SAINTS

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• SAINTS
• The Holy People
• of the Church

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• A saint is someone who is recognized by the
  Church as one who had an extremely close
  relationship with God and who tried to live
  according to Gods Will for her/his life.
• Saints are people through whom we come to a
  better understanding of
• 1. what God is like, and
• 2. the kind of lives we should/could be
  living today.

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• Pope John Paul II canonized 482 Saints between
  1982-2004.
• He canonized more saints in 22 years than all of
  the Popes in the previous 500 years combined.
• Why??

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• By doing this, Pope John Paul II showed that he
  believed strongly in the presence of holiness in
  our world TODAY not just in the past.

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How Does a Saint Become a Saint?
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The Canonization Process

• The process through which a holy person becomes
  an official Saint in the Church is called
  canonization. It generally begins at least 5
  years after a persons death.

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Step 1 Research

• A group is appointed by a bishop to investigate
  the persons life and holiness.
• During this stage, the person is referred to as a
  Servant of God. If the investigation is
  approved, the person is called Venerable.

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Step 2 Miracles

• Miracles must be seen as being achieved through
  the intercession of that person. Once this is
  proven the person is called Blessed. This step
  is called beatification.

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Final Step Canonization

• After another miracle is attributed to this
  person, the Pope will make a formal declaration
  of canonization and the person is called a
  Saint!

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Clarification

• It is important to realize that we do not pray TO
  saints, as if they were equal to God.
• Rather, we honor the Saints for their holy lives
  and, because of their close connection with God,
  we ask the Saints to pray WITH and FOR us.

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• Patron Saints

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• A persons patron saint could be the saint with
  whom she or he shares a name.
• Patron saints are also chosen as special
  protectors or guardians over areas of life
  (occupations, illnesses, countries, etc.) This
  practice seems to go back to the 4th century.

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For example . . .
St. Benedict School children
St. Anthony of Padua Lost Items
St. Francis of Assisi Animals
St. Nicholas Children
St. Thomas Aquinas College
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• The patron saint of the USA is the Blessed
  Mother, with the title Immaculate Conception.
• (This is why we are off on Dec. 8!)

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Some of The Churchs Most Influential Saints

• St. Therese (1873)
• St. Frances Cabrini (1850)
• St. John Neumann (1801)
• St. Padre Pio (1887)
• St. Augustine(354)
• St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774)
• St. Monica (331)

• St. Rose of Lima (1586)
• St. Francis of Assisi (1181)
• St. Thomas Aquinas (1225)
• St. Katharine Drexel (1858)
• Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656)
• Blessed Theresa of Calcutta (1910)

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3 Important Things

• You are going to learn 3 important bits of
  information about each of the Influential
  Saints you recorded on your Timeline.
• In your notes, create a format for this
  information. Write the persons name and birth
  year. Under that, number 1, 2, 3 skipping 3
  lines between each number.
• Arrange the saints in chronological order in your
  notes.

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The Prayer of St. Francis (Peace Prayer)

• Lord, make me an instrument
• of your peace.
• Where there is hatred,
• let me sow love
• where there is injury, pardon
• where there is doubt, faith
• where there is despair, hope
• where there is darkness, light
• and where there is sadness, joy.

• O Divine Master,
• grant that I may not so
• much seek to be consoled
• as to console
• to be understood
• as to understand
• to be loved as to love.
• For it is in giving that we
• receive
• it is in pardoning
• that we are pardoned
• and it is in dying that we
• are born to eternal life.
• Amen.

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• What is a saint?
• Why are saints important?
• How does a person become a saint?
• Do Catholics worship saints?