Saints for the Sick
Heavenly Help for Those Who Suffer
Joan Carroll Cruz
9780895559562
277 pages
St. Benedict Press LLC
Overview
In this intriguing new book, bestselling author Joan Carroll Cruz presents 76 mini-biographies highlighting saintly Catholics who faced intense, long-term suffering and disability with sweetness, peace and love for Jesus Christ. These stories show the triumph of God s grace where the world finds only ugliness and approaching death. They describe some lives so recent that the saint s family members are still living today, with many causes for canonization being currently active in Rome. Included here are Bl. Zelie Martin, the mother of St. Therese of Liseux, who died of breast cancer; 14-year-old Bl. Isidore Bakanja, the Scapular martyr from Africa; the famous leper priest, St. Damien of Molokai; Venerable Matthew Talbot, the alcoholic; St. Germaine Cousin, rejected because of a birth defect; and little Nennolina Meo, who died from cancer of the bone, lungs and brain. Also included are persons who suffered from paralysis, amputation, deformities, breathing problems, mental illnesses, kidney ailments, intestinal disorders, and more as well as from medical treatment itself. Particularly remarkable are the children who suffered, including young people ages 15, 13, 12, 11 and even 6! For these there was no grasping at the remnants of earthly life but rather an eager anticipation of Heaven. These children showed unwavering resolve to suffer for the love of God and the conversion of sinners and they endeavored to console their parents. SAINTS FOR THE SICK is a book that reinforces our Catholic faith and gives renewed hope to those who are dealing with bodily struggles. Moreover, it puts us in touch with heavenly intercessors who will gladly help us for they know exactly what we are going through on earth. Includes an Index of Ailments and the Saints associated with them.
Author Bio
Joan Carroll Cruz is a native of New Orleans and is the educational product of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She attended grade school, high school and college under their tutelage. Mrs. Cruz has been a tertiary in the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order (Third Order) since 1968; for eight years she served as Mistress of Formation (Novice Mistress). For her non-fiction books, Joan Carroll Cruz depended heavily on information received from foreign shrines, churches, convents and monasteries. Her books include The Incorruptibles, published in 1977; Desires of Thy Heart, a strongly Catholic-themed novel, also in 1977; Relics, published in 1983; Eucharistic Miracles in 1987; Secular Saints in 1989; Prayers and Heavenly Promises in 1990; Miraculous Images of Our Lady in 1993; Miraculous Images of Our Lord in 1995; Mysteries, Marvels, Miracles: In the Lives of the Saints in 1997; Angels & Devils in 1999; and Saints for the Sick in 2010.
