Why are there so many modern saints?
Upvote:2
There is no one unique answer to this question. The Saints are given to the Church so that the many may have examples to follow. In addition to this, the number of martyrs beatified and/or canonized by Pope John Paul II is staggering.
The first saints of the Early Church were all martyrs. Martyrdom was an exceptional way of being united to Jesus on the cross. The example of the Martyrs will always produce more saints.
Or perhaps we can just let Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, the Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1996-2008 do the explaining for us in his Zenit interview.The Cardinal gives us three basic reasons as to why there are so many saints since the Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II in particular:
- That holiness is essential to the Church for she is one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
- Holiness is of extraordinary ecumenical importance.
- The Blessed and the Saints manifest the charity of the local church.
Upvote:4
The catholic church, especially through JPII and Pope Francis, stress that there are many saints, even the "regular" saints. Catholic church recognizes, in this way, only a tiny fraction of the saints.
Saints are witnesses to the faith, to the truth. This world badly needs it, so the answer to this, is to "expose" more of those witnesses of faith.
It is not adding saints to get a higher saint-score, it is recognizing what already is.
It is likely that the better communication and documentation of the modern times, helps identify candidates for sainthood.
More post
- 📝 Why did Rome and Constantinople split in 1054 AD?
- 📝 What's "reciprocal subsidiarity"?
- 📝 Is God capable of ever doing wrong?
- 📝 What was written on the two stone tablets of Moses?
- 📝 Under Catholic dogma can someone publicly rebuke the Pope like Paul rebuked Peter?
- 📝 "I will lift Your Name"
- 📝 What are the differences between Catholic and Episcopal saints?
- 📝 Account of the Feast of Heaven
- 📝 How do Lutherans who accept apostolic succession trace theirs?
- 📝 Is it permissible for a Catholic to believe in Miaphysitism?
- 📝 If God cannot tempt anyone, what is the meaning of the following scriptures?
- 📝 Have any married couples been canonized at the same time?
- 📝 Can a Catholic visiting Protestant Parents attend the Parents Church?
- 📝 Was Christianity intended to have denominations?
- 📝 Is Jesus the reincarnation of Adam?
- 📝 What does spikenard have to do with St Joseph?
- 📝 Who do Seventh Day Adventist think the Harlot is in Revelation chaps 17 & 19?
- 📝 Is it true that early Christians were baptised naked?
- 📝 How many witnesses are there who physically saw and/or touched the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was reportedly translated?
- 📝 Defending your honor against a superior who accuses you falsely
- 📝 Looking for a Catholic Arabic bible
- 📝 Do the theological virtues apply to mundane situations?
- 📝 What is the Christian Doctrine that balances God's self-sufficiency and perfection with His wants or desires?
- 📝 What is the Catholic Church's view of Anne Catherine Emmerich - can her visions and prophecies be trusted?
- 📝 Is the Bible God?
- 📝 Why does God promise something that satisfies our greed for longevity?
- 📝 Since YHWH and the Bible acknowledge other gods, does that mean that they literally exist?
- 📝 Can a Pope elevate a non-heretical yet minority opinion to the level of dogma?
- 📝 How to light incense like a pro?
- 📝 Why is the Catholic teaching that Mary's hymen remained intact during childbirth important?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why are there so many modern saints?
- 📝 Why are there so many translations of the Bible?
- 📝 Christian view of why there are so many similarities between Quran and Bible?
- 📝 Why are there so many First Congregational Churches in the US?
- 📝 Why are there so many priests in the LDS Church?
- 📝 Are there any saints or mystics who had a vision of hell, and based on that made a judgment about how many people are in hell? (Catholic perspective)
- 📝 If Catholicism rejects freemasonry, why are there patron saints of Freemasons?
- 📝 Why would God create a world in which there are so many ways to sin and thus be condemned?
- 📝 If there is only one God, why are there so many different religions?
- 📝 Why are there different divisions of the Ten Commandments?
- 📝 Are there theological explanations for why God allowed ambiguity to exist in Scripture?
- 📝 If Protestants won't ask dead saints to intercede because there is no mediator but Jesus then why do they ask living Christians to pray for them?
- 📝 Are there any statistics that show how many scientists are Christians or otherwise believe in a personal God?
- 📝 Why are there no longer large-scale miracles from God?
- 📝 Are there any modern churches that subscribe to the Donatist heresy?
- 📝 If miracles stopped after the Apostles, then why are there admonitions to pray over people?
- 📝 How many witnesses are there who physically saw and/or touched the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was reportedly translated?
- 📝 Why are there fourteen stations of the cross?
- 📝 Are there any biblical examples of Early Church disciples praying to deceased saints in order to request their intercessory prayer?
- 📝 Are there any examples of married, male, non-martyred (white crown), non-royal, canonized Catholic Saints excluding Saint Joseph?
- 📝 Are there any real statistics on how many people fall away?
- 📝 Why are there Sibyls and Prophetesses in the Sistine Chapel?
- 📝 Do Cessationists believe that there are no modern miracles?
- 📝 Are there any modern Nestorian or Jacobite systematic theology textbooks?
- 📝 How many different groups are there that base their teachings on the Book of Mormon and/or Joseph Smith?
- 📝 What is a gospel, and how many gospels are there in the Catholic Bible?
- 📝 Why are there differences in the "Greeting" of the Mass?
- 📝 Why are we given details about what the descendants of Cain did? Is there special significance to these details?
- 📝 According to Emanuel Swedenborg, why are there different types of angels?
- 📝 How many practicing Canon Lawyers are there in the USA, and the world?