Patrons and Protectors: In Times of Need

"Oh, When the Saints go marching in ..." What a procession: young and old, rich and poor, the healthy and the infirm, of every race and color! In each book of the Patrons and Protectors series we are given a glimpse of some of the many men and women whose lives witness to the reign of God. In this third book of the series, the author and artist, Michael O'Neill McGrath, shifts his attention from the role of saints as patrons of occupations to their role as protectors in times of need. From the mundane anxiety of losing one's keys to major life challenges such as serious illness or catastrophe, there is likely to be a saint to inspire and guide us. Rosemary Haughton suggests in the foreword, "Some of the people in this book we know a lot about; it's easy to imagine them, talk to them. Of some we know little, but they are shining symbols of qualities we can recognize and respond to. They are people who went through loss, fear, grief, pain -- the kind of things that strip away defenses and leave the soul naked before God. So they are people we can cry out to, complain to, grumble to. One with God, they are one with our need and our hope. Their lives can release in us the faith we didn't know we had." The saints included in this volume are people we should know. None of them was born a saint, but each made the choice to profess their faith in how they lived their lives. They can help us do the same. And then we, too, will "be in that number when the saints go marching in." Book jacket.McGrath, Michael O'Neill is the author of 'Patrons and Protectors: In Times of Need' with ISBN 9781568544106 and ISBN 1568544103.