The Saints

To most Roman Catholics, the saints are the members of an exclusive club of departed Catholics who had been canonised by the Vatican. But the Bible says that all true believers are saints. For example, in his letter to the Colossians, the apostle Paul greets them, “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse.” He addresses Christians as “saints,” “faithful” (believers), and “brethren.” He is not writing to three groups; no, rather saints, faithful and brethren are designations of the same people.

Who, then, are the saints? According to Catholicism, the saints are those individuals who are canonised by the Pope after their death. But the New Testament repeatedly says that all Christians are saints, even during their lifetime, and even though they are sill subject to error and sin. Paul did not write his epistle to the saints in heaven, but to ordinary Christians. So, whether they live in Colosse in the first century, or in Siġġiewi in the twenty-first century, all Christians are saints. God himself declares them to be saints in the Holy Bible!

Why are they saints? Rome says, because they practiced heroic virtue, and because they attained their own salvation by their prayers and good works. The Bible says, all Christians are “sanctified (made saints) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). They are saints because of the work of Christ for them, not because of their religious efforts. Every Christian is called to live a holy life, not in order to become saint, but because he or she is already a saint in Christ.

And how are the saints recognized? Rome says, you need an infallible magisterium to identify true saints, and that only following a complicated and prolonged procedure, including the proof of miracles. In the Bible the disciples of Christ freely recognise each other as brethren and saints. They are not identified by some supernatural power or a halo, but by their child-like faith in Christ, humility, honesty, and a sincere love for one another.

Further reading - link