August 2007

Questions Bishops are asked

By Bishop Kevin Manning, Catholic Outlook, August 2007

Question

At St Patrick's Cathedral each morning during Mass, I appreciate that you give us a brief insight into the saint of the day, and I try to include a prayer to the specific saint.

However, I don't hear too many other priests mentioning the saints. Has the role of the saints changed so that people no longer seem to place a great deal of importance upon them?

 

Answer:

I too have sensed some loss of devotion towards the saints and, of course, there are always questions from people not of our faith as to why we pray to them.

Men and women are recognised as saints in the Church because they have lived lives of virtue and, hence, are examples for us to follow. They are forces for good in our lives. The fact that they are so close to God means that they are in a position to intercede on our behalf.

God alone is adored
It is important to remember that the Church has always taught that there are different levels of devotion that we owe to heavenly beings. To God, and God alone, we offer the worship of adoration. No human being, not even the Blessed Virgin, can be adored.

Blessed Virgin
Traditionally the Catholic and Orthodox Churches hold the Blessed Virgin in high esteem as the Mother of God. In that position, she is unique. No other human being has that honour.

We regard Mary, therefore, as one who is very close to God and is a powerful intercessor for us. We remember and try to imitate her complete "yes" to God.

Communion of Saints
We honour the saints for their holiness of life. We try to imitate them and we ask them to help us to do that. The practice we have of asking those already in heaven to help us comes from the teaching of the Communion of Saints: they and we form the One Body of Christ.

We know that the saints wrestled with human weakness and temptation, and struggled to do their very best for God. Acknowledging their flawed humanity, they co-operated with God's grace and lived holy lives.

They teach us how we can overcome sin and their perseverance inspires us never to give up. You might think of some of the great sinners who became great saints, e.g., St Ignatius or St Augustine; they changed after reading the lives of the saints.

Intercession
In charity, the living pray for one another: for an improvement in health, for the safe delivery of a baby, for success in examinations.

If we can intercede with God for each other, why can't the saints in heaven intercede for us? I would imagine that their supplications would be more persuasive than our own meagre efforts.

Patron saints
The Church herself has always encouraged us to pray to our patron saints and anyone can choose a patron saint for any good reason. It helps if there is some kind of connection or identification between the person praying and the saint. That is the reason why we name children after saints, whose patron saint they become by sharing their name.

The Church continues to celebrate saints' feasts. That is why I speak about them each day that I celebrate Mass. When we celebrate their feast it is an opportunity for us to honour them, learn about them, and ask for their intercession. Don't knock the Catholic custom that saints are a very large part of our devotional life.

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