Choosing a saint name is an essential part of Confirmation. It's an acknowledgement that the Holy Spirit will change you through the grace of this Sacrament. We see in Scripture that Jesus changed the name of some of His disciples to signify that their role had been changed and that they were becoming, in a sense, a new person. For example: Abram became Abraham (Genesis 17:5), Sarai became Sarah (Genesis 17:15), and Simon became Peter (Matthew 16:18).
Who Are The Saints?Through the process of canonization, when someone is declared by the Church to be a saint, the Church is proclaiming that this member of the faithful practiced heroic virtue during their life on earth. "The Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors" (CCC 828).
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Why Choose A Saint?It is important to remember that as a member of the Church, we are never alone, as St. Paul said, "We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1). These witnesses are the saints who continually intercede for us (CCC 956); in choosing a confirmation saint, we are choosing a special friend to intercede for us in heaven and after whom we can model our lives while here on earth.
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