#expedite

So... this coming Friday, the 19th, is the feast day for our pal @saint-expeditus. In true "I need this specific saint's help, specifically" fashion, I have procrastinated and am only just now getting my shit together to do A Thing™ this Friday.

Since I am also trying to get back into the swing of things with the Tumblr community I've been a part of for a decade now, I thought I would extend an invitation to you all to be part of this with me 😁

I have set up a Google form for people to fill out to add their petitions to the pile, so if you're interested, please use the following link to access said form:

I will have to keep an eye on things and close the form to additional responses once I hit the max for the supplies I have, so if you hit an inactive form, I apologize ... but if this goes well I will probably start doing this for other things and maybe even keep the Expidite thing going as a yearly offering? Maybe?

I'm not going to share this form on Facebook, Instagram, or Discord either ... this is exclusively for my Tumblr fam 🫂

THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT EXPEDITUS OF ARMENIA The Patron of Emergencies, Revolutionaries, Navigators and Against Procrastination Feast Day: April 19

Puns on saints' names are not uncommon, but that a saint named Expeditus should be invoked against procrastination just seems too good.

There was a real St. Expeditus: He was one of six Armenian Christians, possibly Roman soldiers, who were martyred in Melitene. His fellow martyrs are Sts. Hermogenes, Gaius, Aristonicus, Rufus and Galata. There is documentary evidence that St. Expeditus was venerated in Turin in northern Italy during the Middle Ages. From there, devotion to him spread to Germany and Sicily in the 17th century, but how he became the saint of procrastinators is harder to pin down.

The version with the widest circulation claims that late in the 18th century relics of a martyr, along with a statue, were shipped from Rome to a Paris convent. Neither the relics nor the statue were labeled, but the shipping crate was marked 'Spedito,' which the nuns assumed was the name of the saint. The sisters Latinized Spedito into St. Expeditus. It's a good story, but it does sound like a holy urban legend.

An older legend tells us that on the day Expeditus resolved to become a Christian, the devil came to him in the form of a raven and tried to persuade him to put off his conversion until the next day. Expeditus declared, 'No! I will be a Christian today!'

Devotion to St. Expeditus has spread around the globe. In the United States he is popular among New Orleans Catholics, who tell a story similar to the French legend. The Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe received several crates of statues of saints. One of the statues was unidentified, but on the crate was the French term, Expedit, so that was taken to be the unknown saint’s name.

In Sao Paolo, Brazil, hundreds of thousands of Catholics crowd into the churches for Mass on the saint's feast day. The French introduced St. Expeditus to the inhabitants of Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. The saint's cult is particularly strong there, witness the countless private handmade shrines and altars lining the roads. Chile is another center of devotion to St. Expeditus, particularly at the beach resort of Vina del Mar where a small church dedicated to him has become a popular destination for pilgrims.

In art, St. Expeditus is usually shown dressed as a Roman soldier, holding the palm frond that is the symbol of martyrdom in one hand, and raising above his head a cross on which is inscribed the word 'Hodie,' Latin for 'Today,' and trampling on a raven labeled 'Cras,' Latin for 'Tomorrow.'

In Germany, however, St. Expeditus is depicted pointing at a clock, a reminder not to waste time, or procrastinate.

Calling on Saint Expedite for some immediate help, or to bring something you need in the immediate future, be it money, jobs, love, anything (the smaller the request, the more likely it happens in my experience). Reblog if you need any immediate help from Saint Expedite and spread the word for others to find help too.

If you would like to do the spell on your own here are some directions below:

Note: It's best to do this on a Wednesday, but can be done anytime.

1. Find or buy a red candle (It doesn't have to be a long tapered candle like mine) and fill a glass with water. Print a picture of Saint Expedite and prop it up against the glass so it's face up.

2. Be clear and concise with your wish and intention in mind, then light the candle.

3. Speak the following encantation clearly:

Saint Expedite, you lay in rest. I come to you and ask that this wish be granted. __________ (Clearly express what you want, and ask him to find a way to get it to you.) Expedite now what I ask of you. Expedite now what I want of you, this very second. Don't waste another day. Grant me what I ask for. I know your power. I know you because of your work. I know you can help me. Do this for me and I will spread your name with love and honor So that it will be invoked again and again. Expedite this wish with speed, love, honor, and goodness. Glory to you, Saint Expedite!