Who Are Saints? a Saint Is Any Human Being Who Is in Heaven. The
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Who are Saints? A saint is any human being who is in heaven. The Catholic Church believes that anyone can become a saint—that is someone who makes it to heaven, whether you are a priest, a single man, or a religious sister. Those who are recognized with the title of saint are those the church recognizes as having lives worth imitating and to such a degree that they should be held up as an example to the others. His or her life was a perfect example of the way Christians should live. Saints aren’t born saints. Saints are born sinners in the state of original sin and were sinners throughout their lives. Saints are ordinary people. Steps to becoming a saint: First, the person’s local bishop investigates their life by gathering information from witnesses of their life and any writings they may have written. If the bishop finds them to be worthy of being a saint, then he submits the information that he gathered to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Second, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints can choose to reject the application or accept it and begin their own investigation of the person’s life. If the application is accepted, the person may be called Servant of God. Third, if the Congregation for the Causes of Saints approves of the candidate, they can choose to declare that the person lived a life heroically virtuous life. This isn’t a declaration that the person is in heaven, but that they pursued holiness while here on earth. If this is indeed found to be the case, the person may be called Venerable. Fourth, to be recognized as someone in heaven requires that a miracle has taken place through the intercession of that person. The miracle is usually a healing. The healing has to be instantaneous, permanent, and complete while also being scientifically unexplainable. Miracles have to be first verified as scientifically unexplainable by a group of independent doctors, then the person is approved by a panel of theologians, and then the final approval lies with the pope. If this is the case, a person is declared a blessed. Note: Besides the number of miracles attributed to them, the difference between is a blessed and a saint is that the scope of devotion for a blessed is narrower – usually limited to a specific group of people or a particular region of the world while a saint is held up for devotion for the universal Church. Fifth, a second miracle is needed in order to declare someone a saint. The confirmation of a second miracle goes through the same scrutiny as the first. In the Catholic Church, only after death can someone be called a saint, even though while alive the person lived a saintly, holy life. Praying to Saints Saints are not an object of veneration but we ask them to intercede before Christ for us. The mere fact that miracles are received by countless millions of people is proof positive that their intercession for us is right. As Scripture indicates, those in heaven are aware of the prayers of those on earth. This can be seen, for example, in Revelation 5:8, where John depicts the saints in heaven offering our prayers to God under the form of "golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." But if the saints in heaven are offering our prayers to God, then they must be aware of our prayers. They are aware of our petitions and present them to God by interceding for us. Asking a saint to pray for you in no way violates Christ’s mediatorship, as can be seen from considering the way in which Christ is a mediator. First, Christ is a unique mediator between man and God because he is the only person who is both God and man. He is the only bridge between the two, the only God‐man. But that role as mediator is not compromised in the least by the fact that others intercede for us. Countless miracles throughout the centuries have occurred through the intercession of saints while they lived or after their death confirming the truth of the power of their intercession before Christ. Is the Blessed Mother a Saint? Yes, she is a saint. Mary, also known as St. Mary the Virgin, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Mary, Mary Mother of God or the Virgin Mary is believed by many to be the greatest of all Christian saints. The Virgin Mother "was, after her Son, exalted by divine grace above all angels and men." The title of Blessed Mother or Mother of God is a higher title and therefore the title most commonly used. Do we worship saints? No. Catholic devotion to the saints is nothing more than respect and admiration for the memory of the deceased heroes of the Church. Just as a society honors its dead who helped make the world a better place while they were alive, Catholics honor saints and wish to imitate their lives. Are Angels also Saints? No. Angels and saints are two separate beings, separate species. Confusion arises, when, on occasion, some angels are given the title saint, Like Saint Gabriel Church, which is typically reserved for humans. The overlap is merely a matter of semantics: The Latin word for saint is sancta, which means holy. Once in heaven — saint or angel — one is automatically holy. It can be confusing, but look at it this way: Angels are spirits in heaven, and saints are human beings in heaven. Angels can be called “saint” (as in the case of St. Michael the Archangel) as a sign of respect and honor. A human being is called “saint” only after death and once in heaven. References to saints in the bible: If you refer to a living person as a saint, you mean that they are extremely kind, patient, and unselfish, as in “My girlfriend is a saint to put up with me.” The bible uses the word saint in this context and also in the more common understanding of a holy person already in heaven. .