Well, it’s not surprising that as Christians we would see Jesus as our ultimate hero and want to be like him. But Jesus isn’t our only hero. We all have a few special saints whose lives and writings have influenced our lives greatly. These heroes and heroines have helped us fix our eyes on Jesus. They have inspired us to live holy lives and to care for the weak and defenseless.

My favorite saint is the Virgin Mary. Not only is her life a never-ending example of holiness and faith; I am also convinced that she saved my life. You see, I was born with a life-threatening medical condition, and the doctors gave me less than six month to live. But my mother didn’t give up hope. Every day, she prayed to Mary for my healing. Now, sixty years later, I am living proof that our Blessed Mother loves bringing our needs to her Son and asking him to help us.

For this month’s issue, we asked three guest writers—Dorothy Garrity Ranaghan, Bert Ghezzi, and Fr. George Montague—to tell us about one special saint who has been a hero and a guide in their prayer lives. Dorothy chose to talk about her relationship with St. Joseph. Bert chose King David and his psalms. And Fr. George decided to write about my favorite, Mary. I hope that their articles give you new insights into these great saints. But even more, I hope that they help guide and inspire your own prayer life. May these saints—and many more like them—continue to teach us how to find the Lord and become more like him in our everyday lives!

Who Is Your Hero? I had an idea I wanted to share with you. Maybe after reading these stories about the saints, you will feel inspired to think about your own heroes and heroines of the faith. Maybe it’s a someone from our ancient past, like St. Augustine. Maybe it’s a more recent one, like Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Or maybe it’s someone in your family or in your parish whose witness to the Lord has been very influential.

Whoever it is, why not write your own witness story and send it to us? Who is your favorite saint, and how has this person helped you come closer to the Lord? Was there a situation in your life when you felt especially close to this person or felt his or her inspiration? I promise that, while I won’t be able to respond to all of them, I will read all your stories. Who knows? Maybe we’ll print a couple of them in a future issue!

Joe Difato, Publisher | Email the Publisher at joe@wau.org