What do The saints mean for you?

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I recently picked up a job cleaning at a Catholic church/school (the first time I’ve ever stepped into a catholic building). I noticed that the classrooms often had a “Classroom Saint.” I found this (as a protestant with heavy catholic sympathies) amusing in a wonderful kind of way. The idea of a saint up in heaven being assigned as a classroom saint was both funny and touching. It made me do some research and find out some amazing stories, such as Martin de Porres (who knew there was a saint of mixed race peoples?) and Kateri Tekakwitha (I had no idea the church recognized a native American saint.) Plus I found out about the Japanese martyrs, a history I’d never heard of before.

I write that to point out that I find the concepts of saints appealing for hard to describe reasons. There is a sense of value in the idea that I hadn’t recognized before, almost as if part of me assented to the goodness of the idea as soon as I understood it (That’s actually been a pretty common trend in my research into Catholicism.)

I guess my question, for Catholics, is as follows: What do the saints mean to you? They seem to be a vital part of the church’s structure and ideas. What benefits do you find in the saints? How heavily do Catholics emphasize them? How are they viewed?

I know that’s an awkward and vague smattering of questions, but as a protestant with no real catholic contacts, I’d like to see how Catholics view them firsthand.

Many thanks, God bless.
 
The saints provide an example of way of life. There are different types of saints, for ex. St. Therese can be related to when someone is undergoing doubts, St. Dominic Savio can be an example for all youth, St. John Vianney is a great example for all priests.
If we want to know how to act, these saints set good examples, that lead us to where they are.

Another way is their writings. Saints were doctors and Church Fathers, like St. Alphonsus doctor of moral theology, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, St. Ignatius, [continue litany]

The Church Fathers, the successors of the Apostles, help us get a good understanding of Catholicism in its first few centuries, and how it was like
I would say that Catholics emphasize them as pretty important, in that they help us so much to get to heaven, and God uses them as great examples.

PS, Another above all is Mary, the new Eve, the Mother of God, who even Gabriel the Angel showed so much respect at the Annunciation. Today is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a feast that traces its roots to the Old Testament!

Someone may give a much better answer, so I look forward to their responses

God bless
 
I like them as examples and heroes, as encouragement that we can also serve God if we aren’t perfect yet, and as friends who watch and help.

I love to learn about them and I tell them my troubles. They are my wiser, older brothers and sisters, and their lives have taught me a lot. (And learning about their hardships makes it harder to feel sorry for myself.)

And when something happens to me that also happened to one of them, it makes me feel not so alone. “That passed, so will this,” as the Old,English poet said.
 
Mintaka said:
I like them as examples and heroes, as encouragement that we can also serve God if we aren’t perfect yet, and as friends who watch and help.

I love to learn about them and I tell them my troubles. They are my wiser, older brothers and sisters, and their lives have taught me a lot. (And learning about their hardships makes it harder to feel sorry for myself.)

And when something happens to me that also happened to one of them, it makes me feel not so alone. “That passed, so will this,” as the Old,English poet said.
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👍

For me the Saints are all of the above – examples, a listening ear, encouragement.

For me the Saints are a reminder that I am not alone in this life, as I work out my salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12).

And in the years that I was practicing Wicca and new age stuff, when I declared myself agnostic and maybe even an atheist, the Saints were a burr under my saddle, a pebble in my shoe. I could ignore God pretty easily. But the memory of those Saints, their lives of faith, the miracles God wrought through them, their purity of heart – it just gnawed at me.

I give God great praise for how He worked in the lives of His Saints to bring me back to His Heart!

God bless you!
 
Praying to Saints for their intervention is another way to praise God. We have Saints that help in all areas of life. IE… Finances, Family life, Addiction, Lost articles and more…They are wonderful and mean a lot to me. My favorite is St. Jude. Love him. Peace be with you always…
 
A homeschooling mom says this:

“When my children begin to view their catechism lessons as “boring”, all I need to do is pull out a video or story of a saint and immediately I have a rapt audience, eager to soak in all that the saints have to teach us.”

from Saints 365
 
PraiseChrist said:
The saints provide an example of way of life. There are different types of saints, for ex. St. Therese can be related to when someone is undergoing doubts, St. Dominic Savio can be an example for all youth, St. John Vianney is a great example for all priests.
If we want to know how to act, these saints set good examples, that lead us to where they are.

Another way is their writings. Saints were doctors and Church Fathers, like St. Alphonsus doctor of moral theology, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, St. Ignatius, [continue litany]
…

PS, Another above all is Mary, the new Eve, the Mother of God, who even Gabriel the Angel showed so much respect at the Annunciation. Today is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a feast that traces its roots to the Old Testament!
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A very happy feast day to you! I pray it will be a blessed one.

I think the aspect of relating to the saints, seeing them as examples, is very powerful. I did some reading on St. Francis de Sales and found myself incredibly moved. Like him, I had a lot of despair brought about by the doctrines of Calvinism and predestination. I admire his gentle manner of persuasion and gentle character, and I’d like to emulate it. (Plus he’s the patron saint of writers, a profession I aspire to.) If I ever cross the tiber, he’d likely be my confirmation saint.

I’m continuing to see the wisdom in Catholic beliefs. Thank you all for sharing, and please continue to do so!
 
We believe in the communion of saints. The Church is the mystical body of Christ and includes those on Earth (Church Militant), those in Purgatory (Church Suffering) and those in Heaven (Church Triumphant).

The Church Triumphant prays for the Church Militant and they both pray for the Church Suffering. The Saints are our brothers and sisters in Christ. They help us through prayer and merit. They are our guides to Jesus Christ. They show us how to practice virtue. They help us. In Christ we are all one.

The Church Militant is the pilgrim Church of Christ. We are working out our salvation in fear and trembling. The Angels and Saints have already run the race, and help us along the way.
 
The saints provide us examples of holiness in every walk of life. There are saints that lived exemplary lives as priests while there are saints that are great examples for the husband & wife. Many saints, especially the Doctors of the Church, have left behind edifying writings that teach us about the Faith and provide guidelines on how to be holy. Their intercession in Heaven is quite efficacious, and the graces we receive from their prayers help us one day be with them in Heaven.
 
The saints, to me, are examples of how to live your faith. The struggles they went through to live their faith are all amazing to me.

They also help by praying to God for us, especially when we ask them. I pray every night for St Dymphna to pray to God for help for my illnesses and I really feel that she prays for me and by the grace of God has helped me shoulder my illnesses better.
 
I’ve always felt more connected with the saints b/c they lived in this world and know exactly how it is with me. The angels are so different in being that I don’t feel that way about them.
It took me a long time to start talking with my guardian angel, but with my saints, especially my three patron-Fathers whose lives I’ve studied, I talk with them with love and trust.

The saints led me to God when I was in college. I continually ask for their intercession and they have aided me incredibly over the years, showing me wonderful signs of their awareness of me. Though I am a great sinner, I cling to them that I may not fall forever, but that their prayers may help me stay in God’s mercy.

My dear saints and especially my dear patron-Fathers, please keep me in your loving care.
 
I pray everyday to some saint. But I enjoy just talking to them just having a normal one way conversation. They seem very close to me and about as far away as any other person I talk to. And they always leave me with a sense of goodness and real love. And it can be a saint I have never talked to before and it’s the same because they really do love us all down here and know us as their family. There presence is real and very caring.

I know this may sound like a big bragadocio, but I would like to share this with you so you too can experience this love and care from them as well. You will know just how many interested friends you have when you do this. There is no such thing as being alone when you need someone to talk to.

“Bring us back, O God of hosts: let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.” Psalm 79
 
I thoroughly agree with each and every post made here. If St. Francis de Sales interests you , I would also check out St. Peter Favre (Faber sp?). He was a humble and simple original Jesuit who went about Reformation (which some would call Counter-Reformation) during turbulent times through humble, simple and gentle ways. I haven’t fully read up on him yet but I do remember learning that he would travel from town to town with no supplies, would ask for the intercession of the saints and angels associated with that town for help, and that he would set out to instruct and reform the clergy of that town, instead of attacking the ideals held by the Protestants of that town. Pretty neat and I would guess very effective.

Look, I feel like I need all the help I can get to maintain my state of grace. All of the saints in Heaven are our intimate siblings in Christ, just anxiously awaiting to assist us in our salvation / sanctification.
And there are so many who were given different gifts by God, like your example of St. Francis de Sales, which you can easily relate to. There are people who are much more intellectual than I am who have a stronger spiritual kinship with St. Thomas Aquinas. They are more likely to pray to ask The Angelic Doctor for his intercession than another Saint. Essentially: “there’s a saint for that!”

God bless you in your journey home and keep asking questions!
 
The saints are holy people that made it to heaven. Recognized saints are those who are worthy of recognition by the Church because they lived extraordinary lives.
 
Wannabe_Monk_16 said:
I thoroughly agree with each and every post made here. If St. Francis de Sales interests you , I would also check out St. Peter Favre (Faber sp?). He was a humble and simple original Jesuit who went about Reformation (which some would call Counter-Reformation) during turbulent times through humble, simple and gentle ways. I haven’t fully read up on him yet but I do remember learning that he would travel from town to town with no supplies, would ask for the intercession of the saints and angels associated with that town for help, and that he would set out to instruct and reform the clergy of that town, instead of attacking the ideals held by the Protestants of that town. Pretty neat and I would guess very effective.

Look, I feel like I need all the help I can get to maintain my state of grace. All of the saints in Heaven are our intimate siblings in Christ, just anxiously awaiting to assist us in our salvation / sanctification.
And there are so many who were given different gifts by God, like your example of St. Francis de Sales, which you can easily relate to. There are people who are much more intellectual than I am who have a stronger spiritual kinship with St. Thomas Aquinas. They are more likely to pray to ask The Angelic Doctor for his intercession than another Saint. Essentially: “there’s a saint for that!”

God bless you in your journey home and keep asking questions!
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Just read his wiki article, what a great story. I didn’t realize that Pope Francis had canonized anyone. I love that his solution was not arguing with his opponents, but reforming the church. The school I work at is in the “Jesuit Tradition” so it’s cool to know more about it’s founders.

I think the “There’s a Saint for that!” idea is what scares off many protestants. It feels very close to trying to invoke some kind of charm or make some kind of bargain with God. “See? I prayed to this saint like 50 times, do something!” Clearly that’s not what the church teaches, but it’s easy to see why it would appear that way.

A quick question, if I may derail my own thread a bit: I’ve recently found myself asking for saint’s intercessions when I pray, sometimes with the caveat “If you are able to,” probably because I don’t fully have my head around the idea. Since I have, my prayer life feels different, like it’s healthier or something. I can’t nail it down, but it’s very odd. Is there any reason that, as someone who isn’t an official member of the catholic church, I shouldn’t do this?
 
The saints are my friends and family.

I especially love St. Therese’ of Lisieux, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, St. Anthony, St. Dominic, St Francis, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Cecelia, St. Catherine of Sienna.

Oh dear, I could go on and on.
 
mjhudson said:
I think the “There’s a Saint for that!” idea is what scares off many protestants. It feels very close to trying to invoke some kind of charm or make some kind of bargain with God. “See? I prayed to this saint like 50 times, do something!” Clearly that’s not what the church teaches, but it’s easy to see why it would appear that way.
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Yeah I can see where it could devolve into that. Just remember that it is GOD answering your prayers, not that Saint. The saints’ intercessions help, because as Scripture tells us the prayers of a righteous person are powerful (can’t remember the verse!) and all the saints are definitely righteous, but the answer of that prayer always / ultimately comes from God.
mjhudson said:
A quick question, if I may derail my own thread a bit: I’ve recently found myself asking for saint’s intercessions when I pray, sometimes with the caveat “If you are able to,” probably because I don’t fully have my head around the idea. Since I have, my prayer life feels different, like it’s healthier or something. I can’t nail it down, but it’s very odd. Is there any reason that, as someone who isn’t an official member of the catholic church, I shouldn’t do this?
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I think your phrase “If you are able to” reflects a sense of humility and your understanding of the communion and intercession of Saints at this point. It also seems to imply the feeling of “if this prayer is in line with the will of God.” These are definitely good and holy attitudes to have while praying!!

Even though you are not (yet - I hope) a card-carrying member, I will still pray for you.
This principle is applied to the saints in Heaven. They are happy to pray for your spiritual benefit / sanctification (even if you aren’t a Catholic - yet) because I’m pretty sure that is the will of God. Receiving the grace of God is not limited to Catholics!

God bless you and keep asking questions!
 
mjhudson said:
I recently picked up a job cleaning at a Catholic church/school (the first time I’ve ever stepped into a catholic building). I noticed that the classrooms often had a “Classroom Saint.” I found this (as a protestant with heavy catholic sympathies) amusing in a wonderful kind of way. The idea of a saint up in heaven being assigned as a classroom saint was both funny and touching. It made me do some research and find out some amazing stories, such as Martin de Porres (who knew there was a saint of mixed race peoples?) and Kateri Tekakwitha (I had no idea the church recognized a native American saint.) Plus I found out about the Japanese martyrs, a history I’d never heard of before.

I write that to point out that I find the concepts of saints appealing for hard to describe reasons. There is a sense of value in the idea that I hadn’t recognized before, almost as if part of me assented to the goodness of the idea as soon as I understood it (That’s actually been a pretty common trend in my research into Catholicism.)

I guess my question, for Catholics, is as follows: What do the saints mean to you? They seem to be a vital part of the church’s structure and ideas. What benefits do you find in the saints? How heavily do Catholics emphasize them? How are they viewed?

I know that’s an awkward and vague smattering of questions, but as a protestant with no real catholic contacts, I’d like to see how Catholics view them firsthand.

Many thanks, God bless.
Click to expand...
Saints exemplify that truly all things are possible through Christ. Some of crazy ones like St. Mary of Egypt are very clear demonstrations how a very sinful person can completely change their lives around. Amen.
 
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