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" How are archangels sainted? How does a person
become a saint? "
Answer:
Dear Ross and Lisa:
Holiness or sainthood is not a very popular topic these days. For some reason, people often talk about it in some rather cynical way as though it was not a real-life issue. Maybe the portrayal in the past of some of the great Saints of the Church has made people think sainthood or true holiness is for a select few only and not for all. Instead, Christ clearly addresses the call to each and every one of us: "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt 5:48) If he calls us to be perfect and holy, it must, first of all, be possible and, secondly, be really great.
Indeed, the Christian understanding of holiness includes the idea of utter happiness and bliss. Actually, there is no happiness without holiness, not in this life and not in the next, and happiness is, after all, what we are all after. So, if we want to be truly happy, we must try to be holy, and the way to be holy is to follow the way Christ points out for us. In the end, we all can become saints by walking in his ways and doing his will, which is not necessarily easy, but rewarding.
The rewarding part of holiness, that is happiness, bliss, peace and so much more, can be had in this life already, but only in a limited sort of way. The fullness of it will come in the life hereafter, when we shall be fully with God, the source of all that is good and beautiful. All those, therefore, who are with God, are holy and unless they are, they cannot be there.
This includes in addition to human beings also other, non-human beings, that is, purely spiritual ones whom we call angels or archangels. They, too, live in the full presence and knowledge of God in heaven and are, therefore, known as saints. That is why we speak of 'Saint' Michael and 'Saint' Raphael. They, as those human saints in their company, are there because they did and do God’s will perfectly. And this is the key to sainthood.
Now, some of these saints, angels or humans, are recognized in the Church by name as St. Michael, the Archangel, St. Therese, St. Francis, St. Bernadette, and so on. We can only assume and hope that many more are there, unknown to us as yet. But some are publicly recognized not for their good, but for ours, because we all need heroes in life to look up to and to imitate. However, before these ‘heavenly heroes’ can be recognized as such, the Church wants to make sure that, unlike our earthly heroes in sports or entertainment, they will not turn out to be less than we had hoped they would be. This is why the Church is understandably very, very careful before declaring someone a saint and allowing this person to be honoured in some fashion.
The process whereby the Church examines the life of a holy person and declares him or her to be a saint, is known as 'canonization'. The canonization process has undergone changes over the years. In the early centuries of the Church, such holy people were generally recognized and venerated at the local level by the bishop and people of a particular diocese. Often a bishop would forward details of the life of a local martyr to bishops in other jurisdictions, and in this way the veneration of that person would spread.
At first, those recognized were always martyrs; that is, men and women who had died for the faith. Gradually, somewhere between the fourth and the ninth century, this recognition was extended to those who had shown what was called 'heroic virtue'. Such persons may not have died for the faith, but they were regarded as having suffered greatly and nobly for their Christian beliefs during their lifetime.
In all of the above cases, the permission of Church authorities was required before veneration could take place. Initially, as has been said, such permission was local, usually granted by a bishop in a diocese, but round about the twelfth century such decisions began to be reserved for the Popes and the Church Councils, in order to bring a measure of consistency to the process. Finally, in 1634, Pope Urban VII issued a directive (known as a 'Bull') which made canonization the exclusive prerogative of Rome.
Canonization is preceded by a process known as 'beatification' and we have recently been given a rather well- known and well-loved example: Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The beatification process begins at the local level by the appointment of a 'postulator of the cause'; that is, a person who will oversee the promotion and investigation of the candidate at the local level, and who sees to it that the results are forwarded in the appropriate manner to Rome. The local investigation involves examining the candidate's writings, if any, and interviewing witnesses about the candidate's life. Part of the investigation entails looking for evidence of miracles granted through the intercession of the candidate. Generally speaking, evidence of one miracle is required for beatification, and evidence of another one for canonization, though this can vary. People who die as martyrs, for example, are usually exempt from the miracle requirement. Eventually the evidence is sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome. After a thorough and detailed analysis, the Congregation may deem the cause worthy of further study, at which point the candidate is given the title 'Venerable.'
Now the Congregation begins to scrutinize the life of the candidate even more intensely. The criteria centre very much on the degree to which the candidate has practiced the theological and cardinal virtues. The theological virtues, you may know, are faith, hope and charity, while the cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude. While all of us are required to exercise these virtues, and do so with varying degrees of success, the saint is required to have practiced them to an heroic degree (Catechism: 828). When the lengthy examination is complete, the Congregation votes, and if the decision is favourable, the matter is passed on to the Pope for his final consent. Once the Holy Father's consent is given, always after much prayer and reflection, the beatification ceremony takes place in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and the Holy Father then issues a decree permitting local public veneration of the candidate, who is now known as 'Blessed.'
The investigation of the candidate continues after beatification. Even at this advanced stage, some causes can be delayed, sometimes due to the wait for a second miracle. It should be pointed out here that the requirement calls for a 'first class miracle'; that is, a miracle, often a cure, that cannot be explained in any other way except as the result of a supernatural act. When final approval is given, the canonization usually takes place in a beautiful ceremony, again at St. Peter's, when the Pope declares the candidate to be in heaven, worthy to be honoured throughout the universal Church, and worthy of the title of 'Saint.'
We sometimes speak of a person being 'made' a saint, but more properly it is the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, giving public recognition to someone who has already been welcomed by God into the company of the saints in heaven. By proclaiming sainthood in this fashion, the Church 'sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors' (Catechism: 828).
As intercessors dwelling now in the glory of heaven, the saints are our powerful companions, living in God's presence and praying to him on our behalf, and as models of the holy life, they are due our special reverence. Catholics, however, contrary to what some outside the Church believe, do not regard saints as some kind of gods or half-gods, and are always careful to distinguish the veneration of saints from the adoration and worship which must be reserved for the one mediator 'Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who is our sole Redeemer and Saviour.' (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: No. 50)
While the above process sounds a bit complicated, it is so only because life tends to be so much more complex than meets the eye. What might take the Church years to recognize, God sees in a split second; and what might seem impossible for us to achieve, can be within our reach with God’s gracious help, as long as we have the desire and make the effort to be holy as the Lord our God is holy. (cf. Num)
God bless,
Father Norbert