What Is a Saint?
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
About Saints…
What Is a Saint? A saint is someone who has been canonized by the Catholic Church in recognition of a life of heroic virtue or who has died a martyr’s death.
Why Do We Need Saints? The only intercessor we need is Jesus Christ, but we call upon the saints as heavenly in- tercessors to pray for us. Since saints may come from every walk of life, they are role models for all of us because we, too, no matter what else we do during our lives, are called to be saints.
Do Catholics Pray TO Saints? Catholics pray with saints, not to them. Since saints led holy lives and are close to God in heaven, we think their prayers are particularly effective. We may be drawn to specific saints if we feel they have a special interest in our problem, e.g., those who have difficulty with unan- swered prayers may pray to St. Monica who prayed for 20 years for her son to be converted. Her prayers were answered beyond her fondest hopes. Monica’s son, Augustine, not only was con- verted, but eventually became a canonized saint and Doctor of the Church!
When Did the Church Start Honoring Saints? Honoring the saints was part of Christianity from the very beginning – as early as the year 100 A.D. The first saints were martyrs who were killed during the Christian persecutions. The practice of honoring saints originally came from a tradition in the Jewish faith in which prophets and holy people were honored with shrines.
What is a Saint’s Feast Day? A saint’s feast day is a liturgical day on which the official public worship of the Church recalls a saint in a special way. In 1960, Pope John XXIII issued a new ordering of feast days for the universal calendar (used by the whole Church) and a particular calendar (one that varies ac- cording to country, diocese, religious orders, etc.).
How Are Relics of Saints Classified? First Class Relic – the body or part of a body of a saint. Second Class Relic – an article of clothing or some other article used by a saint. Third Class Relic – any object that has been touched to a first class relic.
Hagiography and Hagiology Sacred writings (from the Greeek: hagio-, sacred + -graphos, writings) Hagiography – biography of saints Hagiology – literature dealing with the lives of the saints; an authoritative list of saints