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Daily Feed What is a Saint? All Saints Day Every year, on the first of November, we honor all of the saints in heaven - those who were named through beatification or canonization, and those who are unnamed and not celebrated as such. The millions of saints in heaven include many that we have known: a grandparent, a parent, a brother or sister, a neighbor, a teacher or professor. They are all with God, and are praying for us who are still called to struggle against many obstacles to our salvation. They have won the crown of salvation and are described in one of the readings of All Saints Day as a "huge crowd which no one could count from every nation, race, people, and tongue...who stood before the throne and the Lamb". When we honor all these saints, especially those whom we have known while they were alive, and raise a prayer to them in heaven, they are more than willing to intercede for us and ask God's help for any matter that needs attention. Definition of a Saint A common definition of a saint is an ordinary person who does ordinary things in an extraordinary way, such as with great charity or kindness, and a great love for God. It is that "extraordinary way" that determines the criterion for holiness. By the baptism of any of us Catholics, all of us are called to be holy and to be saints. How we do our "extraordinary way" depends on how we cooperate with God's graces and practice the virtues given our state of life and in our relationships in family and work. There are countless Catholics who have lived in an "extraordinary way" even though they are not as celebrated as those who are named saints by the universal Church. The feast of All Saints Day recognizes all of these saints who have died in a state of grace and has been admitted into heaven to enjoy God's friendship forever. What are the ways that can be taken to attain holiness? God helps us in many ways to become holy. First of all is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Then the Church and her sacraments are also important in order that we may stay close to the Church and her teaching. We also have the holy scriptures, prayers, devotions, sacramentals, and pilgrimages which can all help us grow closer to Jesus. In addition, Jesus also gives us His friends, the Saints, to lend us support and help us in our spiritual pilgrimage here on earth. We also have our family, friends and our social network of relationships who can encourage us, guide us, and counsel us to help us on the road to heaven. By cooperating with all the graces that the Lord God will bestow upon us in our life, we have every chance to become holy in this life. Holiness means that we are on the right track in our spiritual journey to heaven. Holiness is not an exclusive matter. It is a call to all the baptized. However, only a few respond to the call. And the ones who really take it seriously, are often gifted with being named as one of the saints in the Church. We have Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta as one example of one who was ordinary but by her extraordinary charity was gifted by the Church and named as one of her holy ones. Saints named and raised to the altars of the Church These saints are those people officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church and certain other Christian churches as being entitled to public veneration and as being capable of interceding for all people by virtue of their being canonized. These are the saints with a capital "S" - the Saints. The word saint comes from the Latin word sanctus, which means "sacred" and comes ultimately from the Latin sancire, to sanctify, to consecrate. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, one who is familiar and popular to our modern generation, is only one of thousands of those who are already celebrated by the Church for their heroic virtue and holiness. She may well be one of those which the Prefaces of "Holy Men and Women" in the new Sacramentary speaks about: You renew the Church in every age by raising up men and women outstanding in holiness, living witnesses of your unchanging love. They inspire us by their heroic lives, and help us by their constant prayers to be the living signs of your saving power. One purpose of venerating the saints, as the prayer above says, is the inspiration they give us by their heroic lives. The Lord God constantly builds up the Church by the lives of His saints. |