Monday, May 15, 2006
A Little Biblical Veneration of the Saints
Some Protestant friends of mine have argued that Orthodox, and Roman Catholics (who also believe in a communion of saints), are wrong to venerate saints. This struck me as odd, because, in looking at the Holy Scriptures, it is not at all uncommon to see veneration for the Apostles during the earliest years of the holy Church. The Apostles, who were men, through Christ performed "many signs and wonders" (Acts 5:12). Is this strange? Certainly not. The Lord loved His friends, the saints, and said, of His miracles, "You will do these things, and even greater than these" (that's paraphrasing, of course).
So I wonder: Was it not veneration when the faithful brought their sick and ailing out to the streets, so the blessed Apostle St. Peter's shadow can pass over them? And was it not veneration that motivated the faithful to take the handkerchiefs that the blessed Apostle St. Paul used to wipe his brow, and place them on the sick? Truly, this is a witness, in the Holy Scriptures, of veneration not only to saints, but even to the relics of the saints. The saint of the Lord is surrounded with the grace of God. Even so, things that come into contact with this saint, this friend of God, exudes that same grace. Surely, no Bible-believing Christian will deny that "the woman with the issue of blood" was healed just by touching the Lord's robes.
Surely it is fitting that these beacons of sanctity, much like saints of all the centuries, even to the few of our eschatological times, have been "esteemed highly by the people" (Acts 5:13).
So I wonder: Was it not veneration when the faithful brought their sick and ailing out to the streets, so the blessed Apostle St. Peter's shadow can pass over them? And was it not veneration that motivated the faithful to take the handkerchiefs that the blessed Apostle St. Paul used to wipe his brow, and place them on the sick? Truly, this is a witness, in the Holy Scriptures, of veneration not only to saints, but even to the relics of the saints. The saint of the Lord is surrounded with the grace of God. Even so, things that come into contact with this saint, this friend of God, exudes that same grace. Surely, no Bible-believing Christian will deny that "the woman with the issue of blood" was healed just by touching the Lord's robes.
Surely it is fitting that these beacons of sanctity, much like saints of all the centuries, even to the few of our eschatological times, have been "esteemed highly by the people" (Acts 5:13).
