Wanderman in the Wilderness

God's word applied in the world.

The Cost of Sainthood Just Went Up!

Pope John Paul II took a “big step toward sainthood,” according to recent news, when a second “miracle” was credited to him by a Vatican congregation of cardinals and bishops. The first “miracle” was said to have been the alleged healing of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, in 2005. This second miracle being attributed to John Paul II was the healing of a Costa Rican woman, in 2011, the night of John Paul’s “beatification ceremony.”

In Catholicism, in order to become a saint, an individual must have miracles attributed to their name and a papal signature. Seventy-eight former popes have been canonized into sainthood; the last was Pope Pius X who was pope from 1903 to 1914. With this 2nd miracle attributed, several sources now believe that John Paul II should have no problems being canonized as a saint by the end of the year.

What about the rest of us? Do we have any hope of becoming saints? The good news is that sainthood actually doesn’t cost miracles and papal signatures. In fact, every Christian is identified as a saint according to scripture. In Philippians 4:21, Paul reminds the Philippians to greet every “saint” (literally, “holy one”), just as all the saints with him greet the Philippians. Paul even goes so far as to say that the saints in Caesar’s household send their greetings too. Saints are merely brothers and sisters in Christ!

Of course, we are not “saints” in the sense that we do nothing wrong or that we have miraculous healing powers, in fact far from it. We are “saints” because we have been cleansed and set apart by the blood of Christ. Christ “paid a debt He did not owe” as the song says, and that payment was enough for everyone who is willing to become a saint. It won’t cost you miracles and papal signatures, but it did cost the precious blood, spilled on our behalf. The price has been paid and you can be a saint for free today! Need to know how? Get in touch…we are glad to help.

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