Padre Pio is held to be a venerated saint in the Catholic Church. Italian for 'Father Pius'.
Did you know the Bible says that anyone who accepts Jesus as their Savior, is called "saint", and to call no man on this Earth, "Father", except your Father in Heaven?
In the Bible, 1 Corinthians 1:2 says, "to the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours". In this verse, Paul calls all believers "saints". The word "saint" is used 67 times in the New Testament, and it refers to ordinary Christians who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. Christians believe that all believers are saints because of their place in God's family.
Followers of Christ are both sinners and saints. All human beings are sinners because we are born in sin. But not all humans are saints. According to the Bible, a saint is not someone who has done wonderful things, nor is it someone who has been deemed a saint by a church or organization. The word translated “saint” in the New Testament, hagios, literally means “sacred, physically pure; morally blameless, ceremonially consecrated; holy, or sanctified.” In the context of New Testament passages, saints are those who belong to the body of Christ, saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). In other words, saint is another word for a Christian, a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Yes! This!!!!! Our Wednesday Bible Study pastor emphasises that as Christians we are all saints! There are no "Super Christians" and they cannot hear your prayers!
@BritishFailedAesthetic I was going to give you best answer on that, but I see no place to do that! That's always the best news...that it doesn't take good works to get us to heaven. Jesus already loves us, we don't have to earn his favor! It only takes coming to Jesus in prayer, just as we are, as He loves all of us, unconditionally. It doesn't get better than that! Saved by grace and not by works!!!
@BritishFailedAesthetic Our good works are relative is what I know. Done from the purest heart, they will be rewarded in heaven after salvation as extra feathers in one's cap. It is pure heart that matters.