Stories of Hope
According to statistics from the World Health Organization, around 70% of all people have or will face some form of trauma in their lifetime (1).
These statistics mean that the majority of people are affected by trauma, and that many people are seeking healing from their experiences.
For Catholics walking this healing journey, heavenly intercessors who have faced a similar experience and found healing and resilience can be a source of hope and important lessons.
The problem is that the traumatic experiences and healing journeys of many saints are rarely discussed.
Where Tria Corda Ministry Comes In
On Stories of Hope, Tria Corda Ministry aims to tell the stories of saints who faced various types of trauma and to draw out the lessons we can learn from them for our own healing journeys.
Our goal: That you will discover one saint who faced something similar to you and find in that saint an example and intercessor for your own healing journey.
Below, you will find many blog posts telling these Stories of Hope. Additionally, you can discover more Stories of Hope by subscribing to our weekly newsletter and our Healing With the Saints retreat.
Recent Blog Posts
St. Therese of Lisieux: Waiting on God’s Healing Timeline
St. Therese of Lisieux is one of the most popular saints of modern times, known for her Little Way where one transforms everyday things into ways to love God.
St. Therese was born to Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, the youngest of their nine children. She had a happy first four years of her life, until her mother contracted an aggressive form of breast cancer, which eventually took her life.
St. Rita of Cascia: The Fruit of Meditation on the Passion
St. Rita of Cascia is the patron saint of those with marital problems and who face abuse.
St. Martin de Porres: Ministry Formed From Abandonment
St. Martin de Porres was born in Peru to an unmarried Spanish gentleman and a freed slave from Panama, who was of African or Native American descent. When Martin was young, his father abandoned him, his mother, and his younger sister, leaving them in deep poverty. He could attend school for only two years before being placed with a barber-surgeon (they did both at the time) to learn the field.
St. Maria Goretti: The Power of Forgiveness for All Sides of Trauma
St. Maria Goretti was born into a poor family in Italy. When she was six years old, she and her family moved from the eastern to the western side of Italy hoping to escape poverty. However, when Maria was nine, her father died, putting the family further into poverty.
As the oldest of her five siblings, Maria had to help raise the children, cook, and clean while her mother worked in the fields to make some money. The family hired two assistants-Giovanni Serenelli and his son Alessandro-to assist Maria’s mother on the farm.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha: The Power of Praying for Those Who Have Hurt Us
St. Kateri Tekakwitha was born to a Christian Algonquin Indian, who had been taken captive by the Iroquois and given as wife to Kateri’s father, the chief of the Mohawk clan. When Kateri was four, smallpox stuck the village, killing her parents and a little brother. Kateri had also contracted smallpox, and the disease left her scarred and half-blind, which became a source of humiliation and teasing by members of the village, so much so she would often wear a blanket over her head.
St. Josephine Bakhita: Gratitude After Trauma
If you begin to feel overwhelmed at any point when reading this article, please pause and seek guidance from a trained mental health professional, a trusted friend, or a mentor. St. Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan. At the age of 7, she was kidnapped and sold into...
St. Ignatius of Loyola: Injury as an Opportunity for God’s Inbreaking
St. Ignatius of Loyola, as a young man, had one goal: to be a famous knight. To achieve that goal, he entered the military, but a cannonball shattering his leg derailed his dreams. Fortunately for the Catholic Church, this traumatic leg injury led to his conversion and the founding of one of the largest religious orders in the Church.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: Early Trauma Leading to Embracing the Catholic Faith
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was born in New York in 1774 to an Episcopal family. At the age of three, she lost her mother.
St. Dymphna: The Story of the Patron Saint of Mental Illness
St. Dymphna is the patron saint of those suffering from mental illness and those who are victims of incest.
St. Monica: The Power of Intercession
St. Monica was born into a Christian family in the African part of the Roman Empire. At a young age, she married a pagan named Patricius, with whom she had multiple children, the most famous of which was Augustine.
Monica is best known for her fervent intercession for the conversion of Augustine. She prayed for his conversion in tears for many years, continually persevering in prayer as it seemed her son was slipping farther away from the Church. She even followed him to Rome to encourage him to convert. She lived to see him baptized before her death.