Who are they and what they do. Saints and saints. Who are they and what they do.

How many Saints? Not an easy question to answer. Here’s why. Before AD 1000, Saints were declared by local popularity. Pope Sixtus V began the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 1588. In 1988, the Congregation published the Index ac status Causarum (thanks to Stephen Beale> http://catholicexchange.com/saints-101-how-many- saints-are-there)

Is your saintly Mother on that list? She could be if she meets these criteria (before and after death.) 1. Step one: Wait five years - or don't. ... Most recently such as with Pope John Paul II, he was canonized very soon after death. So the five year rule, doesn’t always apply. 2. Step two: Become a 'servant of God' As St. Thomas More approached the scaffold before his beheading, he spoke his famous last words, "I die the King's good servant, but God's first.” We are called to make the ultimate sacrifice, we are and will be immersed in moral and social situations that present threats to the dignity of the person, especially our cherished religious freedom.3 And like St. Thomas More, we, especially in our call as baptized Christians, have a right and duty to defend the truths of the person, including our religious freedom. http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catechesis/catechetical-sunday/human-dignity/family-resource-henricks.cfm .

3. Step three: Show proof of a life of 'heroic virtue' … When the Servant of God has been declared a Martyr he or she may be beatified, that is, declared “Blessed”. If, on the other hand, the Servant of God has been declared to have lived a life of heroic virtue, it must be proven that one miracle has been granted by God through the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God.  Then,  he or she is declared “Blessed.” Examples:

4. Step four: Verified miracles. SAINT: For all those beatified, both Martyrs and Confessors, to be canonized one miracle is required. It must be proven that this event took place through the intercession of the Blessed and after the date of his or her Beatification . 

5.Step five: Canonisation. When this has been proven, the Pope proceeds to the ceremony of Canonization, which is an act of the infallible teaching authority of the Pope. By this act, the Church declares that he or she is a Saint in heaven with God. It also means that the Saint is worthy of public veneration by the universal Church, and held up as a model for imitation and a powerful intercessor for all.   Catholics do not “worship” the Saints but rather venerate them. United in the Communion of Saints the faithful on earth ask the faithful in heaven, who are their brothers and sisters in Christ, to join them in presenting their needs humbly and prayerfully to God. http://solanuscasey.org/about-us/the-cause-for-sainthood/learn-more-about-the-steps-to-sainthood

Saint or saint? There are several steps in the Church’s process of declaring someone a saint. From first to last, the corresponding titles are Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, and Saint. "Blesseds" are those who have been beatified. Beatification requires one attested miracle and allows the beatified person to be venerated by his local church. Canonization requires two attested miracles and allows veneration of the saint by the universal Church. Canonization is an infallible statement by the Church that the saint is in heaven. Three ways to increase your blessing to others. a.Safeguarding the dignity of every human person. b. Working against abortion by educating yourself and others about why it is wrong. c. Serve those who suffer in any way. The Poor, the hungry, the lonely, the sick. d. Spread the gospel through actions and teachings of the Word of God. e. Attend Mass and go to Confessions.

St. Waldetrudis Saint of the Day 04/09/17 Also known as Waltrude or Waudru, she was the daughter of Saints Walbert and Bertilia and sister of St. Aldegunus of Maubeuge. Marrying St. Vincent Madelgarius, she became the mother of saints Landericus, Madalberta, Adeltrudis, and Dentelin. When her husband chose to become a  monk about 643 in the monastery of Hautrnont, France, he had founded, she established a convent at Chateaulieu, around which grew up the town of Mons, Belgium. Wow and entire family. Something we all can strive in living Christ daily. Amen.