Why are there so many saints

  • Thread starter Thread starter brendahernandez
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
B

brendahernandez

Guest
i just dont get it please explain to me why there are so many
 
Think about it - currently there are 6 billion people on the planet, somewhere around 1 billion of them Catholic.

Think of how many Catholics there must have been throughout the 2000-year history of the Church.

It’s not by any means a high percentage of them who are saints - only about 10,000 named and officially canonised (ie 5 per year on average - hardly a flood of 'em!).
 
Well, actually you’re only counting CANONIZED saints. We hope that there are A LOT more saints, as a saint is anyone who is in Heaven glorying in the Beatific Vision.

We’re ALL called to be saints, yes, saints, so ideally, there should be billions of saints, canonized or not.
 
Of course :yup: - in fact all the Christian faithful on earth are saints as well (Paul wrote letters to the ‘Saints at Corinth’, the ‘Saints at Ephesus’ and so on - meaning the Christians living in those cities)

The OP’s question, however, does appear to have been referring to the canonised ones :yup:
 
If you read the news, Pope Benedict just canonized 4 more saints recently. Pope John Paul, If I’m not wrong, canonized more than 400 saints, including Padre Pio.

Yupe, we are called to be saints (small s). Besides that, I want to be Saint!! 😛
 
LilyM said:
Think about it - currently there are 6 billion people on the planet, somewhere around 1 billion of them Catholic.

Think of how many Catholics there must have been throughout the 2000-year history of the Church.

It’s not by any means a high percentage of them who are saints - only about 10,000 named and officially canonised (ie 5 per year on average - hardly a flood of 'em!).
Click to expand...
Is that figure right? (I’m not asserting that it is not.) I have always thought it is far fewer than that. Somewhere I read that JP II canonized half the saints that have ever been officially canonized, and even if you include the traditional saints who were never officially canonized (going back to the apostles) the number doesn’t even come to 1000, let alone 10,000.

Of course, that is recognized saints. As somebody has pointed out, a saint is somebody who is in heaven with God, and we hope there are a lot more than that.
 
brendahernandez said:
i just dont get it please explain to me why there are so many
Click to expand...
The definition of a “saint” is someone that the Catholic Church believes to be in heaven. The Catholic Church does not generally judge who is in heaven, purgatory, or hell, but occassionally, someone comes along that is so clearly good, that the Church can safely assume that they must be in heaven and it officially proclaims them with the title of “Saint”. It does this through a very long and careful procedure that examines their life. It also requires proof of two miracles done through intercessionary prayer involving the person.

So, although the Catholic Church has only officially canonized a few thousand saints, as you can see, there are, in fact, likely millions and millions of them.
 
The saints are Christian heroes, those who were killed for the faith (martyrs), those who suffered for the faith (confessors), and those who otherwise lead lives of exceptional holiness, whom God has confirmed by granting miracles through their intercession after death, as he did with the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 13:21).
 
In the context of your question, a saint is someone who has died and has gone to heaven. A “canonized” saint is simply someone who is recognized by the Church as being in heaven. Everyone who has died and gone to heaven is a “saint”. So, why do you think the number of recognized saints is too large?
 
The Canonized Saints of the Catholic Church were honored due to their very Holy lives, virtuous sanctity or martyred for the faith.

They are an inspiration for everyone not just for Catholics although it is Catholics who are truly inspired by their lives and miracles and humble devotion to God against all types of adversisty.

Each Saint is different. There are quite a few children Canonized.

According to Butlers Lives of the Saints 1956 edition, it contained 2, 565 names of Saints. Imagine how many more now!🙂

It is wonderful to have an All Saints Day to honor all the Saints, known and unknown.

:love: :angel1:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top