Two new saints – Popes, John XXIII and John Paul II have been recognized by the Catholic Church.
Recognized.
Not voted in, not awarded. Recognized.
What is a saint?
How does the church know someone should be recognized as a saint?
Through a long process called Canonization. This process does not make someone a saint. It recognizes what God has already done.
Do you pray to saints?
No. We pray with the saints. We ask for their intercession. In the same way that I might ask you to pray with me, I have asked saints in heaven to pray with me as well.
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and pleasing to God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1–4)
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Now for our hypothetical conversation:
But Kate – I’ve heard you say – “pray to St. Anthony…, etc”.
Yes, I had the exact same question in college when I was converting to Catholicism.
You converted?
I did.
Growing up I was nondenominational charismatic (until about 2nd grade) and then Methodist.
I like to tease my parents that it is their fault that I converted because I loved The Sound of Music so much.
When a Catholic says “pray to St. Anthony”, that means to ask St. Anthony to intercede for us. And remember – we don’t believe that saints have the power to fulfill our request – only God does.
So you ask saints in heaven and people here on earth to pray for you?
Yes, we approach saints the same way I would approach my mother and grandmother.
Then why would you ask a saint to pray for you? Why wouldn’t you just ask your mother and grandmother?
Saints are in heaven! They are with our Lord and Savior! They are without the worldly distractions that burden us. Why wouldn’t I ask them to intercede for me?
How DO you solve a problem like Maria? When I watched The Sound of Music as a little girl, I thought the whole world was Catholic. Thank you for posting this today. It is a beautiful message that some might not fully understand if they are not practicing Catholics. And something that I just recently realized…We can, anyone of us, also be saints! What else is there?!
Dear Betty, Right?! Before becoming Catholic, I had so many misconceptions about the church. And to understand that heaven is full of prayers being offered! We are never alone!
Hi! I’m new to this blog, so I hope asking a question isn’t too impertinent of me.
What I don’t get about the saints thing is that we’re all with the Lord. Right? I mean, Hebrews 4:16 tells us to, “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Soooo….aren’t we all in the same holy space?
Does that make sense? Again, sorry if I’m being a pain!
Hi there! Thank you for stopping by! You are welcome to ask questions!
Yes – we can absolutely approach God directly. Always.
Let’s look at one event from the gospels – the wedding at Cana. In John 2, John is careful to note that Jesus worked His first miracle because Mary asked Him. Her intercession was present in His first miracle even though He said it was before His time had come.
Also – I ask family and friends to pray for me. In this same way, I ask saints in heaven to pray for me.
I also feel free to cry out to Jesus anytime.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Thanks for answering my question! I will have to ponder on your answer. Look forward to reading more!
Anytime! Feel free to ask more questions – I don’t mind at all.
Stopping by from The Sits Sharefest
Wow! I’m so happy I clicked on your blog! I live in Rome, Italy and even though I am Catholic I’ve never really “been into” Saints all that much – honestly, if someone had put it so simply and honestly uncreepily (I’ve heard a lot of weird things) as you just have I probably would have understood why some people feel such a connection with Saints.
Thanks
Madaline
Going to be passing this along.
Oh wow! I hope to get to Rome one day! Thank you so much for stopping by!
Hi there! I saw your link on Sharefest, and am so pleased to see this clarification on the canonization process and sainthood. I’m a cradle Catholic, but have spent the last several years really learning the faith. There are so many misconceptions even by Catholics themselves. Thanks for clarifying some of the harder points!
Thank you, Leslie!
What an intriguing post. So grateful to have started my morning reading your words. I am not Catholic, but I have a deep respect for spiritual practices and disciplines, something I see friends who have converted really exemplifying beautifully.
I’m visiting from #sitssharefest and I’m so glad I did!
Thank you, Julie! Have a wonderful week.
Great post. It’s so funny how people get hung up on Catholics asking the saints in heaven to pray for them yet they have no problem asking people here on earth to pray for them. Not only that, they gush about their great-Aunt in heaven looking down on them and watching over them. I think so many non-Catholics are more Catholic than they would actually like.
Great point, Jenny!
The year after my great aunts passed, I was up and about well before anyone else on Thanksgiving morning. I clearly heard Gertrude say to Evelyn “Told you she would be up and in the kitchen.Where else would she be? They seemed to hover just long enough to make sure.”
In my family the kitchen is the place of love and nutriment.I always go back to the scripture about us running the race before a cloud of witnesses. I just was privileged to hear that day.