Dr. Robert J. Schihl & Paul D. Flanagan
Paul’s letters clarify how the Apostolic Church under the influence of the Holy Spirit spoke of believers as “saints,” whether living or dead.
Paul asked the saints to pray for him and to imitate him.
Faithful people in the Post–Apostolic Church in the Apostles Creed defined the confessional response to faith in their creed: “We believe in the communion of saints.”
Through Baptism we pass “from death to life; death no longer has dominion over us.” Christians must believe that there is no real distinction between the believer in human life and after human life. Saints, living or dead, are indistinguishable before God.
If we can pray for and with saints in this life, we can pray for and with those saints after human life.
And as Paul asked saints to imitate him as he imitates Christ, the Church encourages Catholic Christians to imitate the holiness of the saints as they imitated the holiness of Christ and the Father.
As a hem of a garment, the shadows of saints, and clothes of the saints were used devotionally in the Apostolic Church, so relics and images of the saints are devotionally encouraged by the Church today.
First among saints by the fullness of grace which was hers is the Mother of Jesus, Mary.
The word in the Bible for “saint” or “saints” is the word (hagios) also translated “sanctified” or “holy ones.” The root word hazo, means “to venerate.” Hagios means to be separated from sin and therefore consecrated to God.
Hagios is used of God (Lk 1:49; Acts 3:14; Mt 1:18, etc.). It is a word used of men and things (1 Tim 1:9; 1 Pet 2:5,9, etc.)
When Paul uses the word “saint” in the singular, he refers to a state into which God calls men with His grace.
| Phil 4:21 | Give my greetings to every holy one (hagion) in Christ Jesus. |
In its plural form, Paul uses the word to refer to all believers. For Paul, the word is not applied only to persons of exceptional holiness, nor to those having died characterized by an exceptional life of saintliness.
| Eph 2:19 | So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones (hagios) and members of the household of God, |
| Rom 12:13 | Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. |
| Rom 16:15 | Greet Philologus, … and all the holy ones who are with them. |
| 1 Cor 16:1 | Now in regard to the collection for the holy ones, you also should do as I ordered the churches of Galatia. |
| 1 Cor 16:15 | I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas is the first fruits of Achaia and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the holy ones— |
It is Paul who calls all his fellow believers “saints,” and not just the notably holy ones. Paul also uses the term for both those who are living and for those who are dead.
| 2 Thess 1:9–10 | These (who do not acknowledge God nor heed the good news) will pay the penalty of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he comes to be glorified among his holy ones (hagiois) and to be marveled at on that day among all who have believed, for our testimony to you was believed. |
| Jude 14–15 | Enoch, of the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied also about them when he said, “Behold, the Lord has come with his countless holy ones (hagiais) to execute judgment on all and to convict everyone for all the godless deeds that they committed …” |
This practice of Paul corresponds to one of the earliest creedal statements of Christian faith: The Apostles Creed: “I believe in the communion of saints.” Communion of saints refers to the bond of unity among all believers, both living and dead, who are or have been committed followers of Jesus Christ. In the eyes of God, in eternity, the distinction between His People who are “living” or who are “dead” is not at all important.
| Mk 9:4 | Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. | |
| Mk 12:26–27 | “As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, (the) God of Isaac, and (the) God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly misled.” | |
| Lk 23:43 | He replied to him (the crucified thief) “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” | |
| Rom 12:5 | … so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another. | |
| On the Church, No. 49, Vatican II | At the present time some of (Jesus’) disciples are pilgrims on earth. Others have died and are being purified, while still others are in glory beholding “clearly God himself, three in one, as He is.” | |
The saints are presented to believers as role models whose lives are worthy to be imitated.
| Heb 6:12 | … so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises. | |
| Heb 12:1 | Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us | |
| 1 Cor 11:1 | Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. | |
| Phil 3:17 | Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us. | |
| On the Church, No. 50, Vatican II | For when we look at the lives of those who have faithfully followed Christ, we are inspired with a new reason for seeking the city which is to come (Heb 13:14; 11:10). At the same time, we are shown a most safe path by which … we will be able to arrive at perfect union with Christ, that is holiness. In the lives of those who shared in our humanity and yet were transformed into especially successfully images of Christ (2 Cor 3:18), God vividly manifests to men his presence and his face. He speaks to us in them, and gives us a sign of his kingdom, to which we are powerfully drawn, surrounded as we are by so many witnesses (Heb 12:1), and having such an argument for the truth of the gospel. | |
The Intercession of the Saints
As part of their belief in the role of the saints as professed in the Apostles Creed, Roman Catholic Christians petition the intercession of the saints.
The apostle Paul frequently asked other fellow believers in Jesus to pray for him.
| Col 4:3 | At the same time, pray for us, too, that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak of the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison. |
| Rom 15:30 | … join me in the struggle by your prayers to God on my behalf, |
James asks presbyter believers to pray over other believers.
| Jam 5:14 | Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord |
Prayer appears to be the normal way for believers (saints) on earth to support one another. Probably all of us have asked another Christian, as Paul did—another saint in the Body of Christ—to pray for us when we had a need.
Catholic Christians believe that as we can ask a fellow Christian –a saint– to pray for us, we should be able to ask prayers from the saints already united to the Lord in heaven. If the prayers of certain Christians here on earth seem to possess special power because of their great faith witness or holiness, how much more powerful and effective might not the prayers of those of the communion of saints in heaven who are fully united to God.
The word “canon” comes from the Greek word kanon) meaning a standard or measuring rod.
The custom of canonization began in the early church by popular acclamation. Hence the custom of calling all the apostles “Saint.”
The Roman Catholic Church since the 10th century has officially applied the standard of holiness of life to certain individuals who lived exemplary Christian lives and through a lengthy process of prayer and study have declared that the individual is in heaven.
Contrary to the belief of some, the Church does not “create” saints, but simply applies the standard of gospel holiness to those God permits the Church to know are in heaven with Him. One principle way for God to affirm the presence of an individual in heaven with Him is through the performance of miracles through the intercession of that person.
Images and Relics of the Saints
Catholic Christians operate from an Incarnational Principle: they sometimes make use of statues, images, medals, relics, and other objects to call to mind their relationship with the communion of saints of the past. These “religious objects” are used to simply recall to mind the example of a particular saint and to remind us of their nearness to God and their power to intercede for us on earth.
| Mk 5:27–29 | She (the woman with a hemorrhage) had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up. |
| Acts 5:15 | Thus, they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them. |
| Acts 19:11–12 | So extraordinary were the mighty deeds God accomplished at the hands of Paul that when face cloths or aprons that touched his skin were applied to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. |
Praying to the Saints / Praying for the Dead
Christians from the earliest centuries of the Church have expressed their communion with those who have died by praying for the dead.
Inscriptions in the Roman catacombs indicate that the early Christians honored and prayed for their deceased relatives and friends.
Tertullian (211) wrote that Christians offered prayer and the Eucharist for the deceased on the anniversaries of their death.
| St. Augustine (354 – 430) | Neither are the souls of the pious dead separated from the Church, which even now is the Kingdom of Christ. Otherwise there would be no remembrance of them at the altar of God in the communication of the Body of Christ. |
It is not uncommon that non–believers see the Roman Catholic devotion to the Saints and the dead in general as falling under the prohibition of necrology as found in the Hebrew Scriptures. These people are not aware of the New Life of the Christian who has been called out of this life. They are nor dead, but alive!
| Rom 6:3–4 | Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. |
| Col 2:12 | You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. |
The early Christians, in praying for their dead were expressing their belief that departed brothers and sisters underwent a purification after death (“purgatory”). Their prayers were prayers that God would have mercy on them during this time of healing and purification.
Many people who do not share the Catholic Christian faith life have difficulty with the appearance that in their prayers, Catholics appear to pray to the Saints, to Mary, as one prays to God. This “praying to” appears to them to indicate a worship of the Saint as if giving to the Saint or Mary what is due to God alone.
However, earliest Christianity has always defined prayer as conversation, as in conversation with God. Conversation, as any other act of communication (e.g., talking, conversation, yelling, etc.), requires a sign of the direction of the communication: one talks to someone, communicates with someone, prays to someone, converses with someone, yells at someone, etc. Hence, praying to God, a Saint, the Virgin Mary indicates simply the direction of prayer communication. It is more a matter of grammar and understanding communication than acknowledging the worship of the receiver.
From the earliest of Church Councils (the Council of Rome, 993; defined by the Council of Trent) the distinction was made between worship and honor. Catholics believe that worship is due to God alone. Catholics honor those saints who have gone before us as a sign of faith and victory in living the Christian life. From Catholic Biblical Apologetics