St. Alphonsa - First Woman Saint of India

Blessed St. Alphonsa - She is the First Woman Saint of India, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1986 and Canonization on 12th October 2008 in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI

Prayer of Saint Alphonsa

O Lord Jesus,Hide me in the wound of your sacred heart. Free me from my desire to be loved and esteemed. Guard me from my evil attempts to win fame and honor. Make me humble till I become a small spark in the flame of love in your Sacred Heart.Grant me the grace to forget myself and all worldly things.Jesus, sweet beyond words, convert all worldly consolations into bitterness for me.O my Jesus, Sun of Justice, enlighten my intellect and mind with your sacred rays. Purify my heart, consume me with burning love for you, and make me one with you. Amen

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Prayer to Blessed Saint Alphonsa

Oh, my Blessed St. Alphonsa, you have been graciously chosen from our midst to be united with Jesus Christ, our savior, in the misery of his passion, death and resurrection. You have grown to the heights of holiness and have been crowned with heavenly glory. Help us in our trials and tribulations.

Oh! Daughter of sufferings, obtain for us the grace to lead a holy life, following your example, in total submission to the will of God. Be with us, transforming all our sorrows into a holy sacrifice in union with Christ Crucified, in reparation to our sins, for the sanctification and salvation of the whole world. Amen

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My Reflections:

We all can't be Saints, but few are choosen to be the holy ones. Saints are filled with the love of God and they are humble, willingly and lovingly attributing to God all that they have and all that they will ever be. They are people of prayer and actually a mediator between us and God. St. Alphonsa is one such Saint, having the miraculous power of healing.

There are so many things we can learn from them. We just need to recognize our call to holiness. There are enough opportunities, enough suffering, enough challenges and, above all, enough grace for all of us to be passionate about God as the saints are.

Let's have faith on all Saints and praise their holiness. And let's pray to them to spiritually enrich our life, so that we can be an example to other's, even though we can't be a Saint like them.