Are all Catholics saints?

[Revelation13_16]

Hi CA,

So I suppose I can’t really understand about ‘intercession of saints’ unless I actually know what a saint is in Roman Catholicism.

So here goes:

Q1. Do Catholics believe every Catholic is a saint? (i.e - are you a saint?)

Q2. Is there any difference between a saint & a Saint?

God Bless,
Rev

 

[LilyM]

Well, all holy men and women are small-s saints, and continue to be so even after they physically die, since their spirit doesn’t die. Since not all Catholics or Christians are holy, they aren’t all saints. I hope I’m a saint, we’re all called to be saints, but it’s not for me to put that sort of label on myself.

There are probably countless people who are in heaven as well who aren’t capital-S Saints - haven’t been formally canonised. After all, an average of only about five people a year HAVE been canonised in the 2,000 years the Catholic church has been around.

A capital-S Saint is a person whose life, having been as minutely scrutinised as possible, is found to have been of exemplary holiness, and whose status in heaven is further confirmed by multiple verified miracles performed after their death through their intercession.

We don’t believe that any soul in heaven loses the powers of communication with others or of intercession for them which they possessed on Earth. So we can still “pray to” (request the intercession of) any person we believe to be in heaven. I occasionally ask the intercession of my deceased grandparents and uncle, for example.

 

[ncgolf]

Hi CA,

So I suppose I can’t really understand about ‘intercession of saints’ unless I actually know what a saint is in Roman Catholicism.

So here goes:

Q1. Do Catholics believe every Catholic is a saint? (i.e - are you a saint?)

Q2. Is there any difference between a saint & a Saint?

God Bless,
Rev

Q1 - yes by virture of Baptism but that is true of any person validly baptized.

Q2 - we on earth are small ‘s’ saints. We are considered to be part of the Church Militant. Those who have died and gone to heaven are part of the Church Triumphant. Those in purgatory are part of the Church Suffering. We, on earth, do not know who those people are either in heaven or purgatory except for those who have been canonized. Those are the captial ‘S’ saints. A Catholic Saint is proclaimed by the Church to be in Heaven.

You could say any person in heaven is a capital ‘S’ saint, we just really do not know who they are … except for a select few.

 

[Revelation13_16]

Thanks guys, it cleared up alot.

One more question though, the theory of the capital S Saints, where does that come from and where can I read more about it? (because only the small s saints are talked about in the Bible)

Thanks.

God Bless,
Rev

 

[ncgolf]

Thanks guys, it cleared up alot.

One more question though, the theory of the capital S Saints, where does that come from and where can I read more about it? (because only the small s saints are talked about in the Bible)

Thanks.

God Bless,
Rev

Here is brief explanation … ewtn.com/johnpaul2/cause/history.asp. One of the most beautfiul things the Church does is the Litany of the Saints. The names are either read or sung (especially nice when the person has a beautiful voice) … we don’t do it often but I love it when we do.