A Good Reminder About the Saints

James Martin, S.J., reminds us that being canonized does not mean that a person was without flaws, even after their conversion. This is a big misconception about saints that a lot of people, Catholic and otherwise, have, and I’m glad to see it clarified in a secular forum.

One thought on “A Good Reminder About the Saints”

Mike (Worcester) says:

April 24, 2007 at 13:00

Fr. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy on Joan of Arc:

Many saints—canonically declared and otherwise—believed, said and did things in their time, e.g., burned or endorsed the burning of Jews at the stake, owned slaves and religiously endorsed slavery, that in no way can be considered consistent with Godâ€™s will as revealed by Jesus. Yet they are saints because of the heroic fidelity with which they committed their wills and lives to what they thought was consistent with Jesus’ teachings. God does not and cannot expect a person to act on a truth of Jesus of which he or she is not aware through no fault of their own. God wants a person to follow his or her conscience to the extent that he or she knows truth at a particular time, while continually seeking a deepening of Gospel truth and leaving error behind.

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One thought on “A Good Reminder About the Saints”

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