Who
are Saints?
The word "Saint"
comes from the Latin word 'Sanctus'
which means 'Consecrated' or 'Holy'.
Saints are people who have led holy
lives in such a way as to be rewarded
in the Kingdom of God. These saints,
living exemplary lives, provide
for us examples to follow so
that we may, in turn, follow them to Heaven.
They can provide special benefits
to us when they are asked to do
so through prayers directed at them. When
they act on behalf of us, it is called
intercession.
The road to being officially
recognized by the Roman Catholic
Church as a 'Saint' is a long
one. The levels in the process are Venerable,
Blessed, and Saint.
What
is a Patron Saint?
Based on
the lives and the circumstances surrounding
the saints, some of the saints are chosen
as special protectors or guardians of certain
peoples, places, things, occupations, illnesses
etc as they intercede for us before God.
For example, St. Francis of Assisi loved nature
and so he is the patron of
ecologists. St. John, the Baptist is the Patron
saint of Baptism. Similarly for Desperate
situations or Impossible cases,
St. Jude Thaddeus is the patron saint. Angels
can also be named as patron saints.
A patron saint can help us when we follow
the example of that saint's life and ask for
that saint's intercession.
Why
do we pray to saints?
We pray with saints
and not to them. Since saints led
holy lives and are close to God in heaven,
we feel that their prayers are particularly
effective. So we ask their intercession in
our prayers to our Heavenly Father.
Is
keeping statues or pictures of saints idolatry?
You keep the pictures
of your loved ones in your wallet or in your
home, as remembrance of the people you
love or to have a feel that they're
close to you . But you are not worshipping
them.
Similarly, the pictures and statues of saints
give us hope while we are depressed or lonely.
They help us to reflect
and pray on the action of God
in our lives, tell our children about
the real saints and what it means to
live out their faith and religion. In
honoring the saint, we honor God who has worked
such good and holy things in and through the
saint.
Who
is a Martyr?
The word 'martyr'
is derived from the Greek word 'martus'
which means 'witness'. A martyr is a
person,who gladly suffers death for the sake
of christian faith or christian
morals. By martyrdom, the person is transformed
into an image of Christ, who freely
accepted death on behalf of the
world's salvation.
There are many saints
who have suffered martyrdom. St.
Jude Thaddeus suffered martyrdom along
with St. Simon Peter.
What
are Feast Days?
"Feast Days" are
recognized for each saint. These feast days
are very often the day of the year in which
they died, especially if they
gave up their lives for
their faith. These special saints who
gave up their lives for their faith are called
"martyrs."
St. Jude Thaddeus suffered martyrdom and his
Feast Day is on October
28th.
The Feast of All Saints is celebrated on All
Saints' Day, November 1st.
What
is a Novena?
A novena is a
set of powerful prayers and devotions for
special intentions prayed over nine days.
The Church celebrates the Ascension of Jesus
on a Thursday and nine days
later the coming of the Holy Spirit on
Pentecost Sunday. The Church began to
set aside prayer for nine
days, or a novena derived from the Latin word
'novem' meaning 'nine',
in remembrance of those original nine
days of prayer. The nine days can be spread
over nine weeks or nine months.
Do
I have to be a Catholic to pray the novena?
No! Any one who
has faith in the Almighty and
believes firmly in the saint's intercession
can say the Novena.
When
to say the Novena?
When you
are going through difficult times
in your life like
illness, unemployment, financial crisis etc.
you can say Novena.
How
often should the novena be said?
Traditionally
Thursdays are devoted to St. Jude prayers.
The St. Jude Novena can be said either on
nine consecutive Thursdays or on
the first Thursdays of nine consecutive
months. However, there is no hard and fast
rule for saying the Novena. You can pray as
you wish.
Is
Novena the only way of praying?
No. Novena
is only a traditional prayer method.
A Prayer is basically your communication
with God. God wants a relationship with
His children, and prayer is a means
of communication and contact with the
Heavenly Father. We can just as easily
have a conversation with
God. These conversations become prayers of
their own.
How
do I pray?
Many people say
the prayer as some kind of perfunctory
recital. Instead, your prayers should be the
words of faith to our Heavenly Father.
When you pray, you must
believe you will receive
them, right at the very
time you pray. Prayer and Faith
together allow God
to work in the circumstances
of our lives. Jesus has given
God’s children this power
of attorney, as He said, "Whatever you
ask the Father in My name, He will give you."
The scriptural way to pray
is to the Heavenly Father,
in the name of Jesus ( John 16: 23-24 ).
Personal prayer is done
alone and in a quiet environment
by praising and thanking
God, surrendering yourself completely and
requesting God's grace for your
intentions. You can make a heartfelt request
to St. Jude for his
intercession in your difficulties.
Your prayer can be as simple as
"St. Jude, pray for us" or "St.Jude, intercede
for us".
