St. Dismas

Who they were

He gets three sentences in one Gospel and no name in any of them. Dismas comes from later tradition. Those three sentences have carried more hope per word than almost any passage in Scripture.

Crucified beside Jesus, one criminal mocks. The other stops him with the most honest self assessment in the Bible, that we are receiving the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong, and then turns his head and asks for exactly one thing: Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. The answer is the treasure: today you will be with me in paradise. The theology is worth stating plainly, because it is the whole devotion. A man with no sacraments, no restitution, and no time, holding nothing but honesty and a request, is the one person the Gospels record receiving a direct and personal promise of heaven. The Church has always read him as the patron of the last hour, and of everyone who fears they have left it too late.

Why people turn to St. Dismas

Prisoners and prison ministry. The dying, and those keeping vigil with them, since remember me is a prayer a family can give someone in one breath. And every person who believes their record disqualifies them. He pairs with St. Peter, who also failed and was restored.

How to ask their intercession

In the last hours, his sentence word for word, Jesus, remember me, is the entire required text. Nothing needs to be added to it and nothing needs to be got right.