Declaring Someone a Saint

[WHITE LIFE]

The process of Sainthood is greatly misunderstood. Many people understand that the process by which the Church declares someone a Saint is political. Simply put, this is not the case.

Many people do not realize that there is a difference between "saint" (with a lower case "s") and "Saint" (with an upper case "S").

The lower case "saint" refers to all saints, living and departed. The upper case "Saint" refers to those to whom are, without question, proven to be in Heaven with our Lord. The Church has the authority to declare certain individuals as "Saints". That is not to say that every "Saint" is declared one though. Certainly there are many who do not receive this title who are in Heaven.

The process that the Church uses to declare certain individuals as "Saints" is not so much political as it is formal. There are certain criteria and proofs that must be met before someone can be declared a "Saint".

It is wonderful that there are certain declared "Saints". We can all benefit from their intercession.

Any agreement or disagreement is respected in this thread.

[Ali Blue]

No human can really 100% be sure of whether another person is Christian or not. Only God can know that. You can be pretty sure, but there's no stamp on their forehead saying "I'm a Christian." I just don't see why one Christian should be put above another, especially since we are all members of one body, and without each of the parts, the church would 'malfunction'. It disagrees with the whole concept of humbling ourselves and letting God take the glory.

[WHITE LIFE]

Ali, I love your concern about not giving humans more power than what they are allowed. I think it is great that you understand that God alone is the judge of each person.

With that being said, we also have to acklowledge that God has given the "Keys" of the Kingdom over to Peter. What does that mean? Christ gave His Church a certain "Godly Authority". That doesn't make a God out of man, rather it defines how God works through men.

So, when the Church declares that someone IS in heaven, it is not "judging" whether that person is in heaven, rather it is humans being able to know that the particular Saint is in heaven because God allows us to know this.

Many people do not realize what is involved with the process of Canonization (defining someone as a "Saint" or "In Heaven"). If they look into it, they will find that it is really cool. For example, did you know that there has to be not one, but atleast two proven miracles as a result of the persons intercession after their death? Yes, that is right. They have to be able to prove that the miracle cannot be explained away by human reasoning, such as science, and that the miracle was the result of the intercession of that particular departed soul.

That is just one of the cool things involved with people being proven to be in heaven. The whole process is very interesting, but no time to explain here. To sum it up, why would God want us to know if certain people are indeed with him in heaven? Certainly not to put them above you or I, but rather to provide us with a role model and give us the assurance that we can count on that soul for their intercession. No matter how you look at it in this light, it is a great treasure that the Church has been gifted with this authority.

Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and Forever!