RCIA presentation Mary and the Saints by David Jensen, 23 March 2010, St. Patrick Catholic Church, Colorado Springs, CO.

1. Mary and the
Saints

2. Opening Prayer
Sub tuum præsidium1
We fly to thy protection,
O holy Mother of God.
Despise not our petitions
in our necessities,
but deliver us always
from all dangers
O glorious and blessed Virgin.

3. Overview
• What do we mean • Honor &
by “saints”? Intercession of
• Communion of Saints
Saints • Doctrines about
Mary
• Prayer for the
• Praying the Rosary
Dead
• Do we “worship”
the saints?

4. What do we mean by “saints”?
• Saints – Grk “hagios,” Latin
“sanctus” = holy , sacred
• Broad sense: A name given in the
New Testament to Christians
generally (e.g. Jude 14, Col 1:2)
• Narrow sense: Early usage,
restricted to persons who were
eminent for holiness2

5. What do we mean by “saints”?
• The Church has always called to mind
her famous dead
• Rev 2:13 - “Antipas was my faithful
martyr, who was slain among you”
• Martyr - literally “witness”; special
category of saints, killed because of
their Christian faith
• Saints commemorated in the prayers of
the Mass and in the Divine Office

6. What do we mean by “saints”?
• Strict sense: saints are those who
distinguish themselves by heroic
virtue during life and whom the
Church honors as saints either by
her ordinary universal teaching
authority or by a solemn definition
called canonization2

7. Communion of Saints
• Indicates common sharing of all the
members of the Church in holy
things: the faith, the sacraments,
especially the Eucharist, the
charisms, and the other spiritual
gifts; the root of this communion is
love3

8. Communion of Saints
• Also refers to the communion between
holy persons; that is, between those who
by grace are united to Christ3
• Some are pilgrims on the earth still
battling evil (Church Militant); others,
having passed from this life into
purgatory, are helped by our prayers
(Church Suffering); others already
enjoy the glory of God in heaven and
intercede for us (Church Triumphant)

9. Discussion Question
• Why do we pray for the dead?

10. Prayer for the Dead
• “In doing this [praying for the dead] he acted
in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as
he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for
if he were not expecting the dead to rise again,
it would have been useless and foolish to pray
for them in death. But if he did this with a view
to the splendid reward that awaits those who
had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and
pious thought. Thus he made atonement for
the dead that they might be freed from this
sin" (2 Maccabees 12:43–45).

11. Prayer for the Dead
• Constant Christian practice in
every century since the advent of
Christ
–Acts of Paul and Thecla [A.D.
160]), Epitaph of Abercius [A.D.
190]).
–The Martyrdom of Perpetua and
Felicity 2:3–4 [A.D. 202])

12. Discussion Question
• Do we worship saints?
–“Adoration is the first act of the virtue
of religion. To adore God is to
acknowledge him as God, as the
Creator and Savior, the Lord and
Master of everything that exists, as
infinite and merciful Love. „You shall
worship the Lord your God, and him
only shall you serve,‟ says Jesus, citing
Deuteronomy” (CCC 2096)

13. Honor & Intercession of Saints
• Ancient roots - Jews beseech deceased
tzaddik („righteous ones‟) to intercede on
their behalf4
• It is permissible and profitable to honor the
saints in heaven, and to invoke their
intercession
– Psalm 103, 148 – Invoking heavenly hosts
in prayer
– Rev 5 – intercessory prayers of saints
– 2 Macc – Onias & Jeremiah intercede

14. Doctrines about Mary
• Mother of God
• Mother of the Church
• How does our Mother help the
Church?
• Devotion to our Mother
• Immaculate Conception, Ever-
Virgin, and Assumption of Mary

15. Marian Doctrines and Biblical
Typology
• The Ark of the Covenant was made
pure (acacia wood, purest gold), kept
pure (Uzzah killed for attempting to
touch it), and kept from corruption (St.
John sees the ark in heaven, cf. Rev 11)
• In what way does the Ark of the
Covenant prefigure Mary, the Living
Ark of the Living Covenant?

16. Praying the Rosary
• The holy Rosary is a compendium of
the whole Gospel5
• Gospel-centered prayer, recommended
even by non-Catholic pastors
– A Protestant Pastor Look at Mary,
by Rev. Charles Dickson
– Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy – Meditations on
the Rosary, by Rev. J. Neville Ward

17. Praying the Rosary
• The Joyful Mysteries
– The Annunciation
– The Visitation
– The Nativity
– The Presentation
– The Finding in the Temple

18. Praying the Rosary
• The Mysteries of Light
– The Baptism of Jesus
– The Wedding Feast of Cana
– The Proclamation of the Kingdom, with
the call to Conversion
– The Transfiguration
– The Institution of the Eucharist

19. Praying the Rosary
• The Sorrowful Mysteries
– The Agony in the Garden
– The Scourging at the Pillar
– The Crowning with Thorns
– The Carrying of the Cross
– The Crucifixion

20. Praying the Rosary
• The Glorious Mysteries
– The Resurrection
– The Ascension
– The Descent of the Holy Spirit
– The Assumption
– The Coronation of Mary Queen of
Heaven and Earth

21. See here for further info:
http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/rosary/how_to.htm

22. References
• [1] The oldest extant hymn to the Blessed Virgin
Mary, written in Greek, from an Egyptian papyrus
which dates approx. to AD 250
• [2] Fr. John Hardon, S.J., Modern Catholic
Dictionary, “saints”, URL:
http://www.therealpresence.org/dictionary/sdict.
htm , accessed on 23 March 2010; on canonization:
“the Church's official recognition of sanctity
implies that the persons are now in heavenly glory,
that they may be publicly invoked everywhere, and
that their virtues during life or martyr's death are a
witness and example to the Christian faithful”

23. References
• [3] Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church (CCC), no. 194, see also CCC 946-953,
960
• [4] Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, Ask the Rabbi - Is it okay
to ask a deceased tzaddik to pray on my behalf? , URL:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/56
2222/jewish/Is-it-okay-to-ask-a-deceased-tzaddik-
to-pray-on-my-behalf.htm , accessed on 23 March
2010
• [5] Compendium of the CCC, no. 198

24. Further Reading
• Hahn, Scott, Hail, Holy Queen – The Mother of
God in the Word of God, Image (September 19,
2006)
• Chacon, F., Burnham, J., Beginning Apologetics 6:
How to Explain and Defend Mary, San Juan
Catholic Seminars (December 1, 2003)
• Madrid, P., Any Friend of God's Is a Friend of
Mine, Basilica Press (August 15, 1996)
• Catholic Answers, Mary and the Saints, URL:
http://www.catholic.com/library/mary_saints.asp ,
accessed on 23 March 2010