The Saints

Those Christians who have already entered Heaven are called ‘the Saints’ and we know the names of many of them. In fact most of our churches are named after them.  Can you give me some examples?

Besides the Saints we know, there are very many we do not know.  These are people who perhaps no one noticed much while they lived on earth, but they had a great love for God and are now with him for evermore in Heaven.

The Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM)

The first of the Saints is Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, because it was she whom God chose out of the whole human race to be the Mother of his Son.  Because God has so greatly honoured her and Jesus loves her so much, so we also honour and love her, and you will hear her referred to as ‘Queen of Heaven’.  So Bishop Ken’s hymn (1) describes Mary’s entry into Heaven:

“Heaven with transcendent (i.e. greatest possible) joys her entrance graced,
next to his throne her Son his Mother placed;
and here below, now she’s of heaven possessed,
all generations are to call her blessed”.

The Apostles

Next to the Mother of Jesus come his special disciples, the Apostles.  They were his friends and companions during the three years of his Ministry, and afterwards they were sent out by him into far off places as his personal representatives to tell people about him and to make them members of the Church.

Martyrs

Many of the saints are Martyrs.  This means that they were killed because they would rather die than give up being Christians.  Some were men and women, others boys and girls.  For example, St Prisca was beheaded when she was only 13 years old.  Then there is the old bishop St Polycarp who, when ordered to curse Christ, said, “Eighty-six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” (2)

Confessors

Some Saints are called Confessors because they were not ashamed to own up or confess to being Christians and by their lives they showed something of what Jesus himself is like.  One of them is St Augustine of Canterbury who brought Christianity to England, and we have probably all heard of King Edward the Confessor who built the first Westminster Abbey.

Virgins

Others of the Saints are known as Virgins, women who were called by God to give up thought of marriage and home in order to serve him better.