Hi – Catholic Metal Warriors!!
As you can see we have a poll about selecting a patron saint for Catholic Metal; this is being done as an exercise in opinion by those who are interested – in other words – it is just for fun! I doubt our Holy Church will make a proclamation due to our humble poll, but we are interested in what people who are interested in Catholic Metal (both the listeners and the musicians) have to say.
This current poll will probably be up until the start of Advent (late November/early December) so that we have it up long enough to get more people involved. Whichever saint “wins” our poll will be featured on this website and we will ask for intercessory prayer through the saint that is chosen.
Speaking about saints, in Canada, Brother Andre was just canonized as a saint. There are many amazing stories about this holy man; he always prayed to the intercession of St. Joseph and through this great act of faith – many people were healed of diseases and other afflictions. In my music classes, we start our class with prayer requests, pray a Hail Mary and we finish with a short intercession of the saints. The students have really enjoyed rediscovering this beautiful part of our Holy Mother Church.
I hope this poll reveals a great intercessor for our website and for Catholic Metal music and it starts some comments or discussions about the saints. Have you felt the blessings of intercessory prayer in your life? Is there a saint that has a special meaning in your family? If you feel comfortable sharing, I’m sure that the members of our small community are all ears!
Yours in Christ,
dave
Comments 5
Hey Dave and my other fellow apostolic metalheads,
This is a fun exercise – who is the patron of Catholic metal? I know that Cecilia and Gregory are traditional patrons of music, but in my opinion there might a saint that we could link a bit more closely to the “metal” part of Catholic metal. Here’s a couple ideas…
St. Michael (he is usually displayed in full battle armor, what could be more metal?
Plus his mission is defeating the powers of darkness)
St. John the Baptist (he strikes me as a holy man who would identify with metalheads, in that he dressed a bit odd, with camelhair and a leather belt. It reminds me of the denim and leather of the early thrash scene. Plus, the focus of his ministry was to point towards the One greater than he, Jesus the Christ. Catholic metal is all about turning minds and hearts to Christ, and not exalting ourselves We must decrease, Christ must increase. )
St. Paul (he is usually depicted with a sword. Maybe he was a fan of Manowar? : ) But seriously, he experienced what was arguably the most powerful and influential conversion in the history of Christianity, and then he went “on tour” across the world spreading the message. I wonder what was on his tour rider?
As for my personal devotions, today in the States we celebrate the feast of the Saint Paul of the Cross. He is my favorite saint for a number of reasons. He dedicated his life to encouraging all people to reflect on the Passion of Christ and how it reveals God’s love. He founded the Congregation of the Passion, also known as the Passionists. Plus, he’s italian and his name is Paul!
Stay Catholic and Stay Metal,
Paolo/THEANDRIC
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Hey Paolo!!
Thanks for giving us lots to think about – there are other saints that were not put on the poll – thanks for mentioning them for our consideration! St. Cecilia and St. Gregory have been known for a while to be saints related to music – I picked St. Dunstan for the poll since he faced the ultimate evil and defeated the devil – I thought for his courage that he should be included. St. Peter is the “rock” of our Church and I thought that he reveals so much about us; like St. Peter sometimes we show weakness – but like Peter we are compelled to have the courage of our faith. His final request to be crucified upside down shows us not only his humility – but also, the courage that we need to have as Catholic warriors. Personally, I found St. Peter’s life story so inspirational that I included him in the poll (I hope that doesn’t sound too self-absorbed or selfish!!).
There are so many saints that inspire us in so many different ways – but as you said – “We must decrease, Christ must increase!” should be tattooed in our mind as we write/record our lyrics and music. Thanks so much for your comments – and as always – you have given me great “spiritual” food for thought!!
Yours In Christ!
dave@catholicmetal.com
St. Peter- The Rock. Get it?
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Too cool….but we all know that St. Peter RAWKS!!!!
What About St. King David? He was a skilled warrior and musician, he was a man after God’s own heart, he had a lot of the same struggles that men are faced with today (i.e. purity), his skillful playing kept the insanity of King Saul at bay, he killed Goliath and unified the people of God, he danced before the Lord in his undies (to me this definitely says: rock star), and King David showed both power in that he killed a lion with his bare hands and mercy and patriotism by showing mercy to King Saul who was trying to kill him….I am a little biased though, St. King David is my patron saint.