101 Questions & Answers on Saints
Publisher: Paulist Press
Published: March 2007
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 146
ISBN-13: 9780809144426
Subjects: Christian Theology - Angelology & Demonology; Christianity - Saints & Sainthood; Theology; Reference; Religious; Religion; Religion - Theology; Christian saints
Table of contents: title: One: The basics - saints 101; label: 1.
title: When Catholics speak of a "saint" what do they mean?
pagenum: 3; label: 2.
title: In Catholic usage, can the term saint also be applied to someone other than those enjoying heavenly glory with God?
pagenum: 4; label: 3.
title: You say that other Christian churches’ use of the word saint may have affected Catholic usage. In Christianity beyond Catholicism, how is the word used?
pagenum: 4; label: 4.
title: How many saints are there, and where do we look for the answer?
pagenum: 5; label: 5.
title: Where does the word saint come from, in its root meaning? To which other words is it related?
pagenum: 6; label: 6.
title: What does sanctity (“holiness”) mean for Christians and for the saints?
pagenum: 7; label: 7.
title: What does the Bible teach about holiness?
pagenum: 9; label: 8.
title: Is holiness otherworldly?
pagenum: 10; label: 9.
title: So, are holiness and wholeness just about the same?
pagenum: 11; label: 10.
title: How does holiness relate to sinfulness, failures, and deficiencies?
pagenum: 12; label: 11.
title: Can one be holy and then lose that holiness, be only somewhat holy, or be holy and sinful at the same time
pagenum: 13; label: 12.
title: What does the phrase "the communion of saints" mean?
pagenum: 14; label: 13.
title: In our world of many different faiths, how universally applicable is the term saint?
pagenum: 16; label: 14.
title: Is Jesus a saint? Is Mary? How do they compare to those honored as saints?
pagenum: 17; label: 15.
title: Since the saints are a “varied company,” are there groupings or categories of saints in the Church’s life and prayer?
pagenum: 18; label: 16.
title: What exactly qualifies a saint to be called a “doctor of the Church?”
pagenum: 20; label: 17.
title: Who are probably the most admired saints?
pagenum: 21; label: 18.
title: Is there more than just a close chronological link between the celebrations of Halloween and All Saints’ Day, and how did that religious observance begin?
pagenum: 22; label: 19.
title: How did the celebration of All Saints’ Day broaden from celebrating all martyrs to honoring all saints, and get moved to November 1? What is its focus now?
pagenum: 24; label: 20.
title: Do the saints know our thoughts?
pagenum: 25; label: 21.
title: The connection between saints and angels is intriguing. Some angels are listed among the saints. And sometime people refer to those who have died, especially children, as angels. Is this reference official Catholic belief, and are saints actually quite similar to angels?
pagenum: 26; title: Two: Honoring the saints, past and present; label: 22.
title: In which ways are saints typically honored in Christian life?
pagenum: 31; label: 23.
title: What, in brief, has been the history of honoring the saints in the devotion and life of the Church?
pagenum: 32; label: 24.
title: In all of this, what has been the standard way of conceiving the connection between God’s people on earth and God’s saints in heaven?
pagenum: 34; label: 25.
title: What is the origin of the controversial practice of the invocation of saints?
pagenum: 35; label: 26.
title: Is the custom of people having patron saints related to this patronage system?
pagenum: 36; label: 27.
title: How do patron saints get designated?
pagenum: 37; label: 28.
title: What is the background of some of the best known patronages; for example, St. Anthony for lost articles, and St. Jude for hopeless causes?
pagenum: 38; label: 29.
title: What were the objections and approaches advanced by Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation regarding devotion to the saints?
pagenum: 40; label: 30.
title: What did Luther make of the practice of praying to the saints?
pagenum: 41; label: 31.
title: What was the Catholic response to the Reformation, and how did things play out in the centuries that followed?
pagenum: 42; label: 32.
title: What was Vatican II’s contribution to a strong understanding of the place of the saints in our lives?
pagenum: 43; label: 33.
title: Do the various Protestant churches now celebrate the saints in their official worship?
pagenum: 45; title: Three: Canonization of saints; label: 34.
title: What does it mean for someone who has died to be “beatified” or “canonized’’?
pagenum: 49; label: 35.
title: What are the first steps along the way to canonization?
pagenum: 50; label: 36.
title: How does Rome then get involved?
pagenum: 51; label: 37.
title: Why are miracles required, and what kinds of miracles are they?
pagenum: 52; label: 38.
title: How did canonization come about in the Church’s history?
pagenum: 53; label: 39.
title: When and how did the pope become more involved in the canonization process?
pagenum: 54; label: 40.
title: You haven't said anything about the "devil's advocate" in the proceeding. Does this mean there no longer is one? If so, how else has the canonization process changed in recent  times?
pagenum: 56; label: 41.
title: Why does the Church have these procedures at all?
pagenum: 57; label: 42.
title: Many people esteem the saints, but even some of these people are uneasy about canonizations. What makes canonizations controversial and unpopular among some people?
pagenum: 58; label: 43.
title: Why do some prospective saints get through the process, and not others?
pagenum: 59; label: 44.
title: Why do Catholics canonize only Catholics? Could other great people, such as Mahatma Gandhi or Dr. Martin Luther King, be so honored in the Catholic Church?
pagenum: 61; label: 45.
title: Does the Orthodox tradition, devoted as it is to veneration of saints, have a process of canonization?
pagenum: 62; label: 46.
title: Do other religious groups canonize?
pagenum: 63; label: 47.
title: How many saints were beatified and canonized by Pope John Paul Il, and how does he compare to previous popes on this score?
pagenum: 64; label: 48.
title: Why did John Paul II publicly recognize so many “blesseds” and saints?
pagenum: 65; label: 49.
title: Have the great figures of the Old Testament been canonized and placed on the calendar of saints? Their names never seem to be prefixed by the word saint.
pagenum: 66; title: Four: Martyrdom; label: 50.
title: Some saints are martyrs. What qualifies them for this designation?
pagenum: 71; label: 51.
title: Was Jesus a martyr?
pagenum: 72; label: 52.
title: Besides Jesus himself, are there biblical figures and themes that set the stage for the martyrs of the early  Christian persecutions?
pagenum: 73; label: 53.
title: Martyrdom is commonly thought to have happened continuously and everywhere in the first few centuries of Christianity. Is this an exaggeration, and how widespread really was martyrdom in this era?
pagenum: 74; label: 54.
title: What is the meaning and value ascribed to martyrdom in the Church?
pagenum: 76; label: 55.
title: How important have the martyrs traditionally been as inspirational figures in the Church?
pagenum: 77; label: 56.
title: What kinds of flexibility have stretched the application of the term martyr?
pagenum: 78; label: 57.
title: Has the narrowness of the concept of martyrdom been challenged lately?
pagenum: 80; label: 58.
title: In the mainstream of Christian life, is there much awareness of martyrs now?
pagenum: 81; label: 59.
title: Have there been martyrs along denominational lines within Christianity, and have there been attempts to take an ecumenical view of martyrdom?
pagenum: 83; title: Five: Hagiography, or the life stories of the saints; label: 60.
title: How did saints’ life stories begin, develop, and make their mark?
pagenum: 87; label: 61.
title: But didn’t these stylized legends also end up distorting the truth about the saints and distancing ordinary people from them?
pagenum: 88; label: 62.
title: Since these legends presented such an unattainable ideal, it’s only natural to ask: Why were these medieval lives written and passed down, and why did they focus so much on the miraculous? Did this trend eventually die out?
pagenum: 89; label: 63.
title: How did hagiography change after the Reformation?
pagenum: 91; label: 64.
title: In the recent past, how influential on Catholics has been the reading of the life stories of the saints?
pagenum: 92; label: 65.
title: Among scholars, what is hagiography´s current status and importance?
pagenum: 93; label: 66.
title: What are the characteristic of good hagiography for our times?
pagenum: 94; label: 67.
title: The Da Vinci Code certainly places St. Mary Magdalen in an interesting light. Who really was Mary Magdalen?
pagenum: 95; title: Six: The saints in liturgy; label: 68.
title: Do the saints have much of a place in the official, public prayer of the Church?
pagenum: 99; label: 69.
title: Do many liturgical prayers get addressed to the saints?
pagenum: 99; label: 70.
title: In the Church’s understanding of what the Mass is all about, how do the saints fit in?
pagenum: 101; label: 71.
title: Where in the Mass are the saints explicitly mentioned and remembered?
pagenum: 102; label: 72.
title: Where are the saints included in the Eucharistic Prayers of the Mass?
pagenum: 103; label: 73.
title: How best can the celebration of a saint’s day be worked into the homily?
pagenum: 104; label: 74.
title: In homilies, how can stories of the saints fit in with the biblical passages of the readings for the day?
pagenum: 105; label: 75.
title: How then would a homilist go about preparing a homily for a saint’s day in a way that blends well with the rest of the Mass?
pagenum: 106; label: 76.
title: How do the saints’ days fit into the Church’s liturgical calendar?
pagenum: 108; label: 77.
title: Some saints’ days of observance changed after Vatican II. How are days allotted to saints?
pagenum: 109; label: 78.
title: Do saints’ days of the liturgical calendar have different levels?
pagenum: 111; label: 79.
title: How did Vatican II respond to the numerous celebrations of saints’ days?
pagenum: 112; label: 80.
title: After Vatican II, how did the historical authenticity of some beloved saints get called into question?
pagenum: 114; label: 81.
title: What was the operating principle underlying the application of criteria concerning geographical and chronological diversity?
pagenum: 115; label: 82.
title: After the revision, how are the saints in the liturgical calendar now balanced out between men and women, and among various states of life, parts of the world, periods in history, and social classes?
pagenum: 116; label: 83.
title: Considering the concern for geographical diversity and universal importance, are there now differences for determining which saints get celebrated throughout the whole world?
pagenum: 117; label: 84.
title: How was the criterion of universal significance applied to the revised liturgical calendar?
pagenum: 118; label: 85.
title: In all, how successful was the attempt to revise the liturgical calendar after Vatican II?
pagenum: 119; title: Seven: The saints in art; label: 86.
title: It seems that so many pieces of art have saints in them. What explains their prominence?
pagenum: 123; label: 87.
title: As we look at art depicting saints, some objects appear to be symbols. How do we understand what the artists are trying to convey about the saints?
pagenum: 124; label: 88.
title: What is the meaning of the saints’ halos and other prominent symbols?
pagenum: 125; label: 89.
title: Can you give a brief history of the saints in art?
pagenum: 126; label: 90.
title: What happened to the saints in art in the Middle Ages and afterward, down to recent times?
pagenum: 127; label: 91.
title: Which saints are most frequently included in works of art?
pagenum: 129; label: 92.
title: Not all churches have images or statues of saints. Why?
pagenum: 129; label: 93.
title: Many people wanting to sell their houses have taken to burying a statue of St. Joseph in their yards. Is this practice advocated by the Church?
pagenum: 131; title: Eight: saints´names and remains; label: 94.
title: What is the significance and background of the practice of giving or taking saints’ names at baptism, and is it required?
pagenum: 135; label: 95.
title: And what is the significance of taking on an additional saint’s name when being confirmed, or joining a religious orden?
pagenum: 136; label: 96.
title: What are relics of the saints, and what accounts for their notoriety?
pagenum: 137; label: 97.
title: How did the honoring of saints’ relics originate and then become such a mainstay?
pagenum: 138; label: 98.
title: What kinds of theological teaching and clarifications were needed in regard to relics, and in view of which problems?
pagenum: 140; label: 99.
title: How did the Reformation critique play out with respect to relics?
pagenum: 141; label: 100.
title: Who are the “incorruptibles”?
pagenum: 142; label: 101.
title: What religious interpretation has been given to this phenomenon?
pagenum: 143; title: Notes
pagenum: 144