INTRO: Did you know God, in the Bible, says that Christians are Saints?

Q: Do you believe it? That you are a saint?
     What do you think are the requirements for sainthood?

ILL:     Arizona Witches' Congress Clergy  Review for Sainthood
‘For a donation of $10, you may also have yourself canonized and declared a Saint. In order to be considered for Sainthood, you must either send or e-mail your exact reasons for believing that you or the person that you are nominating are worthy of such a title. Upon reception of your nomination, your reasons will be reviewed. If we believe that your nomination is sufficiently strong in favor of Sainthood, we will post your nomination and reasons on the Sainthood Reveiw page of The Salem Herald. Your nomination will be accompanied by a public opinion poll. It will remain there for one month. At the end of one month, we will examine the results of the public opinion poll. If the poll outcome is positive, you will be canonized and issued a "Certificate of Sainthood". If the poll outcome is negative, your nomination will be declined. You may resubmit at any time.’

Paulina Krycinski  Sainthood for $24.95
Page Lewis is the patron saint of golf. He's held the post for almost two years. He's been a caddy on the PGA tour for almost 20 years and been playing the sport for almost 30. He learned of his sainthood, so to speak, after receiving a certificate in the mail from Bishop Bob of the First Cyber Church of the Millennium. Lewis is not really a saint. He hardly meets the Roman Catholic Church's requirements for sainthood. Yet, he has been designated -- quite unofficially -- as "Page Lewis of Lochmere Golf Club: Patron Saint of Golf." The sainthood is a gift from his friend, George Proudfoot, who bought a certificate declaring Lewis's supposed sainthood from Proudfoot's own Web site, Sainthood.com, that he and a longtime friend, Bob Schmitt, launched in January 1999.

Sainthood.com
Sainthood may be the ultimate gift!  For those persons you would like to acknowledge for their wonderful and enduring qualities - and when candy, champagne, or a surprise vacation is simply not enough - now there is an appropriate cyberspace alternative Nominate him or her for Sainthood!

Roman Catholic Tradition
In the Catholic tradition, every once in a rare while a human being will lead a life of such incredible virtue that they are deemed to be closer to God than the rest of us, so close they can even bring about miracles. Such a person, man or woman, of any race of nationality, is declared after their death to be a saint.

SAINTHOOD 101: Rules for Becoming a Saint
1) The candidate must be deceased for a minimum of five years
2) Even in our modern, fast-paced society, the candidate must have lived a life of extraordinary asceticism, self-denial, faith, good works and inspirational virtue, often helping the poor and sick
3) The candidate must be recognized for two posthumous miracles (when The Third Miracle was written, three were required) verified by a scientific board appointed by the Vatican
4) Once it is determined that the candidate has led a life of holiness, he or she is declared a Servant of God and the investigation of their candidacy begins
5) A postulator is appointed on the candidate's behalf, undertaking an exhaustive investigation into his or her life, works, writings, sayings, family life, early history, etc. – digging for any small thing that might be inconsistent with tireless faith and Church teachings
6) Witnesses (if still alive) are called to appear before a church tribunal and further evidence is gathered
7) A positioning paper presenting the case of the saint is handed to the Bishop
8) If the Bishop agrees, he passes on the report to the Vatican's Congregation of Saints
9) If the Congregation and the Pope agree that the person lived a virtuous life, the candidate is named a "Venerable."
10) This completes the investigation of the candidate's earthly life. Now, the Congregation undertakes the investigation of the two posthumous miracles, if they have occurred. If not, they wait. The first miracle earns the candidate beatification, the second assures sainthood.
11) Miracles are intensively scrutinized by both religious and scientific authorities. Medical miracles are examined by a board of five doctors who must unequivocally determine that no other possible explanation for a cure exists.
12) All cures must be instantaneous and complete (One potential candidate's miracle – restoring the sight of a blind man – was rejected because the sight was only 90% restored). In the case of cancer, a ten year waiting period must assure that the patient doesn't come out of remission
13) If the high standards for miracles are met, the Pope bestows the title of saint on the candidate

 Being a saint is not based on what others say about us. Perhaps you have helped someone and they replied with ‘Oh, you are such a saint.’ What they really means is that you are a kind, or generous or helpful person. Biblically, sainthood has nothing to do with any of that.

Being a saint is not based on what others do for us. Sign us up at Sainthood.com or some other cyber sainthood gift shop. It is not based on people praying that we will become saints.

Being a saint, according to Charles Stanley in his book Discovering Your Identity in Christ, Is not based on how you feel. Most of us don’t fell very saintly most of the time. Feelings come and go but being a saint is always a reality.

 Being a saint is not based on how much you understand about being a saint. Our finite minds will never be able to grasp the fullness and completeness of following Jesus and what it means that God has declared us to be saints.