Q. 77. Are there Saints in heaven whose names we do not know? A. There are many Saints in heaven whose names we do not know, because all who are admitted into heaven are truly Saints.
Q. 78. To whom do we usually give the name of “Saints”? A. We usually apply the name of “Saints” to those only whom the Church has Canonized.
Q. 79. What is the Canonization of a Saint? A. Canonization is a solemn ceremony by which the Church declares that a certain person, now dead, was remarkable for extraordinary holiness while on earth, and is now in heaven worthy of our veneration.
Q. 80. How does the Canonization of a Saint take place? A. In the Canonization of a Saint (1) the accounts of the person’s holy life, heroic virtue, and miracles are collected and sent to the Holy See; (2) those accounts are examined by the Holy Father or his cardinals, and, if found to be true and sufficient, (3) the Saint is Canonized or perhaps only beatified.
Q. 81. What is the difference between the honors conferred on a person by beatification and Canonization? A. Beatification limits the honor to be given to the beatified by restricting it to certain places or persons; whereas Canonization is the highest honor and permits all to venerate the Saint everywhere.
Q. 82. Why does the Church Canonize Saints? A. The Church Canonizes Saints (1) to honor them, and (2) to make us certain that they are in heaven, and may, therefore, be invoked in our prayers.
Q. 83. Can the Church err in the Canonization of a Saint? A. The Church cannot err in matters of faith or morals, and the Canonization of a Saint is a matter of faith and morals.
Q. 84. What is the difference between a Saint and an Angel? A. The Saints lived upon the earth in bodies like our own. The Angels never inhabited the earth, though they visit it and remain for a time with us. They have not now and never will have bodies.
Q. 85. Through what means may we obtain the “forgiveness of sins”? A. We may obtain the “forgiveness of sins” especially through the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance.
Q. 86. What do we mean by the “resurrection of the body”? A. By the “resurrection of the body” we mean that the bodies of the dead shall be restored to life, rise again on the last day, and be united to the souls from which they were separated by death.
Q. 87. How is the resurrection possible when the bodies are reduced to ashes and mingled with the soil? A. The resurrection is possible to God, who can do all things, and who, having created the bodies out of nothing in the beginning, can easily collect and put together their scattered parts by an act of His all-powerful will.
Q. 88. What does “life everlasting” mean? A. “Life everlasting” means endless happiness in heaven; as endless misery in hell may be called “everlasting death.”
Q. 89. Is the Apostles’ Creed an act of faith? A. The Apostles’ Creed is an act of faith, because by it we profess our belief in the truths it contains.