What are saints and why pray to saints?
Saints are persons who have died and have gone to heaven. They lived a life of heroic virtue because of their love for Jesus Christ. The saints are the good and faithful servants of the Lord (cf. Matthew 25:21), they are the blessed ones who have inherited the kingdom (cf. Matthew 25:34).
Christians need to be reminded of the saints because although saints are human persons like us, they inspire us to live a life of heroic virtue out of love for Jesus Christ. We ask the saints to pray for us so that we too can live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. We can always pray directly to God, but God has given us the saints to be our helpers. In this life, God always sends people to help us. In the same way, God also sends angels and saints to help us, even if we don’t see them with our eyes.
Saint Andrew (martyred 60 AD) Feast Day: November 30 We have found the Messiah (From a homily on the Gospel of John by St. John Chrysostom) After Andrew had stayed with Jesus and had learned much from him, he did not keep this treasure to himself, but hastened to share ...
Saint Clement of Rome (35-99 AD) Feast Day: November 23 From the first, faith has been God’s means of justifying men God’s blessing must be our objective, and the way to win it our study. Search the records of ancient times. Why was our father Abraham blessed? Was it not ...
Saint Proclus of Constantinople (370-446 AD) Feast Day: November 20 The waters are made holy Christ appeared in the world, and, bringing beauty out of disarray, gave it luster and joy. He bore the world’s sins and crushed the world’s enemy. He sanctified the fountains of waters and enlightened the ...
Saint Leo the Great (400-461 AD) Feast Day: November 10 St. Leo I was born in Italy. He became pope in the year 440 AD, and served until 461. During his papacy, he presented a clear doctrine of Christ’s Incarnation with a letter setting down the Church’s official teaching on ...
Saint Theodore the Studite (759-826 AD) Feast Day: November 12 The precious and life-giving cross of Christ How precious the gift of the cross, how splendid to contemplate! In the cross there is no mingling of good and evil, as in the tree of paradise: it is wholly beautiful to ...
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231 AD) Feast Day: November 17 Elizabeth recognized and loved Christ in the poor (From a letter of Conrad of Marburg, spiritual director of St. Elizabeth) From this time onward Elizabeth’s goodness greatly increased. She was a lifelong friend of the poor and gave herself entirely ...
Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584 AD) Feast Day: November 4 The season of Advent Beloved, now is the acceptable time spoken of by the Spirit, the day of salvation, peace and reconciliation: the great season of Advent. This is the time eagerly awaited by the patriarchs and prophets, the time that ...
Saint Josaphat (1580-1623 AD) Feast Day: November 12 He gave his life for the unity of the Church (From the Encyclical Letter Ecclesiam Dei by Pope Pius XI) In designing his Church God worked with such skill that in the fullness of time it would resemble a single great family ...
Holy Martyrs of Vietnam (martyred 1745–1862) Feast Day: November 24 The martyrs’ share in Christ’s victory (From a letter of Saint Paul Le-Bao-Tinh sent to students of the Seminary of Ke-Vinh in 1843) I, Paul, in chains for the name of Christ, wish to relate to you the trials besetting ...
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