catholic church saints

Why does the Catholic Church celebrate saints' feasts?

For the same reason we celebrate the birthdays and anniversaries of out family and friends, because we love them. The Saints are also our family and friends.

Catholics share the belief in the Communion of Saints with many other Christians, including the Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Episcopal, and Methodist Churches.

The Communion of Saints is the belief where all saints are intimately related in the Body of Christ, a family. When you die and go to heaven, you do not leave this family.

Everyone in heaven or on their way to heaven are saints, you, me, my deceased grandmother, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II.

As part of this family, you may ask your family and friends living here on earth to pray for you. Or, you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother living in heaven to pray for you.

Prayer to saints in heaven is simple communication, not worship.

Asking others to pray for you whether your loved ones on Earth or your loved ones in heaven is always optional.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 946 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1s ect2chpt3art9p5.htm#946

With love in Christ.

2008-09-24 10:03:17 by shrekiibabii

One of the more prominent new saints is Father Damien, a Belgian priest who dedicated his life to helping lepers in Hawaii, living among them and ...

I know the Catholic church was the first church; I just don't understand the prayers to Mary and the Saints. Could some Catholics help me out on this one?

Catholics ask saints to intercede for us with God. If we can ask living people to pray for us, surely we can ask the saints, because they are with God and in God in Heaven. This is not "invoking the dead": the saints are not "dead", but are fully alive in Christ and with Christ (more alive than you and I are right now!).

Secondly, Catholics do not "worship" the saints. We honour and venerate them, but this is fundamentally distinct from "worship", which is an act of adoration which we can only give to God Himself (to the Blessed Trinity). It is expressly forbidden, in the Catholic Church, to give "worship" to anyone other than God, since this is one of the 10 Commandments.

We ask saints to pray for us because we are One Body in Christ. St. Paul speaks about the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ, and St. Augustine develops this by saying: "Christ is the Head; we are the members, of the same Body". This unity in Christ means that we can intercede for one another in a very particular way. This mutual intercession is the fruit of love: love of God and love of neighbour.

As for the "when did the Church begin..." part of the question, the answer is: ALWAYS, i.e. from the beginning. This is because the Church has always realized that all her members are One Body in Christ, through our common baptism: we die and are raised with and in Him.

I hope this helps you. Good luck with your search. I pray for you.

2006-03-20 17:38:23 by QUEEN OF HEARTS

Please help me on at least one of these questions!!!!! I REALLLLLLY need some answers. They don't have to be longer than like 2-3 sentences but I have no idea what the answer is and I've looked on the internet and can't seem to find an answer!!!! please help!!! best answer will get more points!!!!!!! THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!!!!!

We believe that saints act as role models for obedience to God's will. We also ask them to pray for us.
Catholics believe that the saints are in heaven and that they can pray with us as part of our community. This is what Christ himself tells us in scripture.

We do not pray TO them. That is wrong "Catholic bashing" information.

One of the corporeal works of mercy is to "bury the dead." Attend the funeral or the wake if you can, and/or send condolences or mass cards, or something to the family of the deceased. It depends on what you are able to do. It is not meant to be a burden.

You can also include the souls of the deceased in your prayers, asking for God's mercy on them.

2009-11-17 16:55:41 by yoyoyo

I am not trying to instigate anything, and I am not anti-Catholic. I am just curious to get a Catholic perspective on saints and iconography?

Yes but of course they are never going to admit that.

2009-04-04 13:30:27 by MGSA

That is another 'invention' of the Catholic Church. They claim that feasts are the saint's birthday in heaven. It will turn out that everyday there is a feast because everyday there are saints that celebrate their birthday in heaven. That is not true! Christ said that there is no man in heaven as stated in John 3:13 —

“And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”

Christ is the only one who has been from earth that went up to heaven. For people to reach heaven, they must wait for the return of Christ. That is written in the book of John 6:44 —

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

The dead will be risen up in the last day; when Christ returns. This is backed up by the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians 4:16 —

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”

In spite of this, the Catholic Church still teaches that saints are now in heaven. This is a lie because Christ has not yet returned to raise the dead. This teaching has no biblical basis. In fact, it is a direct contrary to what the bible says.
As a piece of advice, do not easily believe all of those craps. There is no feast of the saints written in the Bible.

2008-07-24 04:57:51 by luckylady