What does the word
‘Saint’ mean? The word ‘Saint’ is derived from Latin word
‘sanctus’ meaning holy or consecrated. The term ‘saint’ is referred to
an individual who is considered to be very holy. According to the Wikipedia
dictionary, a saint is usually a deceased person whose life has been
regarded by a community as a good example. In the book ‘Devotions to the
Saints’ by Anna Rivas, the author revealed, “saints were not angels on
earth but were human beings with faults and failures; with weaknesses and
sins…they lost their tempers, made mistakes, and regretted them. Only love
of God made them unique. For it (God’s Love) they would forsake the world,
give up their possessions, and subdue their desires in favor of service to
others. They found riches in poverty, happiness in sorrow, and joy in
pain.”
However, in Christian
societies, saints are recognized as individuals pertaining to the Roman
Catholic religion.
Contrary to popular
behavior saints are not to be worshipped. They are to be venerated. The
Oxford dictionary defines to worship as to adore as divine, honor with
religious rites, while the word to venerate means to respect greatly.
Particular attention must
be paid to the fact that most religious organizations believe in some form
of saints. Though most religions recognize individuals in their community as
saints or holy people, they do not go through the same process as the Roman
Catholic Church in the recognition process.
Veneration of the saints
is also said to be called devotion to saints.
Patron Saints
Although it is not
sanctioned in the Bible, Christian organizations have chosen particular
saints to act as guardians or protectors of particular aspects of human
life. Among these aspects are health conditions, professions, trades, and
businesses. For anything considered to be important to human life patron
saints have been chosen to govern them. There are individuals who believe
that through intercessory prayer to the saints they have the opportunity to
receive the assistance they need.
Reports indicate that as
early as the fourth century (the 300s) churches had already began being
named after saints e.g. St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Ann, St. Joseph etc. it is
believed that the first saints were people who had been martyred. They had
died for the cause of the church. It is believed that the practice of
devotion to the saints came about as part of the Jewish tradition in which
holy people were honored with shrines.
Lives of the saints
The texts which tells us
about the lives of the saints usually describe incredible stories. Our duty
here is not to debate whether or not they are true or far fetched but to
reveal to you what has been written.
Unfortunately, many of the saints so named were based on legends, pagan
mythology, or even other religions e.g. the story of the Buddha traveled
west to Europe and he was "converted" into a Catholic saint.
In 1969,
the Church took a long look at all the saints on its calendar to see whether
or not there was historical evidence that some of them existed and lived a
life of holiness. In taking that long look, the Church discovered that there
was little proof that many "saints", including some very popular ones, ever
lived. As a result many were dropped from the universal calendar.
The Naming or Recognizing of a Saint
In the
Roman Catholic organization, the
Vatican
has the authority in regards to approving saints. This process begins many
years after the individual has died. An investigation into the life of the
individual is conducted in regards to writings for heroic virtue, martyrdom,
and orthodoxy doctrine. This process is conducted by various arms of the
Vatican by theologians, bishops and cardinals. Finally the approval is made
by the Pope who declares the candidate “venerable.” It is also required that
there be evidence of at least one miracle from pertaining to the deceased
person. Only after one more miracle will the Pope canonize the deceased as a
saint. It is said that Canonization does not "make" a person a saint; it
recognizes what God has already done.
Last
person known beatified by the Roman Catholic Church
Mother
Teresa of Calcutta, so far, is known to be the last person beatified by the
Roman Catholic Church. Mother Teresa founded the religious order called the
Missionaries of Charity. Her beatification is recorded as the shortest in
church history. Mother Teresa was born in 1910 and died in 1997. She was
beatified in 2003.
Usually the Church waited for a minimum period of five years before the
canonization process could begin. In the case of Mother Teresa, it began
less than two years after her death. The first miracle pertaining to her is
said to have occurred in 2002 and the church is awaiting a second miracle
for her sainthood.
Some sources taken from the following: John
Bookser Feister is editor of
AmericanCatholic.org;
Julie Zimmerman is managing editor of
AmericanCatholic.org.
