It is good to get to know the life of the saints. It is good to honour them and seek their help and intercession. So why pray to the saints?
A Christian without a community is a contradiction in terms. Christians are essentially a family of believers, they become members of that family when they are baptised – and that is the original meaning of the word ‘saint’. It simply meant ‘baptised’. As time went on the word ‘saint’ came to refer to those Christians who led lives of outstanding holiness and who were remembered and honoured after their death.
When Catholics talk about “the communion of saints” they are using the word ‘saint’ in its original meaning. They mean all the baptised – who are alive now and those who have departed this world and now live on with Christ. Death does not destroy our union with Christians who have gone before us. We remain members of one family because we all share in the life of Christ. That is why Catholics feel able to ask the saints in Heaven to pray for them and ask for their help. Be aware, the Lord often guides into the presence of certain Saints.
A Christian without a community is a contradiction in terms. Christians are essentially a family of believers, they become members of that family when they are baptised – and that is the original meaning of the word ‘saint’. It simply meant ‘baptised’. As time went on the word ‘saint’ came to refer to those Christians who led lives of outstanding holiness and who were remembered and honoured after their death.
When Catholics talk about “the communion of saints” they are using the word ‘saint’ in its original meaning. They mean all the baptised – who are alive now and those who have departed this world and now live on with Christ. Death does not destroy our union with Christians who have gone before us. We remain members of one family because we all share in the life of Christ. That is why Catholics feel able to ask the saints in Heaven to pray for them and ask for their help. Be aware, the Lord often guides into the presence of certain Saints.
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