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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

11A

Who are your favourite saints and why do you like them?

How do you pray to the saints? How does your friendship with them help your faith?

Do you know any holy people who have died? Do you think they could be a saint one day?

What other ideas or questions strike you from this part of the film?

 

11B

Who are your own patron saints (you share a name, occupation, vocation or special date)? What do you know about them?

Who is the patron saint of your parish? How are they celebrated? Have you been on pilgrimage to the shrines of any saints?

Do you think you could be a saint?! Do you want to be one? What is stopping you?

What other ideas or questions strike you from this part of the film?

 

KEY IDEAS FROM THE FILM

Most Christians throughout history have prayed to the saints, and the saints are a normal part of life for Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Anglicans, and many others. But some Christians feel uneasy about devotion to the saints. There are two common worries. Do Catholics worship the saints? And do the saints get in the way of our direct relationship with Jesus?

First, Christians absolutely do not worship the saints; and if they do, something is fundamentally wrong. When we pray to the saints, we are talking to them – as we would to any Christian friend. We are asking them to pray for us; we are thanking them and honouring them, as we do our parents and those who have been good to us. But this is not worship, which is due to God alone.

Our friendship with the saints is the same as our friendship with our fellow Christians on earth – the only difference is that they are now in heaven. We are part of one body, one community, united through our faith in Jesus Christ.

The second question: Do the saints get in the way of our friendship with Jesus? Why don’t we go directly to him? Isn’t Jesus, as St Paul says, the one mediator between God and human beings (1 Tim 2:5)? Another simple answer: Yes, Jesus Christ is the one mediator, the unique Saviour. He is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” and no one can come to the Father except through him (John 14:6). But part of knowing Jesus is knowing those who know him. And part of loving Jesus is loving those who love him.

St Paul tells us to offer prayer and intercessions for all people (1 Timothy 2:1), and St James tells us to pray for one another, because the prayer of a righteous person has great power (James 5:16). God’s power is working through our intercessions. It’s exactly the same when we pray to the saints. We go directly to Jesus, he is our unique Saviour, and nothing can come between us and him. And at the same time, we turn to the saints, who help us through their prayers and lead us even closer to Jesus. There is no contradiction.

What do we gain from knowing them and praying to them? In the Catholic tradition, there are five aspects of our devotion to the saints, five benefits, if you like. Let me list them.

First, the example of the saints. We see the beauty of a Christian life, a life of holiness. It can be very ordinary; it can be very exciting. They have fought the fight; they have won the battle. Some saints will speak to us more than others, especially if we have something in common with them. It’s OK to have favourites! We learn from their example, even if we don’t want to imitate every aspect of their lives. It is about inspiration not necessarily imitation.

Second, we learn from their teaching – their writings and letters and homilies. Not every saint wrote, but many of them did, and their writings, and even the videos we have of recent saints, are a source of wisdom and inspiration for us. The Letter to the Hebrews says, “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Heb 13:7).

Third, as I’ve already said, we benefit from their prayers, from their intercession. The saints in heaven are so close to Jesus, and their prayers are so powerful, because they have lived such holy lives and merited so much. We only have to ask them. We see how God’s power works through the intercession of Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament, and through the intercession of St Peter and St Paul in the New Testament. It’s true today.

Fourth, we honour the saints, we show them reverence. This is natural. We have a debt of gratitude to those who have been good to us – to our parents and family, to friends and benefactors, even with all their weaknesses. The saints are our brothers and sisters, they are family. We honour them and their faith in different ways: by remembering them, by thanking God for their lives, by praying to them, by showing reverence to their relics, and by visiting their shrines.

And fifth, we benefit from the friendship of the saints and by sharing their company. It’s not just their example or their prayers; these are real people, and we can come to know them as friends, we can grow in love for them and, in a spiritual way, be consoled and encouraged by their companionship. If I’m lonely, I can talk to the saints, especially those I feel closest to. I can become aware, through my faith, of their spiritual presence.

St Bernard summed all this up when he wrote: “Let us long for those who are longing for us, hasten to those who are waiting for us, and ask those who look for our coming to intercede for us. We should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness. While we desire to be in their company, we must also earnestly seek to share in their glory.”