Thursday, June 30, 2005

Canonization and the Will of the People

In response to a number of comments, mostly about whether John Paul will be declared as saint. I would suggest that not a few have not read a lot of church history or even understand the modern way saints are made...when it comes to holiness--what the mass of people think about the person has a lot to do (it is even the first indication) with whether God is manifesting his will that the person was a saint. Most saints in the Roman Calendar were made by popular acclamation.

Whereas in life a person may enjoy great popularity and even death some's passing may be mourned for decades...when a saint dies it seems that their popularity increases, people begin instinctively asking their intercession, some who didn't even like the person in their lifetime are converted by them in saint's new life.

Saints like St. Therese weren't even known in their lifetime but became so popular shortly after their death that they were canonized quickly by the Church.

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