he is pro-life; yet opponents have labelled him a counterfeit conservative pointing to his votes that continued the federal funding of Planned Parenthood. He opposes same-sex marriage saying the American public and their elected officials should decide on these "incredibly important moral issues", rather than the Supreme Court, which consists of "nine unelected, unaccountable judges.”

So of the four I would choose Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich. I am anxious to see how it plays out.... and I won't let the daily show's anti republican stand bother me.

writing for the catholic news.

I read the Gospel Meditation column in the Port of Spain Archdiocese weekly newspaper today. I get it's point. It is well written. still, I preferred last weeks article to this weeks. Good Job Helena Allum. Having written that column on the past I know how it can be challenging to write. There are days when I can't think of what to publish in this blog. Other days, I know what I want to say but it's not coming out in an interesting way.

The trick in everything is to let go and let God. With writing, it will feed the person who God wants it to feed, when He wants it to feed them. Others may be critical, but "who vex loss". It was never for them anyway.

On many occasions I read the Catholic Newspaper with the expectation that I will be fed in some small way... and I am usually not disappointed. The format is fixed and well put together, but I believe that there should be more news. There is so much news from around the world that is Catholic, and not just clerical news: News of Catholics achieving good and fighting for their rights to practice the faith, News of modern day martyrs, news of politicians passing laws that cause the church to revisit how it operates in different ministries. We are ONE Church, We need to know about these things so that we can support our Brethren and challenge our Politicians to challenge those politicians. We need opinion pieces to put the news in perspective (besides the Editorial)

Still, perhaps what I am suggesting is not the purpose of our newspaper. Perhaps it fulfills it's mandate. God bless those who labour in the vineyard to produce it every week. God Bless all who support it. We would surely miss it if it wasn't there.