Sainthood And The Roman Catholic Church

Transcription

1 Sainthood And The Roman Catholic Church By Dr. Gary M. Gulan 1978, (rev. 84,92,95,04) Introduction: It is interesting that "On the eve of All Saints' Day in the year 1517, Martin Luther, a highly educated monk of the Augustinian Order, posted on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg the famous Ninety-five Theses, directed against Albrecht, the bishop of Mainz." 1 Ray Holton reviewed a book entitled, A Saint More or Less, by Henry Grunwald (Random House 2003). He stated "In the quarter-centry reign of Pope John Paul II, admission to sainthood appears to be a tool aimed at energizing the world's 900 million Roman Catholics. He has recognized more than 470 saints and proclaimed more than 1,300 other candidates for sainthood in beatification ceremonies. Along the way of breaking the records of all previous popes in the saint-naming business, Pope John Paul has changed some of the rules. In the case of Mother Teresa, who died in 1997, he waived the requirement that five years must elapse after a prospect's death before the process to sainthood begins." He then asked the question, "Does saint-inflation devalue the honor?" 2 According to "the Sacred Heart" (1.) It was in the 10th century, the Roman Catholic Church started a process of sainthood. (2.) Sainthood is "officially applying 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 individual is in heaven." (3.) Only after death may you be a candidate for sainthood. (4.) Two miracles must be attributed to your life because miracles are considered proof that an individual is in heaven and can intercede for us THE OFFICIAL POSITION OF THE ROMAN CATHOIC CHURCH "The patriarchs, prophets, and certain other Old Testament figures have been and always will be honored as saints in all the Church's liturgical traditions." 4 "By canonizing some of the faithful, i.e. by solemnly proclaiming that they practice heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God's grace, the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors. The saints have always been the source and origin or renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church's history. Indeed, holiness is the hidden source and infallible measure of her apostolic activity and missionary zeal." 5 The Process of Making A Saint 1. Five years after your death, if you were considered "holy," a bishop (local Episcopal authority) investigates your life for evidence of "heroic virtue," earning you the title "Servant of God." News is sent to Rome for further "inquiry." 2. Next, a panel of theologians at the Vatican and the cardinals of the "Congregation for the Causes of Saints" also called the "Congregation of Rites," examines your life and miracles. 3. Upon their approval, the pope proclaims you "venerable." 4. The next step is "beatification." To be "beatified" at least one miracle must have taken place after your death and as a result of a specific petition to you. Catholicism says that if such a

2 miracle occurs, it proves you are in heaven and can intercede on behalf of others' good. "Beatification" declares you "blessed." 5. To become a "saint" a second miracle is required, attributed to your intercession, but having occurred after your "beatification." 6. If these two miracles can be confirmed, the Pope then issues a "Bull of Canonization" in which he not only permits, but declares, the public veneration of the new "saint." 7. Once you are declared a "saint," people can pray to you because you supposedly have "special powers." Even relics of you have the power to produce a desired effect. 8. The pope elevates some "saints" to "patron saint" status, making them even more powerful than regular "saints." 9. "Beatification" process costs min. of $20,000 "Beatification" to "Canonization" min. of $30,000 6 Summary: "Roman Catholic Sainthood, consists only of those who have already died, and are living in Heaven. Their saint, in its meaning of separation, is an anomaly since in Heaven there is no sin from which to be separated." 7 "Roman Catholic Church has canonized, or given the title of saint, to many deceased heroes of the faith. Saints, because of their excellent virtue and merit, are believed to be already in heaven. They serve the faithful still on earth as 'models and intercessors." 8 "Rome's view of 'the communion of saints' referred to those who were holy in a special sense, such as the martyrs and others in heaven who had lived and served in notable ways and had been canonized. The intercession of the saints is not halted by death, and the invocation of the saints is valid. Direct requests to a saint in heaven for his or her intercession or for other benefits is the reference to the expression." 9 2. THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN VIEWPOINT A. All Christians are saints. "For the Reformers, the 'communion of saints' included each and all of the believing members of the church, contending that they all partook of our Lord and 'all His treasures and gifts." 10 B. Saints are saints because they are saved and set apart unto God. "Saint (Gr. hagios) means 'holy.' The essential idea in holiness is that of being set apart for God. A holy place, such as a temple, is a building not used for secular purposes; it is set apart for the worship of God. Holy vessels are withdrawn from all other use and are used only in the service of God. Similarly, 'saints' are people who belong to God. Although in popular usage saints are especially good people, this is not the idea that the Greek word expresses. Saints, of course, must live uprightly, but the essential idea here is that of belonging to God. Saints are people who have been saved through Christ and who are now numbered among the people of God. It is in this sense that Paul uses the word. Paul always uses the word in the plural; he never speaks of 'Saint John' or the like, but always of 'the saints' as a group. It is a way of drawing attention at one and the same time to the 'belongingness' of Christians. We all belong to God and we all belong to one another." 11 C. Saints are living people.

3 Saints, "are alive, living on the earth, when the name is given to them, we shall find that they were living in various cities and countries: Jerusalem (Acts 9:13); Rome (Rom. 1:7); Lydda (Acts 9:32); Joppa (Acts 9:41); Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2); Achaia (2 Cor. 1:1); Ephesus (Eph. 1:1); Philippi (Phil. 1:1); Colosse (Col. 1:2); as members of the churches in these places, and of course in many places besides these which are specifically mentioned. They had been sinners like the rest, they had been washed and sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." 12 D. Saints are not perfect. "They were not perfect in themselves. The two letters to the Corinthian church reveal that these saints sometimes had grievous defects, falling far short of the sainthood and separateness from sin to which they had been called." 13 "Just as Paul was an apostle by divine calling, they (the believers who made up the Corinthian church, 1 Cor. 1:2) were saints by that same calling. Sainthood was not part of their future destiny, a goal that might not be realized because of their sin; rather, it expressed their present standing. The big problem was that they were not saintly in their practice, although they had experienced the effectual call of God who was working out His sovereign purpose in their lives (Rom. 8:28-30)." 14 E. Saints are not a special class of Christians. "According to the teaching of the New Testament, saints are not a special class of Christians who having attained to what Rome calls a "heroic condition of holiness," form a sort of spiritual aristocracy in Heaven, enrolled in a special catalog by papal authority, who must be 'venerated' and invoked in prayer." 15 F. Saints that died cannot be summoned by those on earth. "The Bible, on the other hand, refers to all true believers as saints by virtue of their position in Christ (Eph. 1:1). They are sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling (1 Cor. 1:2). As for the Roman Catholic practice of the living invoking the spirits of the dead, it has more in common with spiritism and divination, both condemned in Scripture, than with any Christian practice (Deut. 18:10,11)." 16 G. Saints that died cannot hear our prayers from earth. "Roman Catholics cannot explain how dead saints can hear our prayers. It is impossible for dead Roman Saints who are only creatures and infinitely less than God, to listen and to answer thousands upon thousands of petitions made by Roman Catholics at one and the same time simultaneously in different countries, in different languages, and many of them not expressed orally but only mentally, without being like God Almighty present everywhere knowing the secrets of the hearts." 17 H. Saints are not "intercessors" and "mediators" between us and God. A Catholic Priest stated, "Saints are our brothers in the faith. After they die, their relationship with Christ and us becomes even deeper. If Christians can pray for one another while alive, much more can they do so after being completely united with Christ in heaven. God testifies of their holiness and draws us to imitate their example by working miracles through their intercession, but always with God's power." 18

4 God's Word tells us the Holy Spirit is our intercessor, (John 14:16,26; 15:26;16:13) and Jesus Christ Himself is our mediator, (1 Tim. 2:5), intercessor, (Heb. 7:25), advocate, (1 Jn. 2:1), and example, (1 Pt. 2:21). Conclusion: "Roman Catholics do not know who are really saints in heaven. A decree of the Pope canonizing a dead person as a saint is not accepted as infallible by all the Roman theologians. The Roman Catholic Church has no canonization procedure before the tenth century. Many names are taken off the list of saints every time a new edition of the Martyrologium (a Roman Catholic list of saints divided by day) is edited." 19 "For hundreds of years, untold millions of Catholics carried idols of him. They prayed to him, trusting that he (and graven images of him) would protect them during their travels. But in 1969 the Catholic church discovered there was little proof that many popular 'saints,' including Christopher, ever existed. So they dropped him, sort of. Amazingly, thirty two years after this embarrassing admission, the Catholic religion is still raking in cash selling idols of a non-existent person globally on the internet." 20 Notes: 1 Understanding Christian Theology, Charles Swindoll and Roy Zuck, Nashville: Nelson, 2003, p "Crisp and provocative historical novel probes the making of saints" By Ray Holton, The Sunday Journal, Albuquerque, December 21, 2003, p. F Catechism of the Catholic Church, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Ed., promulgated by Pope John Paul II, Libreris Editrice Vaticana: Citta del Vaticano, second edition, 1997, Paragraph #61 5 Catechism of the Catholic Church, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Ed., promulgated by Pope John Paul II, Libreris Editrice Vaticana: Citta del Vaticano, second edition, 1997, Paragraph #828 6 Catholic Encyclopedia, "Beatification and Canonization", 6/17/05 7 Roman Catholicism In The Light Of Scripture, F. Dryer and E. Weller, Chicago: Moody, 1960, p The Gospel According To Rome, James McCarthy, Eugene: Harvest, 1995, p Roman Catholicism, John Armstrong,Ed. Chicago: Moody, 1994, p Roman Catholicism, John Armstrong,Ed. Chicago: Moody, 1994, p Expository Reflections On The Letter To The Ephesians, Leon Morris, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994, p Roman Catholicism In The Light Of Scripture, F. Dryer and E. Weller, Chicago: Moody, 1960, p. 210; Baker's Dictionary of Theology, Everett Harrison, Ed., Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979, p Roman Catholicism In The Light Of Scripture, F. Dryer and E. Weller, Chicago: Moody, 1960, p Called To Be Saints, Robert Gromacki, Schaumburg: RBP, 1977, p Roman Catholicism In The Light Of Scripture, F. Dryer and E. Weller, Chicago: Moody, 1960, p The Gospel According To Rome, James McCarthy, Eugene: Harvest, 1995, p Secrets Of Romanism, Joseph Zacchello, Neptune: Loizeauz, 1981, Pp

5 18 Letters Between A Catholic And Evangelical, John Waiss and James McCarthy, Eugene: Harvest, 2002, p Secrets Of Romanism, Joseph Zacchello, Neptune: Loizeauz, 1981, Pp. 61,49 20 "Remember Saint Christopher?" by Rick Jones, Chick Tracts, September/October 2001 Catholics choose which saint to pray to, based upon need, occupation, or country. St. John of God: heart patients St. Blase: throat ailments St. Lucy: eye diseases St., Francis de Sales: deaf St. Thomas Aquinas: students St. Monica: mothers St. Matthew: tax collection St. Joseph: carpenters St. Nicholas of Myra: bridges St. Valentine: greetings St. Francis of Assisi: animals St. Clare of Assisi: television St. Anthony: lost items St. Jude: hopeless causes St. Boniface: Germany St. Patrick: Ireland (The Gospel According To Rome, James McCarthy, Eugene: Harvest, 1995, p. 194) The Debate of Calvinism and Arminianism By Dr. Gary M. Gulan, 1988 (Rev. 04) V 1. THE NATURE OF DANCE SUGGESTS THE USE OF THE SENSES AND SENSUALITY By Gary M. Gulan, 1984 (Rev. 89,93,03) The Christian And Dancing Does God want His people adopting the pagan customs of the people around them? Does God want His people to be different than the non-christians around them or to blend in with them?