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With Blessed Mary MacKillop being canonised this Sunday (Australia's first saint!), I thought it would be appropriate to make an informative blog entry about the canonisation process and how saints are "made".First, the steps (key points and terms are bolded):1. Canon norms regarding the procedure to be followed for causes of saints are contained in the Apostolic Constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister, promulgated by John Paul II on January 25, 1983.
2. To begin a cause it is necessary for at least 5 years to have passed since the death of the candidate. This is to allow greater balance and objectivity in evaluating the case and to let the emotions of the moment dissipate.
3. The bishop of the diocese in which the person whose beatification is being requested died is responsible for beginning the investigation. The promoter group: diocese, parish, religious congregation, association, asks the bishop through the postulator for the opening of the investigation. The bishop, once the nulla osta (no impediment) of the Holy See is obtained, forms a diocesan tribunal for this purpose.
Witnesses are called before the tribunal to recount concrete facts on the exercise of Christian virtues considered heroic, that is, the theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, and the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude, and others specific to his/her state in life. In addition, all documents regarding the candidate must be gathered. At this point he/she is entitled to the title of Servant of God.
4. Once the diocesan investigation is finished, the acts and documentation are passed on to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The public copy used for further work is put together here. The postulator, resident in Rome, follows the preparation of the summary of the documentation that proves the heroic exercise of virtue, under the direction of a relator of the Congregation. The Positio undergoes an examination (theological) by nine theologians who give their vote. If the majority of the theologians are in favour, the cause is passed on for examination by cardinals and bishops who are members of the congregation. They hold meetings twice a month. If their judgment is favourable, the prefect of the congregation presents the results of the entire course of the cause to the Holy Father, who gives his approval and authorizes the congregation to draft the relative decree. The public reading and promulgation of the decree follows.
5. For the beatification of a confessor a miracle attributed to the Servant of God, verified after his/her death, is necessary. The required miracle must be proven through the appropriate canonical investigation, following a procedure analogous to that for heroic virtues. This one too is concluded with the relative decree. Once the two decrees are promulgated (regarding the heroic virtues and the miracle) the Holy Father decides on beatification, which is the concession of public honour, limited to a particular sphere. With beatification the candidate receives the title of Blessed.
6. For canonization another miracle is needed, attributed to the intercession of the Blessed and having occurred after his/her beatification. The methods for ascertainment of the affirmed miracle are the same as those followed for beatification. Canonization is understood as the concession of public worship in the Universal Church. Pontifical infallibility is involved. With canonization, the Blessed acquires the title of Saint.
Source: Catholic Biblical Apologetics, © Copyright 1985-2004, Paul Flanagan and Robert Schihl; http://www.catholicapologetics.org/ap070400.htm
The process can and may take many years to complete. St. Eugene de Mazenod, for example, while he died on May 21, 1861, he was not canonised until December 3, 1995. Blessed Mary MacKillop died on August 8, 1909 (beatified in 1995) and is only this year being canonised.The Catholic Church is discerningly meticulous in their investigations and require great amounts of evidence in favour of the individual to become beatified and later canonised. In the process, a “devil’s advocate” is employed as a matter of objectivity giving reasons why this person should not be canonised. On October 19, 2003, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta was beatified (see ‘step 5’) and the investigative process for her canonisation is underway. It is reported that there is some 70,000 pages’ worth of documentation in favour of Blessed Mother Teresa’s canonisation, all of which will be scrutinised hence the great deal of time taken to canonise saints.Important things to keep in mind:i.) The word “canonisation” simply means “to be listed”, i.e. to be added to the canon of saints (the list of saints); people that the Church have formally recognised as saints (think of it as a “hall of fame”);ii.) The Catholic Church does not “make” saints; the individual in their living was already a saint (you may know a living saint; a person of exceptional holiness and virtue); the Church’s canonisation process is a formal recognition of their exceptional life of holiness and virtue;iii.) Through the miracles attributed in the prayerful intercession to the saint, by being canonised the Church declares infallibly that the person is indeed in Heaven (and presumably has been since their earthly death) and praying for us; it is God that does the healing – the saint, in effect, “vouches” for those with a special devotion (i.e. prays through) to them; andiv.) There may be tens of thousands of other saints that have not [yet] been recognised by the Church; this is not to say that they are not in Heaven or lived a life of exceptional holiness and virtue.Feel free to leave questions in the comment section or via email if you have any.God bless.-Stephen
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I thought I'd make a follow-up blog entry to the last, this time with a fistful of verses from the Bible that counter the Calvinist position on "Unconditional Election" and "Limited Atonement".
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." - Romans 5:6
"As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day." - John 12:47-48
"God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew." - Romans 11:2
"Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again." - Romans 11:22-23
"Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all." - Romans 11:30-32
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." - Hebrews 2:9
"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other." - Isaiah 45:22
"And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." - Acts 2:21
"For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" - Romans 10:12-13
... And for good measure, here's what we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church about God's tolerance of all acts of free will:
"To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When therefore he establishes his eternal plan of "predestination", he includes in it each person's free response to his grace: 'In this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.' For the sake of accomplishing his plan of salvation, God permitted the acts that flowed from their blindness." - CCC, par. 600
* * * * *In my next blog entry I'll be looking at the concept of the "reprobate" and pointing out the issues this idea presents.
Stay tuned.
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I'm in a discussion with a [now] former Catholic that has embraced Calvinism. While the two of us remain civil and friendly towards each other, I've decided to counsel him. Below is the most recent message I sent to him:
If God predestines souls to Him (i.e. Unconditional Election), then he predestines the rest to damnation. Is this the God you truly believe in? That he would intentionally create souls only for them to be damned?
How does that reconcile with:
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, WHO WANTS ALL MEN TO BE SAVED and to come to a knowledge of the truth." - 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NIV, emphasis added)
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, NOT WANTING ANYONE TO PERISH, but EVERYONE to come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV, emphasis added)
"Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?'" - Ezekiel 33:11
While it's true that not everyone will be saved, the choice is still ours: the offer has been made to each and every single one of us:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that WHOEVER believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into THE WORLD to condemn the world, but to save THE WORLD through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." - John 3:16-18
Two things:
1.) There are believers (who will be saved);
2.) There are non-believers (who will not be saved)
"Believes" is a verb, a doing word/an action. To believe means to make a choice; to not believe is another choice. Choices are made based on free will, a gift that God has given to each of us freely:
"He then brought them out and asked, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.'" - Acts 16:30-31
"But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven." - Matthew 10:33
"Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.' And if you invoke as Father him who judges each one impartially according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile." - 1 Peter 1:13-17
Each of us are made in the image and likeness of God, and if God then predestines souls to Hell in as much He predestines others to be saved, then that is to say that God passes on a fallen nature to these creations. If His creations are reprobates, then are they really made in His image and likeness? Could a perfect creator still be a "perfect creator" if what he creates is imperfect? Wouldn't this creator then be an imperfect creator?
Now, concerning judgement and again on the topic of unconditional election...
What function or purpose does judgement serve at all if God has already predestined souls to Heaven and the rest to damnation? Calvinism seems to make judgement (i.e. the last things) completely redundant here.
Unconditional Election appears to advocate a form of spiritual anarchy: whether you're part of "the elect" or a reprobate, what does it really matter then what you do in life? If you are part of "the elect" then you've got nothing to worry about, and if you're a reprobate then you have EVERYTHING to worry about and there's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING you can do about it!
You need to ask yourself then this question: are you part of "the elect" and how do you know?
I'll keep you all updated.
God bless.
* * * * *You can learn more about some of the other problems with Calvinism by following these links:
Total Depravity of Man - http://thespiritmagnus.blogspot.com/2009/11/total-depravity-of-man.html
A Tiptoe Through the TULIP - http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1993/9309fea1.asp
