Arturo on the Saints

Speaking of Saints, Arturo's latest blog entry is a rerun concerning veneration of the Saints and seeking their intercession. It is well worth highlighting here.

On the Cult of the Saints

Implicit in his discussion are points I made along ago on my AOL page:

"To honor the Saints and to seek their intercession is to worship God in that, without God, the Saints have nothing, are nothing. In the Saints, God has become 'all-in-all' already; each Saint is a fully developed example of what it means to be 'in the image and likeness of God."

"Not only do the Saints bring us closer to God, but God brings us closer to the Saints. The more we are friends of God, the more we will also be friends of God's friends, and these are the Saints. Given my background, I knew the Lord Jesus long before I knew His Blessed Mother, but when the time was right, the Lord introduced me to her and to other Saints as well."

"One of the biggest problems with Protestantism in general is the abandonment of the teaching on the Communion of Saints. The Church on earth and in heaven (including what the Roman Church calls "purgatory") is one in Christ; it is nconceivable that those in heaven, perfected in the image of Jesus and in direct, unmediated communion with the Most Blessed Trinity, would be unconcerned about the welfare of the Church and her members on earth. See Hebrews 12:1"

The Saints are our elder brothers and sisters. Since they too are "members of Christ," they are also members of each of us and we are members of them, since all who are "members of Christ" are "members one of another," in the words of St. Paul.

As Arturo rightly points out, "we must have a correct vision of the whole Christ, Head and members."

Speaking of Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us" (RSV)

In case it is not clear, that "cloud of witnesses", those fans in the stands, are the Saints in heaven, as Hebrews Chapter 11 makes clear.

"All you Saints, pray for us!"