…The Holy Spirit, on Good Friday, the saint of the day, celebrate his Holy…Holy, holy, holy! Although it may seem banal, the word saint is associated with many aspects of our lives, and even appears in the names of certain regions, for example: San Andrés, San Bartolomé, Santa Catalina… In fact, the famous city of San Francisco also attributes its name to a saint (San Francisco de Asís).
Therefore, the word “Holy“structures our daily life in a certain way: it appears on our calendars, sometimes we look for the saint of the day, etc… But who are the saints for us Christians? What do they have to teach us?
Through this guide, we will delve into the mystery of sainthood, and discover the lives of many saints, which are very exciting and inspiring.
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What is a saint?
It is not surprising to say that the word saint comes from religion. The holiness it is a concept that is applied to objects (the Holy Bible, the Holy Shroud), to abstract notions (the Holy Spirit, the rite of Blessed Sacrament) and to the people. As far as languages are concerned, the word saint comes from the Latin sanctumand is translated into Greek as hagios (A “hagiography” is the biography of a saint.) The word refers to the venerable, to the pure, to what brings us closer to God, that is, to what rises to the sacred.
Saints are beings who, touched by grace and full of virtue, dedicate their lives to fully following the word of Christ. Watch out! this does not mean that a saint is a superhero, let us rather say that saints are role models for their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Among the saints we can find martyrs, kings, monks, nuns, rich, poor, men, women, etc… Regardless of their origins, all saints are examples of lives fully dedicated to Christ and others. They are the image of the heavenly promise on earth, and so we can ask them to intercede for us. when we ask the intercession of the saints in our prayer, we believe that they can bring our prayer intentions before God; they can be intentions for ourselves, for our loved ones, for the Church for the world, etc…
“You will be holy, because I, the Lord, am holy, and I separated you from the other peoples, so that you belong to me” (Leviticus 20:26)
Who is holy?
Well, for starters,God is holy! More than that,God is holiness itself!
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, God of the Universe…
hosanna in the highest of Heaven.”
But each of us is also called to holiness. In fact, this is the vocation of every baptized person and it is available to all of them! You don’t need to be a priest, a nun, or endowed with an extraordinary gift of healing or prophecy to be a saint. Regardless of our age and state of life, to be holy is to seek the fulfillment of God’s will wherever we find ourselves, here and now! This means living our life with him, loving him and loving the people that God puts in our path; it is about no longer living centered on ourselves and our pride, but on Him and His will.
This is not always easy, however, sometimes imitating the example of others can help us move forward on this path to holiness. For example, sometimes the charity shown by Grandma, or a friend, can touch and uplift us in a very special way. Furthermore, what Blessed Chiara Luce or St. Therese of Lisieux experienced in the midst of their ordinary lives can also speak to us and inspire us!
But if everyone can be a saint, why is this name only given to certain people? From an official point of view, The worship or veneration of saints it is practiced in the Catholic and Orthodox branches of Christianity, so that holy persons, as we know them, have been officially recognized as such by the Churchafter a long process of canonizationwhich has been codified since the 10th century. In addition, canonization is preceded by several steps: the person must first be recognized as venerablethen as blessed (after a process of beatification), and subsequently, may or may not be declared holy.
Be careful, this does not mean that the Church considers only officially canonized people to be saints! She knows that for God, who knows all hearts, many people are also saints, but she must be careful to set up as examples of christian perfection only to those people whose holiness is testified through a large number of testimonies and elements.
Diversity and Influence of God’s Saints
There are many, many saints, from the earliest days of Christianity to the present day. In fact, they have followed many paths, some more tortuous than others, they have developed their charisms, each one in his own way, to serve and love God and his neighbor better and better. Discover these magnificent examples and let yourself be inspired!
The saints who constituted the Church: early saints, fathers and doctors of the Church, canonized popes, etc.
Among the saints, we can mainly find all those who accompanied Christ in his life.
- His family: the Blessed Virgin Mary – the main saint – and San José, her adoptive father, Santa Ana and San Joaquín, her grandparents; Saint John the Baptist, her cousin and Saint Elizabeth.
- His apostles and first disciples: Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Mary Magdalene and the four evangelists (Saint Mark, Saint Matthew, Saint Luke, Saint John).
Currently there 35 Doctors of the Churchrecognized as such between the 13th and 21st centuries.
These saints are recognized – in addition to their great faith – for their important theological contributions to Christianity. Here are some of the best known:
In addition, many popes have become saints, among the most recent we can mention Saint Pius X, Saint John Paul II.
When we think of the saints, we often think of the martyrs, willing to die for their faith: Saint Christopher, Saint Nicholas, Saint BarbaraSanta Maria Goretti, Saint Stephen, Saint CatherineSaint Maximilian Kolbe …
There are also mystical saints:
Some of them have experienced apparitions such as Santa Faustina, Santa Bernadette, Santa Catalina Labouré or Santa Margarita-María de Alacoque.
others, miracle workers, who performed various miracles during his life and after his death such as Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Charbel …
Some even bear the stigmata of Christ: Saint Rita, Saint Padre Pio, Saint Francis of Assisi…
But, sometimes, these extraordinary destinations are through a path of holiness that is covered in a short time; this is the case of the saints who, having died very young, had already illuminated the world with their faith: Saint Dominic Savio (14 years), Saint Gerard Majella (29 years) and, very recently, San Carlo Acutis (15 years).
The works and legacies of the saints
Some saints are also known for their works, spiritual current, religious orders, missions…
Saints close to us
But the saints are also Christians who are not strangers to us, for reasons such as:
- having lived or settled in different regions, for example in France: the Holy Curé of Ars, Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Saint Louis and Saint Celia, Saint Claudius of La ColombiereSaint John Baptist de la Salle, Saint Joan of Chantal, Saint Francis de Sales).
- or even having marked the history of a country, for example in France: Saint Joan of Arc and Saint Louis, or for being closely related to a city, such as Saint Genevieve in Paris, Saint Martin in Tours.
- or simply because they are our contemporaries, sharing the same century, or even having lived through the same events as many of us: Saint Padre Pio, Saint Joan Beretta Molla, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Edith Stein…
The blessed and the process of beatification
On the other hand, there are many who are advancing on the path to holiness and they show it to us. For example:
- Martha Robin.
- Blessed Charles de Foucauld
- Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
- Blessed John Henry Newman
- Blessed Chiara Luce
Novena – Holiness for all, with Saint Therese
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Pray and walk with the saints in
offers you many communities and novenas dedicated to different Catholic saints. For example, we invite you to:
- Discover the community “let’s walk with the saints” and receive some lines about their personality to walk inspired by them towards God.
- Become part of the community “Holiness for all with Santa Teresita” and let yourself be carried along the path that leads us to be saints, in this way you will discover that holiness is within everyone’s reach.
Come and let yourself be guided by the saints with !