how does one become a saint

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how does one become a saint, and what are the requirements to be a saint. How would Joan of Arc fit into the profile of a saint

-- Sean Whelan (fifadude@juno.com), January 09, 2001

Answers

Hello, Sean.
The Catholic Church assures us that Joan of Arc is a saint in Heaven.
According to one way of using the word, "saint," you probably are one!
The English word "saint" comes from the French "saint(e)" which came from the ancient Latin "sanctus[masc.]/sancta[fem.]" which means "holy person." This last (sanctus/a) was the word used, in the old Latin translation of the Bible, in place of the Greek word "hagios," which also means "holy person." Hagios and its plural appear many times in the New Testament to refer to Christians, who are made "holy" by grace (through faith and Baptism) -- both the living and the dead holy ones. For example, some translations use "saints" and others use "holy ones" in Colossians 1:2 -- "To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

The word is used by Catholics (and some non-Catholic Christians) in two ways -- the second way much more often than the first.
First, in imitation of the Bible, the "simple" form of the word refers to all Christian believers. This can be seen in our recitation of the ancient Apostles' Creed, in which we say, "I believe in ... the Communion of Saints." This "Communion" consists of the saints of the Church Militant (here on earth), the saints of the Church Suffering (in Purgatory), and the saints of the Church Triumphant (in Heaven).
Second, and more common to Catholics, the "specific" form of the word "saint" refers to an angel or human person whose soul (and sometimes body, too) is now in Heaven with Jesus, their dearest Friend. In the early centuries of the Church, holy people who died used to be revered as saints-in-heaven by popular acclamation of their peers or by proclamation by local bishops. Later (in the 900s A.D., I believe), after some notable erroneous proclamations had been made on the local level, the popes decided that there should be a formal process of infallibly declaring the soul of a deceased person to be in heaven.

The steps in that formal process leading to "canonization?" First, someone (usually a bishop or a religious community) proposes ("postulates") to the Vatican the name of a candidate and does an extensive search for supporting documentation, writings, and witnesses. Then ...
[I copied the following from a site dedicated to a great woman recently named "Saint" -- Katharine Drexel:]

Outline of the Canonization Process:
-- Major Stages:
---- Servant of God (Venerable). This stage requires that a candidate be found to have lived a life of faith and morals with "heroic virtue."
---- Beatification (Blessed). Requires an extraordinary event that is recognized as miraculous by the Church, granted by God through the intercession of the Venerable one.
---- Canonization (Saint). Requires a second extraordinary event that is recognized as miraculous by the Church, again through the Blessed's intercession.
[The miracles are usually "impossible" and irreversible cures of illnesses or injuries, attested to by medical authorities (often non-Catholics). Miracles are not required when the person in question was martyred for the Catholic faith. JFG]
Steps to Beatification:
Beatification requires recognition by the Church of an extraordinary (miraculous) event, that is one that cannot be explained according to the laws of human science and is attributed to a Divine intervention through the intercession of the Servant of God who has been invoked by the faithful. Such recognition by the Church has to go through several successive stages:
A) The gathering of all the evidence: historical, clinical documentation, and deposition of witnesses.
B) Critical study of all the evidence and writing by the Postulation of the "Positio" that proves the extraordinary nature of the event.
C) Examination of the "Positio" by the Medical Board of Specialists in the case of a physical event.
D) Assessment by the board of Theologians.
E) Meeting of Cardinals and Bishops who are members of the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints. A positive finding is required by them and by the pope.
Steps to Canonization:
Requires the recognition by the Church of an extraordinary (miraculous) event that occurred after the Beatification, and is examined in the same steps as above in Beatification.

God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), January 09, 2001.


Sean, how does one become a saint? St. Paul tells us that it is as easy as this:

"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ". 1 Cor, ll,l.

Enrique

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), January 11, 2001.


Dear Sean Whelan,
May I suggest you begin reading the lives of various saints, if you haven't started already? Your question surely was deeper than a simple inquiry into canonization. It's obvious many saints are seen in the pages of the Bible. But I have drawn great inspiration through the years from reading the lives of many more Catholic saints. I'm not talking about anthologies of their lives. I mean each saint, one book at a time. I recommend to you these lives: St. Catherine of Siena, St. John Vianney Cure of Ars, St. Catherine Laboure, and the Confessions of St. Augustine. There are many others, naturally. But this selection is a ''can't miss'' for learning just how God affects the lives of those who love Him. Hope you someday find the time and inclination. May God bless you and give you peace!

-- eugene c. chavez (chavezec@pacbell.net), January 11, 2001.

Guys,
You aren't going to believe what I just happened to read.
Almost exactly one year ago, a person named "sean" [the same one? another one?] asked a very similar question and got similar answers.
Check the old thread (entitled "HOW TO BECOME A SAINT") at http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002Nm8
God bless you.
John
PS to Eugene and Enrique: I couldn't quite make up my mind whether the neww Sean was asking about the "saint-making" process or about how he could become a saint. Since he (a boy or man) asked about St. Joan of Arc, I thought it more likely to be the first.

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), January 11, 2001.

Greetings: to those who are truly seeking God and not traditions, those who put there faith in Jesus are saints. They are saved because they trust God who raised Jesus from the dead. As long as a person lives in sin they dont know God, Jesus saves not a building or its traditions, read your Bibles or be lied to by the cathalic church. They cant set you free Jesus can he is our priest he changed my life over night, I know Im going to heaven and not to a fictisios purgatory, and I dont pray to dead people God doesnt like that, I pray to God myself in Jesus name its wonderful. GOd bless

-- Alex Jr ruiz (Jesusislife@christianemail.com), January 13, 2001.


Please disregaurd my questions in the "How to become a saint" thread and the "Mother Teresa" thread.

I have found the answers to my questions in this thread in a post written by John G.

Sorry for the troubles.

God Bless,

-- Kathy (sorry@nomail.com), June 30, 2002.


I am SO glad that you found this thread, Kathy.
I apologize for overlooking your question on this subject on the Mother Teresa thread. (You are right that I let Steve J distract me.)
I even enjoyed rereading the above (from January, 2001) to refresh my memory. [I forget so very much!]
JFG

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), June 30, 2002.

Hi John,

No apologies needed.

Sometimes the intrusiveness of unwanted subjects need tending too.

Your post above answered all of my questions in great detail. There is alot in the archives to look through, so I imagine I might miss a thing or two.

God Bless,

-- Kathy (sorry@nomail.com), June 30, 2002.


Kathy, if you read all the archives, you are bound to come across at least a few messages of which I am now quite ashamed. So I offer my apologies, in advance, for anything that offends you.
John

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), July 01, 2002.

Hi John,

Again, no apology needed. But thank you for your kindeness.

I am quite certain that we all have a thing or two to be ashamed of, to err is human.

I look up to you John, I think you are a well deserved respected person. I think you carry yourself well in a pleasing and desirable manner here in this forum.

God Bless you John,

-- Kathy (sorry@nomail.com), July 01, 2002.



I'm trying to do better, Kathy. Some days I succeed. Other days I don't.
But thanks for the great compliments. It is very pleasant to exchange messages with you.
JFG

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), July 01, 2002.

Dear John,

I second what Kathy said about you! You are always so informative, articulate and knowledgeable. You are always so willing to share your knowledge with us, correct us when we need to be corrected, and I appreciate that very, very much! :)

In answer to the question, "How Does One Become A Saint?" I have a very simple answer to that (just an opinion, not fact) Put God first in everything you do, make Him the center of your life, do ordinary things for God in an extraordinary way, love yourself, your family, your neighbors - be the best person you can be, practice your faith in all the little things as well as the big things - love everyone and forgive!

MaryLu

-- MaryLu (mlc327@juno.com), July 01, 2002.


Amen Mary Lu!

-- Kathy (sorry@nomail.com), July 01, 2002.

Maria Luisa, you are too effusive in your praise! I thank you for your kindness.
I couldn't help but notice that the way of living that you suggest to those who wish to be saints resembles the "Little Way" of St. Therese of Lisieux.
God bless you.
John

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), July 02, 2002.

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