It's easy to forget that many of the saints were real, flesh and blood people. Some have been elevated into an almost mythological standing — here's looking at you, St. Nicholas and St. Patrick — but once, they were just like anyone else, only they stood up for their convictions, and many paid the ultimate price. They had parents and families, people they cared about, and they faced very real dangers when it came to standing up for the faith they believed in. And sometimes, they were the dangers. From horrific martyrdoms to bizarre lifestyle choices, here's the messed up and tragic truth about these Christian saints.
Weird Stuff About Catholic Saints That We Can't Ignore Anymore
It's easy to forget that many of the saints were real, flesh and blood people. Some have been elevated into an almost mythological standing — here's looking at you, St. Nicholas and St. Patrick — but once, they were just like anyone else, only they stood up for their convictions, and many paid the ultimate price. They had families, people they cared about, and they faced very real dangers when it came to standing up for the faith they believed in. And sometimes, they were the dangers...
Saints need to check a lot of boxes before they're even considered. According to Mathew Schmalz, an associate professor of religion at the College of the Holy Cross (via The Conversation), sainthood is reserved for those who demonstrate some of the so-called "cardinal virtues" of justice, temperance, fortitude, and prudence. But they can't just be good people, they also have to be shown to abide by what are called "theological virtues," and those are charity, hope, and faith. In short? It doesn't matter how good a person you are, if you're not a believer, you can't be a saint.
When looking at depictions of saints, it's not unusual to come across some perplexing images. Saint Peter is often shown with giant keys. Saint Thomas has an enormous T-Square, sometimes half his own size. Saint Pharaildis usually has a goose. Not all of them are so whimsical however. Many saints are depicted in gory scenes, holding their own heads or disemboweled entrails.
Many saints were said to have psychic powers, and they used these abilities to help others, thus leading to their saintly reputations even while alive. But it wasn't always just other people they made predictions for; in some cases, these saints used their gifts of foresight to see their own deaths. Other times, saints without any seemingly supernatural abilities would have a vision towards the end, telling them their death was about to happen. Sometimes these visions or predictions were as detailed as the exact time and place the death would occur.
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