By Gretchen Keiser, Staff Writer

ATLANTA – St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus and the carpenter-provider for the Holy Family, is a saint whose intercession is sought by readers of The Georgia Bulletin.

Responding to an open invitation to write about their patron saints for All Saints Day, several readers described their confidence in St. Joseph, whose aid they sought for family problems, physical healing and his much-touted assistance in selling homes quickly.

Barbara Pursley, who recently joined the Catholic Church at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Smyrna, related a story of personal physical healing through the intercession of St Joseph.

A sufferer of arthritis in both knees, Ms. Pursley was accustomed to regular pain and was on a variety of medications. On a weekend in June 1994, she said, she was bed-ridden because of pain, but made an effort to get to church on Sunday to attend Mass and visit the nursery where she usually works.

Concerned friends gave her books that described devotion to St. Joseph and also oil that had been blessed at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal. Later that day, she read the prayers, anointed her knees with the oil, and asked Jesus to heal her through the intercession of the saints. “I told Him that He alone heals. I asked for forgiveness of my sins. I said my rosary,” she wrote. “I have never felt so good in my life. It was like someone was giving me a great big warm hug . . . I slept until 6 p.m. When I woke up I could not believe it. I had no pain, no swelling, no stiffness. It was all gone! I no longer take any of the medications I was on . . . I have been happy to tell my story for anyone who would like to hear it . . . Saints are here to listen and comfort and bring us closer to God.

“It is my observation that no enough devotion is attributed to a saint who has meant so much to the world as a fatherly figure and as an important member of the Holy Family . . . St. Joseph,” wrote Earl St. Dennis.

Chosen by God to be “earthly father, protector, provider and family comforter,” St. Joseph must have exemplified outstanding moral qualities, yet he remains obscure, St. Dennis said. A saint whose intercession can be sought for protection of the family, he is also invoked by people trying to sell homes and move, particularly in difficult circumstances.

The connection between St. Joseph and family moves is said to come from his role leading the Holy Family from Bethlehem to Egypt and later back to Nazareth under God’s guidance to protect them from Herod. The practice of burying a blessed statue of St. Joseph in the yard and asking his intercession for a successful move has gained public attention through realtors in recent years.

Many other patron saints are important in the lives of readers.

Several described seeking the protection of St. Michael the Archangel in times of distress and crisis.

Karen Staab of Stone Mountain and her five siblings were raised with a devotion to St. Gerard Majella, patron saint of mothers. All the children were given a derivative of the saint’s name as a middle name and she is continuing the practice with her own children.

“My mother has told me about several instances where St. Gerard has answered her prayers during her six pregnancies and even afterward,” Mrs. Staab wrote.

In her own experience, Mrs. Staab prayed for the aid of St. Gerard when a difficult pregnancy led to toxemia five weeks before her due date and the need to perform an emergency Caesarean section.

“Everyone left the room to make the preparation and my entire body began to shake severely. I knew I needed to calm down and prayed to St. Gerard and immediately a calmness came over me and I felt everything would work out. I delivered a healthy, though little, 4 lb., 4 oz. baby boy.”

“We continue to feel a strong connection with St. Gerard and it is comforting to be able to pray to him and to know that he is available during all the different phases of motherhood,” Mrs. Staab wrote.

Reader Sebastian Agnese has been inspired throughout his lifetime by St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorist Order, bishop, doctor of the church and patron saint of moral theologians and confessors.

“If we think the saints became holy by some magic formula or by great accomplishments, we are wrong, he writes. “In St. Alphonsus’ view, they (the saints) became holy because of prayer . . . Above all, St. Alphonsus urged veneration to the Virgin Mary because her complete love and trust enables her to intercede for us and whatever she asks for us will be granted by her Son.”

“The life and works of St. Alphonsus oriented my spirituality toward the reality of the communion of saints,” Agnese wrote. “He makes clear the way of a truly Christian life is based on faith, hope, love, patience, humility and confidence in the healing power of prayer. He urged meditation on the mysteries of the crib, the crucifix and the Tabernacle . . . His greatest accomplishment was his ability, as a simple pastor, to preach the Gospel and explain Catholic teaching in language and images that ordinary people could understand.”