Greatest Saint after BVM

[Della]

After the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph perhaps we should consider the Doctors of the Church:

1-St. Albert - proclaimed in 1932 by Pius XI
2-St. Alphonsus - proclaimed in 1871 by Pius IX
3-St. Ambrose - proclaimed in 1298 by Boniface VIII
4-St. Anselm - proclaimed in 1720 by Innocent XIII
5-St. Anthony - proclaimed in 1946 by Pius XII
6-St. Athanasius - proclaimed in 1568 by Pius V
7-St. Augustine - proclaimed in 1298 by Boniface VIII
8-St. Basil - proclaimed in 1568 by Pius V
9-St. Bede - proclaimed in 1899 by Leo XIII
10-St. Bernard - proclaimed in 1830 by Pius VIII
11-St. Bonaventure - proclaimed in 1588 by Sixtus V
12-St. Catherine - proclaimed in 1970 by Paul VI
13-St. Cyril of Alexandria - proclaimed in 1882 by Leo XIII
14-St. Cyril of Jerusalem - proclaimed in 1882 by Leo XIII
15-St. Ephraem - proclaimed in 1920 by Benedict XV
16-St. Francis de Sales - proclaimed in 1877 by Pius IX
17-St. Gregory - proclaimed in 1298 by Boniface VIII
18-St. Gregory Nazianzus - proclaimed in 1568 by Pius V
19-St. Hilary - proclaimed in 1851 by Pius IX
20-St. Isidore - proclaimed in 1722 by Clement XI
21-St. Jerome - proclaimed in 1298 by Boniface VIII
22-St. John Chrysostom - proclaimed in 1568 by Pius V
23-St. John of the Cross - proclaimed in 1926 by Benedict XV
24-St. John Damascene - proclaimed in 1890 by Leo XIII
25-St. Lawrence - proclaimed in 1959 by John XXIII
26-St. Leo - proclaimed in 1754 by Benedict XIV
27-St. Peter Canisius - proclaimed in 1925 by Pius XI
28-St. Peter Chrysologus - proclaimed in 1729 by Benedict XIII
29-St. Peter Damian - proclaimed in 1828 by Leo XII
30-St. Robert - proclaimed in 1931 by Pius XI
31-St. Teresa - proclaimed in 1970 by Paul VI
32-St. Therese - proclaimed in 1997 by John Paul II
33-St. Thomas - proclaimed in 1568 by Pius V

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

The BVM is Immaculate Conception (never had a taint of sin in her whole life)

Read Glories of Mary and True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin

Moses lacked her advantages - as well as ours. Thanks for supporting my point The BVM leaves me cold - but don’t let me get started ​

 

[pnewton]

“Greatest” leaves open, “Greatest in what way?”

St. Joseph had the most time in the presence of God on Earth. He also was the greatest servant, as in the greatest will be the servant of all.

St. Peter was the immediate successor to Christ Himself as head of His Church. It is Peter who first brought the gospel to the Gentiles.

If one is looking for sheer power, St. Michael, the Captain of the heavenly hosts.

St. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved and to whom was granted the foster care of Mary. Also, the last living apostle.

 

[JPUSC]

Definitely St. Joseph, no doubt about it. He’s the patron of the Universal Church. St. John the Baptist never even crossed my mind.

Statues of Our Lady and St. Joseph are typically in the sanctuary of every church. In traditional Catholic church structure, to the right of the Crucifix is the Gospel/Mary side of the Church and to the left is the Epistle/Joseph side of the Church.

http://thecatholicpriest.com/images/saint-joseph_husband_of_mary2_cypr.jpg

 

[joandarc2008]

Personally I believe all opionons on this subject are just that and therefore valid. However I think there is one question here that deserves some consideration:

Is it better to have never had any sin ( our BVM/ St. Joseph) or to have had sin and redeemed thyself in a great way (St. Paul.)

When one is talking about what makes a Saint great there could be many different criteria that one would need to develop. But in the end - they are all great and can all be learned from.

Now I will throw my 2 cents in for Joan of Arc.

God bless,

 

[Jerry-Jet]

I have no idea which saints are the greatest but there are four to stand out above all others:

St.Joseph
St. John the Baptist
Enoch
Elijah

St. Joseph was our Lord’s earthly father.
St. John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord.

Enoch–the seventh gemneration from Adam “walked and talked with God and was not for God took him.”

He along with
Elijah who went to heaven on a fiery chariot did not die.

Many of the Early Church Fathers believe that they will be the two witnesses spoken of in Revelation that speak against the anti-Christ.

As far as I can speculate these 4 are in a class by themselves–Encoh and Elijah did not die–St. Joseph died the happiest death of anyone with Jesus and Mary surviving him

and of John the Baptist Jesus said "greater is no man born of women but even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than thee.

And of course there is one person in a class by himself.

We know of the saints and of the angels but what of Melchizedek?

Jesus was a priest after the order of Melchizedek and the scriptures say of him that he had no father or mother.

For all we know Melchizidek may have been in heaven as a priest even when Adam and Eve were in the garden–he is a very mysterious person in the bible.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

Personally I believe all opionons on this subject are just that and therefore valid. However I think there is one question here that deserves some consideration:

Is it better to have never had any sin ( our BVM/ St. Joseph) or to have had sin and redeemed thyself in a great way (St. Paul.)

When one is talking about what makes a Saint great there could be many different criteria that one would need to develop. But in the end - they are all great and can all be learned from.

Now I will throw my 2 cents in for Joan of Arc.

God bless,

POI: St.Joseph was not immaculately conceived, nor preserved from all sins…​

That apart, I’ll take saint who have their sins to contend with, every time.

Joan of Arc is attractive, because she is an excellent example of a Saint who was persecuted to the death by the very people who were not fit to lick the dust she walked on. If the word “martyr” is to mean anything, she was one.

It’s good to see St. Enoch get a mention

 

[Rogerteder]

After Our Blessed Mother it seems that many would count St. Joseph as the greatest saint. I don’t have a problem with this, per se, but what about St. John the Baptist? Christ praises him VERY highly (Mat. 11:9-11) and he was born without original sin (as he was filled with the Holy Spirit and thus infused with sanctifying grace the moment Our Lady, pregnant with Our Lord, arrived at the home of St. Elizabeth). The Church celebrates only three birthdays: the Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas), the Nativity of Our Lady, and the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Thoughts?

Who said John the Baptist was born without original sin? Did any Fathers teach that?

 

[Pro_Domina]

The Church does not allow to compare holiness, but the greatness of their vocations.

St. Louis de Monfort said that the saints of the future would be cedars of Lebonnon compared to the saints of the past.

That means that, while the vocation of the Apostles is extraordinarily special, some others will have battles a lot greater.

I mean, look at our future. Terrible punishments for our sins are looming over our heads. Without great saints to rise up and guide the Church over the rough seas, Our Lord’s promise of Her immortality remains where?

I say that there are some unknown and even silenced saints among us, and that they are starting a “line of sanctity” that this Earth has never seen, that will reach to the end of the world.
Because it can’t be that evil reaches this low and that the Sons of Our Lady remain the same as always or worst. Someone out there is being faithful to their call.