Saints

It's been a long time since I've written here. There have been many reasons, but a key one has surely been laziness. Let's see if I can remember how to write (if I ever knew).

I have a non-denominational Christian friend who shows far more enthusiasm for her faith than I've shown in recent years. I have faith, and I don't hide it, but I don't bring it up a lot either. I admire her enthusiasm, and her example has inspired me to at least be a little more vocal, do a bit more reading, and trade out some of the board game podcasts for Catholic podcasts.

It would wear me out if it were every day, but I enjoy when she asks me questions about what I believe as a Catholic. It's strange, I love this kind of religious discussion, but for some reason I end up stressed later. I think I dislike disagreeing with people. But for the moment, let's not dwell on that, and move on to our topic. I won't be using her exact questions, but this is based on questions she asked and related questions I asked when I myself was Protestant, and I'll answer them more fully than I managed in our short conversation.

First, what's a Saint?

A saint (lowercase S) is any believer, on Earth or in Heaven, who is in a state of grace, a living part of the body of Christ. Protestants would probably agree with this more general meaning of "saint."

A canonized Saint (capital S) is just one of those saints who is recognized by the Church as being in heaven and being a good example to believers. The current process involves an investigation of the candidate's life, and it requires two confirmed miracles attributed to the Saint's intercession.

Do only well-known people become canonized Saints?

Generally, simply because there needs to be enough enthusiasm to get the process started. Your grandmother might have been the most loving and devout person you ever met, and you personally might be confident she's in heaven, but unless her story is remarkable, or she touched the right people, it probably won't be recognized by the whole Church.

There are certainly many exceptions. The first example that pops in my head would be the Vietnamese Martyrs. Well over 100,000 Catholics were martyred in Vietnam in the 1800s (most were Vietnamese Catholics, but some were French and Spanish missionaries). 117 of these martyrs were canonized to represent the whole group, not because they were the only saints, but because we had some records of them. But few of these are very well known as individuals.

Do you pray to Saints?

This question carries with it questions of idolatry. Are we putting other gods before God? Are we making Jesus one among many instead of the one and only savior of the world?

The simple answer to the first question, "Do you pray to Saints?" is, "not really, it's more like we ask them to pray for us."

But there is more to it than that. This question is a bit less simple than a modern American Protestant realizes. To them "pray" is pretty much defined as "speaking to God." But the meaning of the word "pray" has changed over time. How, pray tell? The word used to also have a more general meaning of, "an earnest request or wish." In that sense, yes, we pray to the Saints. Everyone makes earnest requests of other people, but usually these requests are to people we can see. So we can't be blamed for making requests of a person, but can we be blamed for requesting something from a person in Heaven?

Is it wrong to speak to the dead?

It is wrong to practice necromancy, conjuring up the spirits of the dead, seeking to circumvent God in a desire to acquire secret knowledge or power.

But the Saints, by definition, are the people who are alive in the body of Christ. If we're speaking to them as members of the body of Christ, I find it hard to see how it's more harmful than speaking to the person sitting next to you. If however, you are somehow trying to circumvent God, I definitely see how that would offend Him. There surely are Catholics who have done this, just as there are Catholics who have committed every other sin, but this is a deviation from Catholic teaching.

Isn't Jesus the One Mediator between God and Man? Why go to the Saints?

Certainly, Jesus is the one mediator, and without Him there would be no saints. Saints are members of the body of Christ, and can do nothing without the head. But the head of the body doesn't desire to work alone. As 1 Cor 12:21 says, "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need you!'"

It is clear throughout the Bible, and through experience, that God desires to work with us and through us. From the beginning He has wanted us to share in many of the things that are rightfully His, both on Earth and in Heaven. God sent Moses to free his people in Egypt, to mediate between God and Pharaoh. Jesus sent his apostles to preach, to forgive sins, to heal, clearly mediating between Christ and man. Even in the simple act of sharing our faith with our children, we mediate grace God has given to us, and pass it on.

The Son is the one mediator between man and the Father, but He clearly wants our participation.

That said, Catholics do usually go straight to God in prayer. Of the many prayers during Mass, I can only think of one where we ask Saints to pray for us, and it's clearly in the context of asking the whole church in Heaven and Earth to pray for us:

"I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God."

But, is honoring Saints idolatry?

If it became disproportionate or out of context, it could be. The Catholic Church recognizes different levels of honor due to God and to Saints. At first this sounded kind of odd to me. Using the less technical terms, we give "adoration" to God, and "honor" to the Saints. It can sound like we're just using different words for the same thing, but giving honor to the Saints makes sense given the Commandment to honor our father and mother. Besides, it is good to commend others for their good deeds. Not just for their encouragement, but also to help us learn from their example.

God makes himself clear that other people are due honor, and due our attention, but we must keep things in perspective, and remember that God comes first, and the good we love in any person is just a glimmer of the good in God.

Again, using the "body of Christ" analogy: If you love the head most, but love the whole body because of the head, you're good. But if you love the hand, and hate the head, you've got something really wrong.

Is it good to study the Saints?

Is it good to read or listen to the testimonies or stories of fellow Christians? Of course it is. They are good examples to us. Their stories certainly aren't as important or core to the faith as the Gospels, but they do have value.

When I was a Protestant, in some strange way I felt like there was the Bible, and then there was my church today, and I was ignorant of everything in between. That could be a whole other topic. But the fact is that Jesus's mission didn't end when He ascended into heaven. Every good deed done by one of his faithful followers, the members of his body, is the action of Christ in the world. Thus, the stories of the Saints are the continued story of Christ's action on Earth. To neglect them entirely is to neglect the good Jesus has been doing for the past 2,000 years.

If we need proof that imitating the Saints is a good way to imitate Christ, let's remember what Saint Paul wrote in 1 Cor 11:1, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."


For more information, with more Biblical references, I recommend this article by Catholic Answers.