Modern Maladies

It looks like this is shaping up to be a patron saint matching week. It's one of my favorite hobbies! So, let's have at it.

"THANK YOU, SISTER FOR THE TIME YOU TAKE TO ENTERTAIN AND EDUCATE US. I HOPE YOU CAN HELP WITH A SAINT MATCHING FOR ME. I HAVE A FRIEND WHO HAS BEEN RECENTLY DIAGNOSED WITH CONVERSION DISORDER. THE CASE IS VERY SEVERE AND SHE IS COMPLETELY DISABLED AND UNABLE TO CARE FOR HERSELF. SHE REQUIRES IN HOME NURSING CARE AND HER FAMILY IS SUFFERING TERRIBLY, ALONG WITH HER. I DO WHAT I CAN TO HELP FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT I KNOW THAT PRAYER IS THE ONLY THING I CAN DO TO HELP HER ALL THE TIME. "

I have to say, it has been quite an interesting situation for me to have so many people educate me about so many things I know nothing about. Finding patron saints for modern maladies has been an exhilarating challenge.

I really thought "Conversion disorder?" It called to mind a recent "Dear Abby" letter of a woman who was insulted by her born again friend's constant needling about where the woman would end up after the Last Judgment. I'm sure any readers who saw this question in the comments section went running to the Google. I certainly did.

Conversion Disorder is a psychological state that causes a physical reaction. The person simply shuts down. No one knows exactly how it works or what exactly causes it, because the person afflicted can't tell you about the the mental torture that's caused them to live it what surely must be a very private Hell. I was thinking it must be a lot like catatonia, but the word catatonic was not used to describe the symptoms.

But a patron saint sprang to mind as I read about the disorder: St. Rosalia, the patron saint for people who just need to get away from it all.

Little Rosalia was a descendant of Charlemagne! But in an effort to live a holy life, she took herself off to be a hermit and lived in a cave. After a few years in that cave, she moved to a new cave and then one day, the cave caved in on her.

She had been long forgotten by then, so no one even noticed she was gone.

So Rosalia took herself away from life, too. And unlike her, your friend has people who care about that and want to protect and help her. No one has forgotten her.

In the end, no one forgot Rosalia either. When a plague hit Palermo, Italy, Rosalia appeared to a man and told him where to find her bones. He unearthed her, brought her home, and many people were cured. There is still a big party in her honor every year in Palermo.

I have a little side note for her family: St. Gemma! She was bedridden for so long at home with her family caring for her. The whole Galgani family are surely saints in Heaven.

Origin: ceremonial-magic.blogspot.com