The bishop had been arrested for his faith. He was being carted off to jail when a desperate mother placed her son at his feet. The poor boy was choking to death on a fishbone. The bishop was known for working miracles, and in his presence, the boy was instantly cured.

This is the legendary story of Saint Blaise. Many legends surround his life, but they all point to a man of unshakable faith who worked incredible healings.

On his feast day, the Church offers a special blessing of throats: a priest places two crossed candles on the throats of believers and invokes Saint Blaise's healing and protection.

Where in your life do you need healing? Your marriage? Your career? Your finances? Your health? Everyone needs to be healed in some way, right now, today. 

Jesus is always healing someone in the Gospels. He made the blind see, gave hearing to the deaf, cured the paralyzed, and even raised the dead.

It’s easy to distance ourselves from these experiences and think we aren’t the blind, deaf or lame. But we are blind. We are paralyzed. We are deaf. We are possessed. It may manifest in different ways and to different degrees, but we are. We all need to be comforted in our afflictions. We need to be counseled in our worries and anxiety. We all need to be liberated from spirits that possess us. We are all lepers in need of cleansing. We all need to be forgiven for the mistakes and sins and regrets that burden us with guilt and shame. We all need to be given a voice in situations where we find it hard to speak up. And in some way or another, some part of us, or some aspect of our lives needs to be raised from the dead.

The Feast of Saint Blaise is a beautiful invitation to healing. Are you ready to ask Jesus to heal you?

Patron Saint of: Throat Illnesses, Animals, Wool Combers, and Wool Trading

Symbols: Crossed Candles

Feast Day: February 3

Feast Day Shared By: Saint Ansgar