Saints/Sinners?

[stephen2814]

I have a question iv’e been pondering over the past couple months. I was wondering if someone could give me a reasonable explanation. I beleive in purgatory as a place of spiritual purification. Catholics beleive that through repentance we may have gained the grace needed to be worthy of heaven, but that’s not sufficient for gaining entrance into heaven. We need to be cleansed completely.

I understand this and it makes perfect sense. But what I don’t seem to understand is how Saints declared by the Catholic Church are now in heaven (no mention of purgatory).

I beleive Jesus Christ was the only sinless man to walk the face of the earth. How can these other Saints declared by the Catholic Church be in heaven ? Everybody sins no matter who they are, how could they go straight to Heaven ? Or am I missing something ? Thoughts ?

God bless

 

[FCEGM]

I have a question iv’e been pondering over the past couple months. I was wondering if someone could give me a reasonable explanation. I beleive in purgatory as a place of spiritual purification. Catholics beleive that through repentance we may have gained the grace needed to be worthy of heaven, but that’s not sufficient for gaining entrance into heaven. We need to be cleansed completely.

I understand this and it makes perfect sense. But what I don’t seem to understand is how Saints declared by the Catholic Church are now in heaven (no mention of purgatory).

I beleive Jesus Christ was the only sinless man to walk the face of the earth. How can these other Saints declared by the Catholic Church be in heaven ? Everybody sins no matter who they are, how could they go straight to Heaven ? Or am I missing something ? Thoughts ?

God bless

Stephen, all sanctity is a participation in Christ’s own; thus through investigating the life of a possible candidate for canonization the Church through her authority in Christ is able to determine whether that person lived a life wholly conformed to Him. This investigation is very rigorous and can take many years. There is also the matter of seeing whether asking the intercession of this person has resulted in miraculous healings which would serve as a sign of that person’s participation in the life of Heaven.

Have you read a biography or autobiography of a Saint? If not, doing so might help you better understand how one can live such a degree of unity with Christ as to be easily identified as one ready for Heaven. The life of St. Therese of Lisieux or of St. Maximilian Kolbe, e.g., would be very edifying to you.

(The Blessed Virgin Mary was also sinless, but by grace, not by nature.)

 

[pablope]

I have a question iv’e been pondering over the past couple months. I was wondering if someone could give me a reasonable explanation. I beleive in purgatory as a place of spiritual purification. Catholics beleive that through repentance we may have gained the grace needed to be worthy of heaven, but that’s not sufficient for gaining entrance into heaven. We need to be cleansed completely.

I understand this and it makes perfect sense. But what I don’t seem to understand is how Saints declared by the Catholic Church are now in heaven (no mention of purgatory).

I beleive Jesus Christ was the only sinless man to walk the face of the earth. How can these other Saints declared by the Catholic Church be in heaven ? Everybody sins no matter who they are, how could they go straight to Heaven ? Or am I missing something ? Thoughts ?

God bless

To be declared a Saint, it is not an easy process and takes years, and there is the requirement of a verified miracle/miracles.

Another way to look at is, is that these people, while on earth, achieved a more unitive state of grace with Christ compared with us. Follow the suggestion of the previous poster, read on lives of the saints and see how they led their lives.

Some even received the wounds of Christ, like Padre Pio, St Gemma Galgani, St Francis of Assisi, St Rita de Cascia. I just saw a play in our parish about St John Vianney, who spent 16 hours in the confessional everyday.

Another one I just came across was St. Damien of Molokai, who volunteered to go to a leper colony, and he contacted the disease himself. Would you not think God would take this man directly to heaven?

 

[stephen2814]

Thankyou for the replys. I now have a deeper understanding in regards to Sainthood.

God Bless