St. Elmo

Apparently there is a popular game (although game is not really the right word for it) going around. This year if you wish to do this you can click onto this link to find out who your saint for the year will be. You are supposed to pray about which saint will come up before you click the button, and then the one that is given to you is supposed to become special to you throughout the year. It will also give you a link so you can learn more about that specific saint. Tonight before I clicked the button I prayed that the saint who would come up would be someone I could really identify with and sure enough the saint that came up was St. Erasmus, or better known as St. Elmo. He is the patron saint against abdominal pains; against appendicitis; against birth pains; against childhood intestinal disease; against colic; against danger at sea; against intestinal disorders; against seasickness; against stomach diseases; against storms; childbirth; navigators; ordnance workers; sailors; women in labor. I found this kind of interesting because when I was little I would get really cranky whenever I got hungry. I remember one day I told my mom I was hungry and I must have said it a lot because she looked at me with a frustrated expression and said if I told her I was hungry one more time she would not give me lunch. So five minutes later I told her I had hunger pains.... After I read the first thing this saint was a patron saint for, abdominal pains, it made me flash back to that moment. I have also suffered from really painful abdominal cramps, and still do occasionally. I do not think I will be giving birth anytime within this year, but I do want to become a mother so now I know exactly who to pray to when that time comes.

Here is a little bit more about St. Elmo...
Feast day: June 2
Erasmus was also known as Elmo. He was the bishop of Formiae, Campagna, Italy, and suffered martyrdom during Diocletian's persecution of the Christians. He once fled to Mount Lebanon during the persecution and lived a life of solitude there for some time, being fed by a raven. After the emperor discovered his whereabouts, he was tortured and thrown in prison. Legend claims that an angel released him and he departed for Illyricum, eventually suffered a martyr's death and was one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Legend records that when a blue light appears at mastheads before and after a storm, the seamen took it as a sign of Erasmus's protection. This was known as "St. Elmo's fire". The blue electrical discharges under certain atmospheric conditions have also been seen on the masks or riggings of ships. Erasmus is also invoked against stomach cramps and colic. This came about because at one time he had hot iron hooks stuck into his intestines by persecutors under Emperor Diocletian. These wounds he miraculously endured. His Feast day is June 2nd.