WHAT IS A

SAINT?

Activity 1

As we go through following presentation, use the Qualities of Saints sheet

and fill the shapes with some key words that will remind you of the qualities

that a saint may have.

Holiness is not exclusive to the Catholic Church.

Many cultures and religious traditions have their holy people whom they might or might not call saints.

However Saints across various cultures and religions have the following qualiies in common -

They would be excellent role models;

They would be unusually good at teaching people

to live lives of goodness;

They would be able to act as channels of God’s power

They would be intercessors;

They would have generous, unselfish behaviour;

They would have a special relation to all that is holy so that they are able to interpret God and holiness for others.

•A person who has been formally canonized (officially recognized) by the Catholic Church, and is therefore considered to be in Heaven.

•A saint is always someone through whose life we learn what God is like - and of what we are called to be. Only God 'makes' saints. The church merely identifies from time to time a few, so that we can try to be like them.

•Anyone who is in Heaven, whether recognized here on earth, or not.

A SAINT is :-

•An example of holiness that we can follow with confidence.

•The person who kept on trying when everybody else gave up.

• 'Spiritual force-fields', exerting a powerful attractive influence on followers but also touching the inner lives of others in ways that transform them for the better.

Saints are venerated but not worshipped. They are believed to be able to intercede for and help

humanity either through direct communion with God, or by personal intervention.

It is possible that there may be over 10,000 named saints and beati (blessed, holy people) from history.

Activity 2

Using Information Sheet 1 fill in the missing words.

Activity 3

Write a paragraph suggesting what reasons people would give for revering saints?

Activity 4

Some people would say -“The Saints can bring us closer to God”.

Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer showing that you have thought about it from

more than one point of view.

RELICSRELICS

For thousands of years, the relics of holy men and women have been revered for

inspiration and guidance.

Before the days of modern photography, a tangible memento (such as a piece of cloth or a lock of hair), served to visually remind us of those who have gone

before us in serving Christ Our Lord.

We honour the relics of the saints because we honour their lives.

We truly believe that their open hearts allowed Christ to dwell within them and among us.

We carry photos to remind us of people we love, to help us feel that they're close when we're not together, or to share

with people we meet.

Those are some of the same reasons we havestatues and pictures of saints.

Seeing a statue of St Bernadette of Lourdes may bring comfort at times of illness; or a picture of Saint Therese of Lisieux who lost her mother when she was a child might make us feel less alone when we are grieving. A picture of Saint Francis of Assisi

might remind us of how much he loved God's creation and make us more aware of our environment.

Activity 5

Write a paragraph to explainthe reason why relics of saints might be

important to some people.

While it is certainly possible that not all relics are authentic and that "fakes" may be circulating, it is best to treat ALL relics with reverence, lest we mistreat an

authentic relic we mistook for being fradulent.

It is important to remember that relics are meant to inspire us with devotion to God through

a particular saint's example; therefore, it is possible that even a fake relic

can produce the same desired effect in the hearts of the faithful.

We can see a biblical basis for the use of relics in Acts 19:11-12

“God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons

that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the

evil spirits left them.”

Activity 6

Using the information you have been given in the presentation and

one or more of the reading sheets provided, write a response to the following questions -

Some people would say that “Keeping relics of dead people is weird, and

they may be fake anyway!”

Why would they think this? What arguments could you use to support this centuries old tradition?