The Saints

The saints are a very unique and special part of the Catholic faith. A saint is someone who is very close to God, and who is holy. Everyone who enters Heaven is a saint, but the Catholic Church also refers some very special and faithful people who lived before us as canonised saints. Anyone can become a saint, but you have to do your best to serve God as best as you can. There are many saints who helped people in all different ways throughout history. Many became nuns, bishops and even popes; but many were just normal people like you and I. Some saints were very young as well, under 20 years old. 

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The saints show us God's love by how they loved others. Many went through very hard times, and some were very sick; but these individuals didn't stop trusting God. The saints loved God so much that some were even happy to suffer because they knew Jesus suffered too.

 

Catholics often like to talk to the saints and ask the saints to pray for them. It's good to ask people to pray for us, because God hears every prayer and helps us when we need it in all different ways. 

 

The saints are faithful individuals who are very close to Christ in Heaven. The saints want us to come to Heaven too, so we should ask them to pray for us. The saints also help us grow closer to God because when we learn about the lives of the saints, their lives inspire us. 

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So we have many people of faith around us. Their lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way. And we should remove the sin that so easily catches us.

 

Hebrews 12:1

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Mary is the highest Saint of all. She is the earthly mother of Jesus, and Jesus loves her very much. Mary was very faithful to God, and always followed God's plan. Catholics believe that Mary lived without committing sin. She was sinless through God's grace. God freely took away Mary's mark for original sin, because maybe since she was going to be the mother of Jesus while He was on earth, God wanted Mary to be pure. The Bible tells us that she was in favour with God, and that she was "full of grace".

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Mary was a deep thinker. A few times in the Bible, we read that Mary pondered certain events in her heart. Mary was very faithful and allowed herself to suffer for the Lord; especially when she watched Jesus die on the cross. 

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Catholics don't worship Mary, because worship is for God alone, but Catholics respect Mary as a very important person. The Catholic Church believes that Mary is the fulfilment of many symbols in the Old Testament; such as the Ark or the Covenant, the Queen Mother and the new Eve. She is a role model to Catholics, especially to girls and women. 

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Mary is not a God, but she is very close to God because of her faith. Catholics believe that when Mary died, her body was taken up to Heaven like Jesus' was. Mary is our spiritual mother, that Jesus gave to us on the cross. Mary cares about us because God loves us. She helps us by talking to Jesus about what we need.

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Many times throughout the week, Catholics pray a very special prayer called the Hail Mary. This prayer isn't a prayer just to Mary, but it asks Mary to ask God to help us in what we need. The Hail Mary brings us closer to the love of Jesus, through meditating and reflecting on the life of Mary. 

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Throughout history, Mary has appeared to people all around the world, to ask them to do special things that will help the world become a better, more faithful place. These are called apparitions. 

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