February 13, 2004
The Saints: the Best Friends you could ever hope for
We don’t do enough on this blog to emphasize the value canonized Saints provide to the faithful, so I’m going to try and convince my other blog writers to write some articles on specific saints for the site. Why? Let’s go over that.
Before we start, understand that Catholics do not teach that you must go through the Saints to God or that you must ask the Saints to pray for you. This is not a requirement for salvation, so please don’t suggest that in the comments. Also, “prayer” is not “worship” by any means. We use the term “pray” to refer to conversation between a living and a deceased person, not a form of worship. We do not worship the Saints.
Now, onto the meat. First, is faith important to holiness? I would suggest clearly the answer is “Yes.” The Bible has numerous examples of the amount of faith a person has directly addressing the situation. For example, if we had the faith of a mustard seed (which is tiny), we could move mountains. That statement suggests that if you had the faith of a pumpkin you could do much more. I go through this to get to a point: when you ask a friend to pray for you, the friend who has the most faith is the most valuable to you. Really think about that sentence. You want as many prayers as possible, but the prayers of those with the most faith are more valuable. This is why we ask the Saints to pray for us. The Saints are those already in heaven; I think it’s safe to say they have more faith than those of us on earth. Their prayers are more valuable than the prayers of someone on earth. Period. This is why it helps to take advantage of the Saints.
But what if you don’t believe in “speaking with dead”? The Saints still provide a goldmine of examples on how to live a holy life. By reading their stories, we understand how to face obstacles, tragedy, loneliness, and persecution. You can learn much just by learning a little about their lives. Also, I think you should reconsider your position on prayer. The new blog Cor ad cor liquitur has some interesting points on prayer and the dead. Unfortunately, Martin Luther removed the book of Maccabees from the protestant Bibles – this book clearly depicts the faithful praying for the souls of the dead.
It also helps that the stories of Saints are not dry, boring reading. These men and women did phenomenal things with their lives, following God at all costs. And in the end, they finished the race and stayed the course. We should be thankful to have such examples. Even protestants should consider choosing a Saint that they admire and studying him/her indepth – it’s a worthy pursuit.
God bless,
Jay
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Sic et non.
We ask fellow members of the Church Militant to pray for us because Jesus told us that wherever two or more are gathered together in His Name, there He will be also. And that if we agree together on anything on Earth, it will be done (not that it seems that way, I admit, but He said it)
We Evangelicals are scared silly of asking members of the Church Triumphant to pray for us, because of the command forbidding communication with those who have passed on. That doesn't mean that we don't think that they are praying for us. That simply stands to reason - as in, wouldn't you, if you were there, and "we are surrounded by a mighty cloud of witnesses".
And yes, many of the saints are excellent examples. I would support a Cause for the sainthood of Ronald of Oxenford. A few seem to have had a gnostic attitude towards creation, but that problem is hardly limited to them.
Posted by: Steve at February 20, 2004 12:21 AMSteve,
Just to point out: Jesus wasn't talking to everyone in Matt 18:19-20, but rather just to the Apostles, which become the Bishops of the Church.
Second, where do you see the command forbidding communication with those who have passed on?
God bless,
Jay
I need prayers for me to find a good clerical job, close to home, good pay, weekends off. A job that will train me. A full-time position. God to bless me with the job I'm searching for by 8/16/04.
Posted by: Anna at August 5, 2004 5:36 PM
