…as he departed saints as intercessors more and more.
Another question I have, while I’m thinking about it, is the idea of patron saints, such as St. Christopher being the patron of those who travel, St. Jude being the patron of lost/desperate causes, etc. What is the point in this? To me this seems to make the saints in question God’s little secretaries or something. Any thoughts?
To be perfectly frank, your confusion is understandable.
Early in the church, saints were commemorated, basically as hero figures. Martyrs would be remembered on the anniversary of their death, sort of like a ‘birthday’ into eternal life. A liturgy would be said at their grave, or at the site where they were killed.
Such persons, thought to be assuredly saved or deified (holy) were commonly believed to be closer to God in some undefined way. It was hoped that their prayers would be more effective in convincing God to show mercy. So they would ask the departed for prayers…our God is the God of the living.
It was something like “tell Dad I said hello”…that sort of thing.
It is directly in line with the concept of praying
for the departed. With the idea that someone is surely in heaven with God’s Glory they would be less in need of prayers, but happily prepared to pray for us.
Naturally, the people who appealed to Saints were, in the beginning, those who knew the person, or knew of him (her), the community from which that person arose. That would typically be the town setting or region of the martyr, and the group among whom he worked (seamen, tailors, merchants). The saint could be a friend figure, and a role model.
Today it is common to read the lives of the saints and find figures we admire (less common than when I was young but it still happens), sometimes naming our children after them. It is also common to name children for a saint on the calendar the day they were born. If/when miracles occurred, these were often attributed to the saint appealed to, as if they had a parochial interest and were listening to us, eager to help! These saints could become favorites of ours, and people sometimes adopted saints as a family, “my favorite saint is…, just like Papa!”
Eastern Christians especially have a “names day”, the day on the calendar where the saint is commemorated whom they are named after, many priests will wish the parishioners a “happy names day” to those whom they know are coming up on the calendar.
But quite frankly many Catholics and Orthodox do not pay a lot of attention to such things. It ebbs and flows through the culture over time. I myself pray directly to God 99.9% of the time. I do light candles before icons of saints in church (as most of us do) and ask for their prayers on my behalf, but percentage-wise that is minimal. My icon corner at home is small, I only have icons of Jesus, saint Michael and the Holy Trinity. I pray to Jesus and the Holy Trinity as to God, I ask Saint Michael for prayers when I address him as well.
This is not something you must cultivate, you must only understand the habit of others to pray this way. If this is new and uncomfortable for you, just keep doing what you have been doing. There is no mandate, it either grows on you or it does not.
Michael, that sinner
