angels and saints

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i have a question regarding the title of saint
my husband who will be starting rcia soon always has lots of questions for me. i have been a catholic all my life but until the last couple of years haven’t really taken my faith very seriously. i have to really search some times for answers to his questions. his latest i am having trouble with and i was hoping someone here could help me.
michael asks ~ how can archangel michael be called a saint?

i will await your answers
thank you so much for your time
 
Y’know, that’s a good question.
I would suggest that you perhaps call your pastor for that answer, but my own take on it is that all Christians are called saints in the NT. The term as conferred by the Church is really just an acknowlegement of the holiness of the person so named.
So your husband could be Saint Michael. Like me! 😃
 
wow

you are quick on the draw

that is a pretty good response and i will take your advice also and ask my parish priest

thank you very much michael
 
Hi ruby, from a noncatholics point of view.Angels are Angels and saints are saints.Yes,in heaven angels and saints are Holy but the are different. They are different in appearance as outlined in scripture. Angels are Gods servants and messangers.They are part of Gods spiritual army. To give the title St. to Angels is not proper in my oppinion.Just my 2 cents. :confused: God Bless.
 
“The only thing different in sinners and saints, is one is forgiven and the other one ain’t” --George Jones
 
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SPOKENWORD:
Hi ruby, from a noncatholics point of view.Angels are Angels and saints are saints.Yes,in heaven angels and saints are Holy but the are different. They are different in appearance as outlined in scripture. Angels are Gods servants and messangers.They are part of Gods spiritual army. To give the title St. to Angels is not proper in my oppinion.Just my 2 cents. :confused: God Bless.
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Angel is just an office, a job if you will.
Saint is a title.
 
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ruby:
i have a question regarding the title of saint
my husband who will be starting rcia soon always has lots of questions for me. i have been a catholic all my life but until the last couple of years haven’t really taken my faith very seriously. i have to really search some times for answers to his questions. his latest i am having trouble with and i was hoping someone here could help me.
michael asks ~ how can archangel michael be called a saint?

i will await your answers
thank you so much for your time
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A saint is anyone who is in Heaven. That includes the angels.
 
From ancient times when used for angels, the word “saint” was simply a translation for the Latin word “sanctus” which means “holy.” All rational creatures who share God’s life and nature (sanctifying grace) have been called “holy.” The term was applied correctly to the good angels and to the souls (and in the case of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the body) of those who are in heaven and enjoying the beatific vision. Sometimes the early Christians even referred to each other as “saints,” meaning that it was assumed they were in the state of grace, sharing God’s nature even now, and thus destined to see Him forever in Paradise. In the Bible and the liturgy the word “holy” is applied to God Himself. By analogy it can be applied to all who share His life. Later on in history, the word “saint” became more restricted and was applied with a certain exclusivity to creatures of body and soul, whose souls were united to God in heaven. Canonically, the word can only be used for those souls who have been “canonized” or “raised to the honors of the altar.” Normally, nowadays we apply the word “saint” only to the souls of the just human beings in heaven and use other terms for angels. However, the ancient usage is still allowable and valid.
 
In Greek, the “saints” are called “holy.” So are the virtues and gifts of the Holy spirit. So are the people we in Latin call “Sanctus.” The Greek word is “hagios.” So, Michael the Archangel is “holy Michael.” The virtue of wisdom is “hagia sophia.” Abraham is “Holy Abraham.”

We get a little confused in the West because of the elaborate process of canonization – the proceeding by which the Church declares with certainty that a person is in Heaven. Hence, in the West, we tend to use the word “saint” only when referring to these saints. My grandmother, for example, is almost assuredly among the blessed. But nobody calls her “St. Lydia of Detroit.”
 
thanks to everybody
i am a little confused about what to say to my husband because i don’t want to sound as confused as i am and i don’t want to confuse him and i definately don’t want to give him an opinion. i need to give him the correct answer if there is one.
i really enjoyed reading your replies ~ but will the real answer please stand up

thanks again
 
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ruby:
thanks to everybody
i am a little confused about what to say to my husband because i don’t want to sound as confused as i am and i don’t want to confuse him and i definately don’t want to give him an opinion. i need to give him the correct answer if there is one.
i really enjoyed reading your replies ~ but will the real answer please stand up

thanks again
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Several congruous, unconfusing, straightforward “real” answers have “stood up” here. Have you tried the Catechism of the Catholic Church?
scborromeo.org/ccc.htm
 
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Bill_A:
Satan is an Angel but he is no Saint.
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Yes ,Satan is a Fallen Angel,He doesnt belong to the Kingdom of Heaven anymore. :eek: God Bless
 
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jimmy:
A saint is anyone who is in Heaven. That includes the angels.
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I disagree, Angels are not saints. If they were God would have addressed them as such.All in heaven are Holy though.God Bless.
 
From Fr. John Hardon:
SAINTS. A name given in the New Testament to Christians generally (Colossians 1:2) but early restricted to persons who were eminent for holiness. In the strict sense saints are those who distinguish themselves by heroic virtue during life and whom the Church honors as saints either by her ordinary universal teaching authority or by a solemn definition called canonization. The Church’s official recognition of sanctity implies that the persons are now in heavenly glory, that they may be publicly invoked everywhere, and that their virtues during life or martyr’s death are a witness and example to the Christian faithful. (Etym. Latin sanctus, holy, sacred.) (Pocket Catholic Dictionary)
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The city of God consists of angels and the spirits of the just, they are both *sanctus *(holy, sacred) and as such are described as “saints.” (cf Heb 12:22ff)
 
Spokenword’s interpretation of what God says notwithstanding …

The NT word for “saint” is the Greek “hagios,” of which the Protestant source Thayer’s Lexicon states: “of persons whose services God employs,” of which Thayer includes angels.

See 1 Th 3:13 in the context of Matt 25:31.

1 Th 3:13 “To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, **at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. (Gk “hagios”)” **

Matt 25:31 "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy (Gk “hagios”) angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory

It seems that when the Son of Man, Jesus Christ comes in his glory, Matt 25:31 includes the *holy angels *among those described in 1 Th 3:13 as saints.
 
thanks again to everyone

i think i now have a pretty good answer to give to michael especially when i can use scripture to do it.

this is a great place

you are all so very helpful

ruby
 
When in doubt…go tttto a St. Joseph’s Missal or the Catechism.

In my 1955 issue of the Saint Joseph’s Missal I find

A prayer to the Archangel Michael, it begins , “Holy Michael , the Archangel, defend us in battle”.

But when looking at prayers for what we call Saints I see:
Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas .

So I see that the desceased people who the Church says are in heaven are called Saints.

And the Angels are not called Saints. Angel is a different species than the soul of a man. The St. Joseph Missal Imprimature was Francis Cardinad Spellman, he ought to know.
 
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itsjustdave1988:
Spokenword’s interpretation of what God says notwithstanding …

The NT word for “saint” is the Greek “hagios,” of which the Protestant source Thayer’s Lexicon states: “of persons whose services God employs,” of which Thayer includes angels.

See 1 Th 3:13 in the context of Matt 25:31.

1 Th 3:13 “To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. (Gk “hagios”)”

Matt 25:31 "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy (Gk “hagios”) angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory

It seems that when the Son of Man, Jesus Christ comes in his glory, Matt 25:31 includes the *holy angels *among those described in 1 Th 3:13 as saints.
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Again , Im going to disagree, Anytime the word saints is used in the New Testament it refers to earthly saints. Heavenly saints were refered as Elders. :confused: God Bless
 
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SPOKENWORD:
Again , Im going to disagree, Anytime the word saints is used in the New Testament it refers to earthly saints. Heavenly saints were refered as Elders. :confused: God Bless
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You are welcome to your opinion 🙂 . However, Catholics are not Sola Scriptura Christians and that is the not the context from whence the question came. Ruby wanted to know what the Church, which has the fullness of the Gospel, teaches, and that is the answer we gave.
 
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