Catholic Saints Prayer - Term Paper Example

?Running head: Religion and Theology Catholic Saint Insert Insert Grade Insert 25 April In accordance to the Catholic Church, saints are described as people who are living in heaven and who while on earth exhibited remarkable holiness through heroic and virtuous living. Sainthood is a distinct attribute of the Catholic Church through which the deeds of great individuals are recognized through an established process commonly referred to as canonization. The essentials of catholic dogma prescribe that any person belonging to the church perceived as living in everlasting bliss (and who may also be subject to universal veneration) is a saint. As a result, the extensive Church identifies many saints in its history of existence as people of great influence and who exhibited the character of God in their lifetime. Sainthood denotes holiness where a saint is perceived as an individual of extreme holiness in accordance to the teachings of Jesus in the bible. Incidentally, the original version of a saint was a person who exemplified the true gospel of Jesus Christ in accordance to the holy bible. However, the expression changed when it was narrowly applied to refer to those who manifested gallant and virtuous lives and who were adored after their demise. The Catholic Church has a distinct process of recognizing saints. A large number of saints have to undergo canonization prior to their sainthood though some people become saints through acclamation. In both instances, one must be dead and evidence of miracles, and moral living should exist. It is not easy to become a saint in modern day culture because of the corrupted nature of society making it difficult for holy and virtuous living. The Roman Catholic Church is perceived by its followers as a church established to foster Christ’s teachings and promote holiness here on earth. Therefore, in line with the attributes of God Catholics practices sainthood in which people of extraordinary character and who exemplify holiness are recognized and termed as saints (O'Boyle 34-40). This practice is old as the church itself and is based on the aspect of exemplification of God’s personality by human beings, which becomes a source of inspiration to other Christians. The Catholic Church has many saints that have been canonized over time through its history of existence. The aspect of saints and processes of declaring saints is noted in ‘the principles of catholic dogma’, which is a book that prescribes the fundamentals of the church. Saints are often declared after their deaths, and there is a distinct process that has to be strictly followed before one is announced as being a saint. One distinct aspect of sainthood is veneration. Procedures of crowing people as saints have undergone a number of alterations, but the essence of the practice has remained the same. Though it was reserved for public approval, the course of declaring saints changed to aspects of public and church participation that proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the person in question was of great faith, extraordinary attributes, and most importantly exemplified holiness. Catholics express much faith in the institution of sainthood and are most inclined to venerate saints once the church confirmed that they deserved worship. Some controversies have prevailed over the entire aspect of sainthood especially the aspect of describing human beings as holy. Some quarters have argued that human beings cannot be holy terming the attribute as the preserve of God. Similarly, the aspect of veneration of saints has been opposed by some sections of the society as blasphemy and expressed worship as only reserved to God. In all these the Catholic Church still practices sainthood, which is a firm pillar of the church. Sainthood has been an essential of the Catholic Church since the days of yore, and the practice has prevailed over time though with several modifications of how the process of conferring sainthood is done. Sainthood is an epitome of holiness in the Catholic Church; where people are declared saints not just to be remembered and venerated but rather inspire the living that holiness is possible. A saint is a person who typifies holiness and inherent attributes of God. Sainthood is of great significance to the catholic faith because it is the consolidation of Christian values and represents the aspirations of many in the walk of faith. Over the years, the process and practice of sainthood has undergone numerous changes that have been aimed at streamlining the processes of declaring saints and making it more credible and method oriented (Singer-Towns, Claussen and VanBrandwijk 102-110). In the early times, saints were declared by public acclamation in which several people could express their opinion about morality, character and holiness and if supported by a majority that person could be declared a saint. Several controversies have prevailed over the practice of sainthood in the sense that there have been notions that the original profile of a saint by the holy bible is a person who strictly follows the gospel of Jesus Christ and, therefore, the entire process of canonization is not biblical. In essence, original saints were considered as true servants of God who adhered to the requirements of Christian living. However, over time the notion changed to refer to people who were heroic and morally upright in the life time and mostly those who became honored after their demise. Currently, sainthood is primarily based on morality and heroic tendencies though miracles also play a principal role. Fitting as a saint in the Church entails undergoing an already developed course through which one is determined as saint. The earliest procedure of achieving sainthood in the church has undergone systematic evolution over a number of years. During the early period, saints were determined by public approval. Nevertheless, around the 10th century bishops of the church as well as the Vatican took over the course of recognizing saints. Prior to being announced a saint, the church expects people suggesting candidates to pursue certain steps that have been established and changed over time. Canonization, which refers to the eventual declaration of sainthood, is a lengthy process that could last years, decades or even centuries. The procedure of sainthood comprises the following steps; investigation, beatification, and canonization. For one to become a saint, bishop of the respective diocese grants consent for investigations to start where a promoter is selected to carry out the investigations into the life, writings and teachings before presenting the findings to the established panel of cardinals and theologians who present their report to the pope for the declaration of sainthood. This denotes the first stage in the elongated course of confirming an individual to be a saint. Beatification is a significant process on the way to sainthood whereby it is proven whether the candidate performed a miracle. Most current wonders involve instant healing from a disease that could not be accounted for medically. However, if a candidate died for a religious cause then beatification can occur in the absence of a miracle. This step offers a chance for the nominee to be respected locally even before canonization. Canonization represents the final stage of being declared a saint, which is a vital action of the leader of the church (Woodward 67). This stage is taken seriously because there is no withdrawal of sainthood and it cannot be awarded by mistake. Prior to the final announcement by the pope, the congregation tasked with verification of holiness has to receive a second proof of a marvel that occurred after beatification. Once all the requirements are fulfilled the pope makes the formal announcement to the public and the candidate becomes a saint. In spite of the lengthy and involving process of sainthood, there are people who are declared saints for purposes of protecting certain elements of life. These parameters are of the diverse nature and may include animals, diseases, professions and nations. Such individuals are often selected from already existing saints and are broadly described as patron saints. It is quite difficult to become a saint in modern day culture. This is due to a number of reasons most of which are based on the inherent nature of modern culture. In essence, the requirements of becoming a saint are far much beyond what the current civilization can permit. Under normal circumstances, a saint should be a person of morality, virtue and holiness; these are attributes that are very difficult to profess in today’s compromised society. Modern society does not insist on any values, and people live as though there are no moral standards. Therefore, becoming a saint is close to impossible in today’s society since the requirements of sainthood are hard to obtain, nurture, and preserve. Previous societies were purely based on values of morality and virtuous living. In today’s society, values have been watered down, and it is not easy to develop good manners leave alone virtue. Hence, it is conceivably true that modern society will produce fewer saints (if any) in comparison to pervious civilizations. In summary, the Catholic Church recognizes saints and has a procedure through which an individual member of the church can become a saint. Therefore, through the defined process the church can declare a person as being a saint worth of veneration. There are several saints of the church canonized over a long period in the existence of the church. The institution of sainthood is as old as the church and is a firm stake of the Catholic Church. Over the existence of the church, the practice of declaring saints has prevailed though it has been modified in certain aspects. For instance, originally saints were declared on the basis of acclamation. Nevertheless, this changed to include the role of church leaders and a systematic process was developed that includes investigation, beatification in addition to canonization. Being a saint is not an easy aspect and there are several things that are considered which include virtue, teaching, edicts, and holiness. Hence, it is very had to become a saint in the current society because of the compromised nature of values that govern modern civilization. The state of contemporary society has made it very demanding to fulfill the requirements of sainthood. Works Cited O'Boyle, Donna-Marie. Catholic Saints Prayer Book: Moments of Inspiration from Your Favorite Saints. Washington: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 2008. Print Singer-Towns, Brian, Claussen, Janet and VanBrandwijk, Clare. The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth. New York: Saint Mary's Press, 2008. Print Woodward, Kenneth. Making Saints: How The Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes A Saint, Who Doesn’t, and Why. Washington: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Print Read More