Saint Worship

I went to Mass at lunch today and was thinking about the common concern among Protestants that Catholics and Eastern Orthodox worship the Saints.

Let me just say up front that we don’t worship the Saints, we honour them. Now, that’s a fine and dandy thing to say, but really, is there a difference between “worship” and “honour”?

A Lesson From History

The difference between “worship” and “honour” is beautifully shown in a document known as the “Martyrdom of St. Polycarp”. It was composed sometime around AD 155 and describes the death of the great bishop of Smyrna, St. Polycarp, about fifty years after the death of his teacher, St. John the Apostle. (The document can be found in the Patristics section of this blog)

In Chapter 17 of the martyrdom account, after Polycarp’s murder, we are told that there was contention concerning Polycarp’s body. At the urging of the Jews, a man called Nicetas asked the Roman Magistrate to withhold Polycarp’s body from the Christians, saying:

“…or else they will forsake Him who was crucified and worship this man instead”

The response given by the document’s author is wonderful and beautifully expresses the Catholic attitude towards Christ and the Saints:

“They did not realize that we could never abandon Christ, He who suffered for our salvation – the blameless one for sinners! – or worship any other. Him we worship as being the Son of God, the martyrs we love as being disciples and imitators of the Lord; and deservedly so, because of their unsurpassable devotion to their King and Teacher. May it be our good fortune, too, to be their companions and fellow disciples! “

Christ we worship, the Saints we love and honour.

It’s time to celebrate!

The Christians did eventually get their hands on Polycarp’s remains:

“…we collected Polycarp’s bones, being more precious than the most exquisite jewels and more purified than gold, we interred them in a fitting place

There the Lord will permit us, as far as possible, to assemble in rapturous joy and celebrate his martyrdom – his birthday – both in order to commemorate the heroes that have gone before, and to train the heroes yet to come…”

On this Feast of All Saints, let us celebrate those who have gone before us, marked with the sign of faith and be inspired as we imitate their example to live lives of heroic virtue.