The Saints are our Friends in Christ

Do you have a friend in Heaven? One that is always there for you who you can call on at any time and KNOW he or she will listen to you, pray for you, and come to your aid?

The saints are our friends. More than our friends, they are our family in Christ. As Christians, we are all part of one big family; some of us are on earth, some of us are in Purgatory, and some of us are in Heaven. We are all part of the same Church, sharing the same faith in Christ.

The saints have made it to Heaven ahead of us and we are fortunate to be able to ask them to pray for us.

Who is a saint?

A saint is someone who is in Heaven. All the souls in Heaven can pray for us here on earth.

This is a great blessing for us. Not only can we pray for our selves, for each other on earth, and for the souls in Purgatory, but the souls in Heaven can pray for us, too.

The saints are our friends.

Through Christ, the saints are part of our family. We are all united through Him.

The saints want to help us.

The saints really are our friends. They know how important it is to have faith in God. They want us to choose Christ so we will be in Heaven, too.

Take St. Therese of Lisieux for example; before she died, she said that she would spend her time in Heaven doing good on earth. For our sake, I really like her plan! Her mission in life was to pray for others so that they would reform their lives, come to know Jesus, and then be with Him in Heaven. It makes sense that she would continue to pray for others (for all of us) when she got to Heaven.

The saints know what it is like to struggle in life.

The saints know the struggles we go through. They were once on earth and they know life is not always easy and that temptations can be a strong pull.

St. Augustine did not live a life of faith for many years. He lived in the world and did not care to follow the faith of his mother, St. Monica. When he had a serious conversion of heart and became a Catholic, he didn’t stop there. He became a priest and an Archbishop. He wrote many works about our faith and is considered a Father of the Church. His mother, St. Monica, never tired of praying for her son.

The saints know the joys of Heaven.

St. Faustina was given a glimpse of Heaven by God while she was still on earth. She spoke in her diary of the great happiness that all creatures in Heaven enjoy.

The saints, experiencing this incredible happiness firsthand, can pray for us so we will live lives that will enable us to be able to experience Heaven upon our deaths.

Ask the saints to pray for you.

If there is a particular struggle we are going through, we can ask a saint who went through a similar struggle to pray for us. It may be comforting to us to know that someone who is in Heaven went through similar struggles and, with God’s help, was able to work through them.

Do you yearn for a child or desire to be the best mother you can be? St. Elizabeth was the mother of St. John the Baptist. She and her husband Zechariah yearned for a child for many years. They raised their son in their faith and he grew into an amazing man.

Have you experienced the heartbreak of losing a child? St. Elizabeth Ann Seton lost two of her children to illness. She understands the pain of losing a child. The Blessed Virgin Mary watched her son beaten and crucified. She knows the pain of losing a child.

Are you persecuted for your faith? St. John of the Cross was imprisoned by members of his own religious order. He suffered greatly in his life, yet he persevered in his faith and he trusted in God. He was rewarded by God with a great, deep joy. We can call on him during trials, especially when we are persecuted for our faith. We can ask him to pray for us.

Do you know what to do in your life? Do you feel directionless and unsure of what God wants for you? St. Ignatius of Loyola developed spiritual exercises to help others to grow closer to God and he teaches how to discern and evaluate where and how God may be calling us in our individual lives. We can ask him to pray for us so we can clearly see what God wants for us in our lives and then have the courage to follow the path God has for us.

Be greatful for our friends, the saints.

Not only can we ask the saints in Heaven to pray for us, but we can also learn from their example on earth and learn from their lives how we, too, can grow closer to God. We are so blessed to be able to learn about them and ask for their prayers. It is a gift of our faith.

Do you have a favorite saint? Is there one you want to learn more about? Take the time to learn more about a saint and you may just find a new friend in Heaven.

If you like this topic, you may also enjoy the post “I Want to be a Saint.”