Can someone explain the importance of saints and others Qs please?

[nichjake]

As you all by now probably know I’m an atheist…a desire to learn brought me here (as well as a few questions as to how not to make a fool of myself in mass when my friend asked to go with him for support). I’ve got another question for you all…well several actually, but they all pertain to saints.

Why are saints so important to catholics? And how did sainthood come to be? I guess anything you guys think is worth knowing is something I’d like to hear

 

[Pax_et_Caritas]

As you all by now probably know I’m an atheist…a desire to learn brought me here (as well as a few questions as to how not to make a fool of myself in mass when my friend asked to go with him for support). I’ve got another question for you all…well several actually, but they all pertain to saints.

Why are saints so important to catholics?

They are important because of their example. Saint are people who lived extraordinarily holy lives.

The more each of us overcomes our sinfull tendencies, and conforms our lives to the will of God, the more holy we will become. The saints are those who achieved a high degree of holiness in this life, and as such have much to teach us about arriving at our goal.

We all have difficulties and trials in our life that we have to deal with. Certain trials are common to us all (we all have to deal with then), while each of us also have our own particular difficulty that we must struggle with. Knowing the best way to deal with difficult situations is not always easy. The saints often dealt with the same things that we do. Reading their lives to see how they dealt with difficulties, gives us an example for how we should deal with our own difficulties.

You have probably heard of “patron saints”. Certain saints are a “patron saints” of this or that because they dealt with that in their life. Job from the Old Testament, for example, might be the patron saint of patience, since he was a model of patience in great trials. We can read his life to help us when we are faced with something that tries our patience.

Basically, saints are honored by us because of the holy life they lived; and we read about them so that we can have an example to help us in our life.

Just as people of he world have “mentors” to learn from so that they can achieve their goal, so too do Catholics have the saints to help them achieve theirs.

 

[nichjake]

Interesting, thank you.

Another question I though of: Why do people ask the saints for help or guidance? Is it because of the hope that the saint will personally give them advice or extra strength?

And saint medals…what is the purpose of the those?

How does someone become a saint? I know it has something to do with performing miracles but other than that I have no idea…also how did patron saints come to be patron saints?

I know I’m asking a lot of questions that prolly seem dumb to you guys…thanks for your patience

 

[Pax_et_Caritas]

Interesting, thank you.

Another question I though of: Why do people ask the saints for help or guidance? Is it because of the hope that the saint will personally give them advice or extra strength?

The Church is called, and actually is, the mystical body of Christ. It is more that just a group of people. They are actually united in a supernatural union which Christ as the head. It is a very deep and interesting doctrine to sudy…

The mystical body of Christ includes, not only those on earth, but the souls in heaven as well. And, just as we on earth can help each other by our prayers, so too can those in heaven assist us by their prayers.

The Bible teaches that “the prayers of a righteous man prevaileth much”. The saints in heaven are completely purified from any tendency to sin, and they see God “face to face”. As such, the prayers of the saints are very beneficial to us. The saints will often obtain favors for us that we may not have received without their prayers. St. Augustine taught that God only grants certain graces to us through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

So, to answer the question, when we “pray” to a saint, what we are actually doing is asking the saint to pray for us. The “prayer” that we pray to them is really just a petition asking them to pray to God for us. The saints help us by praing for us.

 

[nichjake]

Okay, I think I get it now. Thanks again!

Oh, about the medals…why are they significant? Are they just a reminder or is there something more to it?

 

[blackrobe]

Okay, I think I get it now. Thanks again!

Oh, about the medals…why are they significant? Are they just a reminder or is there something more to it?

Medals, when blessed by a cleric, are sacramentals. Other sacramentals include rosaries, holy water, blessed salt, etc. Unlike *sacraments *which convey sanctifying grace in themselves, sacramentals can be used to increase one’s openness to grace and dispose one to benefit more deeply from grace.

Here’s a weak analogy: think of the life of grace as swimming toward God. The current (grace) is carrying you and it is the medium of your transit. As long as you go with the flow you will reach your destination, but a pair of flippers (sacramentals) could help you use the current (grace) more effectively. By the same token, the flippers could impede you if you use them to oppose the current (superstition, e.g.).

Well, it’s late and my brain is fried . . .

JSA

 

[Pax]

nichjake,

If you’re a sports fan you can easily relate to the saints. Just think of them as being in the “heavenly hall of fame.” Likewise, sports fans admire the greats in their favorite sports. Those that are serious about playing sports will even study the methods and techniques of the great historical players in order to raise the level of their own game. All Christians have sainthood as their goal in this life because we wish to be with our Lord and Savior in the next.

 

[nichjake]

Medals, when blessed by a cleric, are sacramentals. Other sacramentals include rosaries, holy water, blessed salt, etc. Unlike *sacraments *which convey sanctifying grace in themselves, sacramentals can be used to increase one’s openness to grace and dispose one to benefit more deeply from grace.

Here’s a weak analogy: think of the life of grace as swimming toward God. The current (grace) is carrying you and it is the medium of your transit. As long as you go with the flow you will reach your destination, but a pair of flippers (sacramentals) could help you use the current (grace) more effectively. By the same token, the flippers could impede you if you use them to oppose the current (superstition, e.g.).

Well, it’s late and my brain is fried . . .

JSA

So the sacramentals are supposed to help make the other things you do in your faith more efficient sort of speak? I can’t think of a good way to word it…they kind of help you along but can also have the opposite effect if you try and go against the teachings of christ?

trust me, my brain is fried to…my classes were something else today

 

[TheDoctor]

So the sacramentals are supposed to help make the other things you do in your faith more efficient sort of speak? I can’t think of a good way to word it…they kind of help you along but can also have the opposite effect if you try and go against the teachings of christ?

I think you are close. Permit me to use my rosary as an example. I do not NEED to say the rosary to please God or to get to Heaven, however when I say the rosary it helps me to accomplish a deepening of my faith in a few ways:

First, for those 20 minutes, I am focusing on God to the exclusion of the rest of the world. Second, this being a Friday I will meditate on the Sorrowful Mysteries (Agony in the Garden, Scourging, Crowning with Thorns, Carrying the Cross, Crucifixion) and will hopefully recall again that God loves all of us, even me, so much that he came to Earth and allowed himself to be cruelly tortured and killed as an example of that love. Third, by focusing on God this way I am reminded that I am called to try to love others as much as he loved me, and I have to show that love in a real way. (I have teenagers and this is sometimes a trial )

So that’s how I “use” my sacramental rosary “tool” in a good way. Like any tool, it can be misused. If I start to believe that all I do need for Heaven is to work those beads and I stop going to Mass and forgiving others and helping the poor then the rosary has become an impediment to my salvation instead of a help.

One last point. You may see Catholics refer to both big “S” saints and little “s” saints. The big “S” saints like St. Francis or St. Joseph are the ones who are officially canonized and are known to be in Heaven. The little “s” saints are all of us who are part of the body of Christ (a saint is a holy one who leads a life of union with Christ), here on earth, in purgatory or in Heaven. In the same way that was explained previously, Catholics not only ask the big “S” saints for prayer but the rest of the Catholic community as well. Remember, the big “S” saints started out as sinners and little “s” saints like the rest of us.

In that spirit my brother, allow me as a little “s” saint to pray that God leads you in your quest for truth.

 

[nichjake]

I think you are close. Permit me to use my rosary as an example. I do not NEED to say the rosary to please God or to get to Heaven, however when I say the rosary it helps me to accomplish a deepening of my faith in a few ways:

First, for those 20 minutes, I am focusing on God to the exclusion of the rest of the world. Second, this being a Friday I will meditate on the Sorrowful Mysteries (Agony in the Garden, Scourging, Crowning with Thorns, Carrying the Cross, Crucifixion) and will hopefully recall again that God loves all of us, even me, so much that he came to Earth and allowed himself to be cruelly tortured and killed as an example of that love. Third, by focusing on God this way I am reminded that I am called to try to love others as much as he loved me, and I have to show that love in a real way. (I have teenagers and this is sometimes a trial )

So that’s how I “use” my sacramental rosary “tool” in a good way. Like any tool, it can be misused. If I start to believe that all I do need for Heaven is to work those beads and I stop going to Mass and forgiving others and helping the poor then the rosary has become an impediment to my salvation instead of a help.

One last point. You may see Catholics refer to both big “S” saints and little “s” saints. The big “S” saints like St. Francis or St. Joseph are the ones who are officially canonized and are known to be in Heaven. The little “s” saints are all of us who are part of the body of Christ (a saint is a holy one who leads a life of union with Christ), here on earth, in purgatory or in Heaven. In the same way that was explained previously, Catholics not only ask the big “S” saints for prayer but the rest of the Catholic community as well. Remember, the big “S” saints started out as sinners and little “s” saints like the rest of us.

In that spirit my brother, allow me as a little “s” saint to pray that God leads you in your quest for truth.

Thank you for your explaination, I think I almost get it. Something just isn’t quite clicking though…perhaps I just need more time to think about it.

 

[drmcpike]

Remember too, that saint means holy. In most(?) other languages there aren’t two separate words. Holy = Saint, Heilige = Heilige, Santa = Santa. Maybe it’s useful for you to remember (as a declared atheist who, I assume, is skeptical about the notion of saints) that saints/holiness are not a catholic invention. All cultures and religions (and all people, even atheists(?) (I think)) have some notion of “the holy” - i.e., that which calls for reverence and stands farthest removed from the banal. Maybe it helps to keep in mind that this is the notion which is at the centre of what you are asking about.

You also asked about becoming a saint. This turns out to be a very big question if understood as “how does one become holy?” But if you’re referring to the current rules/procedures governing canonization (i.e., official declaration) of a deceased person as a Catholic saint, my understanding is that (among other things), yes, miracles are involved: two miracles must be investigated and confirmed that are connected to the saint-to-be, most importantly miracles connected to his or her intercession from heaven.

 

[Aramis]

Why are saints so important to catholics? And how did sainthood come to be? I guess anything you guys think is worth knowing is something I’d like to hear

From my perspective:

The canonized saints are persons known to the church to be in heaven. This is known since their patronage must result in a posthumous miracle to prove their status. They must also have been exemplary in some fashion of faith in their life.

There are two key elements. The first is that they provide examples of Christian Virtue in action. The second is intercession, or asking them to pray for me.

When I ask Blessed Theodore, St. Dominic, St. William, St Francis, or St. Job, or the Theotokos, to pray for me, I am asking them to go talk to God on my behalf, since God has chosen to let them serve as, if you will pardon the metaphor, the call center. It is easier for me to talk to them than direct to God, since them I can comprehend, and God, I can only comprehend that I can’t comprehend him. But I can comprehend them, and, being in heaven, they can comprehend God far better than I.

 

[nichjake]

Thank you for your replies. My skepticisms aside I think I have a general understanding of sainthood and the purpose they serve in your faith. Thanks again

 

[nichjake]

From my perspective:

The canonized saints are persons known to the church to be in heaven. This is known since their patronage must result in a posthumous miracle to prove their status. They must also have been exemplary in some fashion of faith in their life.

There are two key elements. The first is that they provide examples of Christian Virtue in action. The second is intercession, or asking them to pray for me.

When I ask Blessed Theodore, St. Dominic, St. William, St Francis, or St. Job, or the Theotokos, to pray for me, I am asking them to go talk to God on my behalf, since God has chosen to let them serve as, if you will pardon the metaphor, the call center. It is easier for me to talk to them than direct to God, since them I can comprehend, and God, I can only comprehend that I can’t comprehend him. But I can comprehend them, and, being in heaven, they can comprehend God far better than I.

Thank you especially for your reply, the reason people pray to saints makes sense to me know…I just wasn’t getting it before

 

[Aramis]

Thank you especially for your reply, the reason people pray to saints makes sense to me know…I just wasn’t getting it before

You’re most welcome.

 

[ryanoneil]

Veneration / Honor of the Saints

Romans 13:7 - we are to give honor where honor is due. When we honor God’s children, we honor God Himself, for He is the source of all honor.

1 Cor. 4:16 - the most important form of veneration of the saints is “imitating” the saints, as Paul commands us to do.

1 Cor. 11:1 - again, Paul says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” The ultimate objective of veneration is imitation.

Phil. 2:25-29 - Paul teaches us to honor Epaprhoditus who almost died for the faith. How much more honor is owed to the saints that did die for the faith!

Phil. 3:17 - Paul says to imitate him and others, which is the goal of veneration. Veneration is not worship.

1 Thess. 1:6 – Paul says to the Thessalonians, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord.” This is the goal of veneration.

Hebrews 3:3 - Jesus is worthy of “more” glory and honor than Moses. This does not mean that the saints are worthy of no glory and honor. Instead, it proves that saintly people are worthy of glory and honor out of God’s goodness.

More at scripturecatholic.com/saints.html#saints-IV

Peace,

Ryan