Devotion to the saints is one of the Catholic practices most misunderstood and most opposed by non-Catholics. Yet, it is a most reasonable devotion. If we truly love God, we shall love those who are dear to Him; and the saints in heaven are the souls most dear to God, united to Him for all eternity. Since they are so near to Him, their prayers are most effective, so we ask them to pray for us. We can have a particular devotion to certain saints, whose condition in life was similar to our own, or who we believe will show a special interest in us. Thus, the members of a religious order whose founder is among the canonized saints will naturally have a special devotion to this saint. All Catholics should have a special devotion to the Queen of Saints, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the liturgy of the Catholic Church seven general classes of saints are distinguished — apostles, martyrs, popes, confessors who were bishops, confessors who were not bishops, virgins, and women who were not virgins. Thus, everyone can find saints whose state in life was like his own. It should be noted here that when we speak of a saint as a confessor we mean, not that he heard confessions, but that he openly confessed himself a follower of Christ.
Naturally we cherish and venerate the images of the saints and their relics, just as the citizens of a nation respect and honor the images of the country's heroes and the articles they used in life. Catholics know full well that pictures and relics in themselves are only material things, incapable of helping us in our needs; but we find in them a means of inspiring us with pious affections, of reminding us of the saints, and of helping us to pray more devoutly. That is why every truly Catholic home bears holy pictures on the walls or sacred images among the furnishings. Only lukewarm, cowardly Catholics are afraid to have such representations in their homes out of fear lest their non-Catholic friends may laugh at them.
Of all holy images, the most sacred is the representation of Christ's death on the cross, the crucifix. This should find a place in every Catholic home, especially in every bedroom, so that the occupants may say their morning and night prayers before this reminder of God's great love for us. The most venerated relic of the Church is the Cross on which our Savior died. The largest portion of this is kept in the Church of the Holy Cross in Rome, and small pieces are distributed to different churches throughout the world. Frequently a bishop carries a relic of the true Cross in the pectoral cross which he wears on his breast.
The Church does not permit the public veneration of a relic unless it is properly encased and sealed and its authenticity supported by a document, signed by a bishop or other ecclesiastical dignitary. This does not mean necessarily that it is absolutely certain that the relic is genuine; but it means that reasonable care has been taken to establish the fact that the relic is a true one.
There are three classes of relics — first-class relics, which are the bodies or portions of the bodies of the saints; second-class relics, which are articles used by a saint, such as his clothing or books; third-class relics, which are articles that have touched a first or second-class relic.
We honor the saints best by imitating their virtues. Every Catholic should be familiar with the lives of some of the saints, and especially of the saints whose names were given him or her in Baptism. Sometimes, indeed the saints performed extraordinary deeds, or actions which were not in accord with ordinary prudence. In these things we must not try to imitate them, for on those occasions they were especially inspired by God. But we can all imitate the spirit that animated the saints, especially their love for God and for their fellow-men. They were human beings like ourselves, subject to temptation; some of them had sinned gravely before they became saints. We are all called to be saints; for to all of us Our Lord said: "You therefore are to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48).