6. Saints
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Pesellino specialized in delicately executed small-scale paintings ideal for private study or to carry for private devotion. Remarkably, despite their small size, the figures are described with a mastery that opens a new chapter in Florentine painting. Left to right the saints are: Anthony Abbot, Jerome, Cecilia, Catherine of Alexandria, Augustine, and George. The figure types and lighting reveal the influence of Fra Filippo Lippi, with whom Pesellino occasionally collaborated.
Good question! Thanks for passing it along. These are matters overwhich you can expect disagreement, especially in the scholarlycommunity. First, we know that all scripture is inspired and inerrant (2 Timothy3:16), and thus there can be no \"error\" here. Surely the Holy Spiritwas more aware of the appearance of a contradiction than us. He musttherefore expect us to see the solution to this dilemma. Second, the key to interpreting any text is to determine the kind ofliterature one is dealing with. This text in Revelation 6 is highlysymbolic prophecy. The seven seals are a vision given to John whichreveals certain aspects of the future. Thus, we are dealing withsymbols and symbolic actions. When the fifth seal is broken, the writer\"sees\" all of the souls of those martyred because of their testimonyassembled \"under the altar.\" One can hardly view this as a literalevent, but rather must view it as a symbolic revelation concerningfuture events in the end times. It does refer to the souls of themartyrs who are crying out for justice. But it is difficult to believethat they are all literally compacted under the altar. The point isthat the spirits of the dead martyrs cry out to God for justice to bedone, for judgment to be executed against the wicked (probably those whotortured, persecuted, and killed them). They are honored by being givenwhite robes, and are encouraged by being told to wait a little whilelonger.Several things do seem to be revealed concerning these \"souls.\" These\"souls\" exist; they are alive in God's presence in some sense (whichconforms to Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8 and Luke 23:43). Theyknow of their existence, and of the future that awaits them, and theirenemies. They are very aware of the fact that the wicked have not yetbeen brought to justice. They communicate their desires to God. Godassures them that the wicked will be punished and, by inference, thattheir bodies will be resurrected and they will be rewarded. They aretold to wait patiently (\"rest\") a little while longer. And during this\"waiting period\" they were given white robes to wear, a symbol of theirfaithfulness, and a token of their future hope. They were to rest untilthe full number of the faithful had been martyred (6:11).How can a disembodied \"soul\" wear a white robe The same way that aperson riding on a black horse carrying a pair of scales can fix theprice of wheat, barley, and wine (6:5-6); the way the sun becomes blackand the moon turns to blood (6:12); the same way that rivers or treesclap their hands (Psalm 98:8; Isaiah 55:12). Symbolic language does notexpect or require a strictly literal reading, but is more fluid anddramatic. The point of the symbolic language is a literal event. There is also the theory that dead saints are given a temporary\"spiritual body,\" until that time when their mortal bodies are raised,transformed, and joined with their spirit. Thus, some might view thewhite robes as the temporary covering of the souls of those who havedied. This is the position taken by the Bible Knowledge Commentary:\"6:10-11. They will cry out to the Lord, asking how long it will bebefore He will avenge them. In reply each is given a white robe andinformed that the Tribulation is not over and that others must bemartyred before God's judgment on the wicked and deliverance of therighteous occurs at the Second Coming. This passage shows that the timeperiod is the Great Tribulation, but not its end.Spirits without any substance could not wear robes. The fact that theywill be given robes supports the concept that when believers die theyare given temporary bodies in heaven which are later replaced byresurrection bodies at the time of resurrection (cf. 20:4).\" All-in-all, it seems that there are adequate explanations so that we donot need to feel this matter is a contradiction.Related Topics: Dispensational / Covenantal Theology, Eschatology (Things to Come)admin
St. Ignatius joined the army at age seventeen, mostly looking for glory, and dueled many people in his search for glory. He once dueled a Moor who denied the divinity of Christ and ran him through! He took up arms for a duke who recognized his diplomacy and leadership skills and who trained and led him through many battles without injury. But in 1521, when he was 30 years old, he was wounded at a battle at Pamplona when a canonball broke one of his legs and injured the other. He was taken back to the castle he was born in and underwent many surgeries. While he was recovering from his injuries, he read numerous texts on the life of Christ and on the lives of the saints and this is when his true conversion began. A year later, at the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria Montserrat, he hung up his military garments before a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and decided to become a solider for the Catholic Faith. Later, he founded the Society of Jesus with seven companions, six of whom he met at the University of Paris while studying there, including St. Francis Xavier.
All Christians are called to be saints. Saints are persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.
No precise count exists of those who have been proclaimed saints since the first centuries. However, in 1988, to mark its 4th centenary, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints published the first \"Index ac Status Causarum.\" This book and its subsequent supplements, written entirely in Latin, are considered the definitive index of all causes that have been presented to the Congregation since its institution. 59ce067264