David Newgreen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
4thofeleven) wrote2010-10-17 07:28 pm
4thofeleven) wrote2010-10-17 07:28 pm
Entry tags:
Martyrdom May Substitute for Miracles
Trying not to be a snarky atheist here, but… regarding the process of Canonization. So, to be named a saint, you need two confirmed miracles. Said miracles tend to take the form of an individual praying to the would-be Saint regarding illnesses and such things.
Question: If you’re praying for someone to intercede for your illness, why would you pick someone who hasn’t already been confirmed as a saint? I mean, wouldn’t you want to hedge your bets a little bit and go for one of the major saints who already has miracles attributed to them?
Yeah, my mind started to wander while watching the news – more than half of which was devoted to ‘live’ updates of the canonization of Mary MacKillop… said updates largely consisting of footage of St. Peter’s square with a reporter confirming that no, the ceremony still hadn’t started.
Question: If you’re praying for someone to intercede for your illness, why would you pick someone who hasn’t already been confirmed as a saint? I mean, wouldn’t you want to hedge your bets a little bit and go for one of the major saints who already has miracles attributed to them?
Yeah, my mind started to wander while watching the news – more than half of which was devoted to ‘live’ updates of the canonization of Mary MacKillop… said updates largely consisting of footage of St. Peter’s square with a reporter confirming that no, the ceremony still hadn’t started.
no subject
There are a few people presently alive on earth whose prayers I request. Should one of them die before I do, I imagine I would still ask eir intercession. This would be especially true if e'd led a life of "heroic virtue", as the Catholic Church puts it.
Should something miraculous happen as an apparent result of my friend interceding for me, I would certainly tell the other Catholics I know. In turn, they might be inclined to ask my friend to intercede for them, as well. If eventually it were reported that many prayers were answered after asking this person's help, the local bishop might get involved, especially if one or more of those answered prayers involved something dramatic or unexplainable.
That said, it's apparently not all that rare for Catholics to "hedge their bets", as you put it; I've seen more than one website devoted to promoting the recognition of a specific person explicitly reminding people that in order for that specific person to be recognized as having "successfully" interceded for Martha Marie Mumblemumble, Martha Marie Mumblemumble has to have only asked that person to intercede for her, not that person and half a dozen already-canonized saints.