HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, April 22, 2025 – I was on the Vatican’s website recently and noticed something odd: On the Home page, about halfway down, there’s a Parade of Popes in chronological order (according to their reign as the so-called Supreme Pontiff, successor of Peter). Each “float” in the parade shows a picture of a pope from the shoulders up. Some of the pictures have halos drawn around the heads, signifying that these popes have been “sainted” by the designated papal authority.

As we know (since we know God as our Father and so we know the Truth), all genuinely born-again believers are saints. We were saints from the instant that God’s Holy Spirit entered into us, making us both holy and saints at the same time. And we’ll remain holy saints for the rest of our days on Earth, unless we do something so spiritually nasty that God has no choice but to withdraw his Spirit from us forever (may none of us ever do that spiritually nasty thing, amen).

Catholic doctrine, on the other hand, holds that you can only be sainted after you’ve been dead for a while and it’s been proven via scrupulous investigation by the relevant Catholic authorities that you’ve been a conduit for certain supernatural occurrences (e.g., healings, bi-locations, stigmata, fulfilled prophecies, etc.). The only problem with this laborious verification process for sainthood is that people who are conduits for demons can also perform healings, bilocate, manifest stigmata, and make prophetic utterances that come true. The demons, needless to say, can easily fool Catholic authorities and have been doing so for centuries.

So, what makes a saint a saint? Is it: a) post-mortem after-the-fact evidence based on the witness of a worldly authority with a dubious track record, or b) the presence of God’s Holy Spirit in a regenerated soul? Obviously, I’m going with the second option. And while I don’t go around thinking of myself as a holy saint, I am one. I’m holy and I’m a saint, not based on anything I’ve done or anything a worldly authority has imputed to me – I’m holy and a saint purely by the presence of God’s Holy Spirit with me.

All genuinely born-again believers are holy saints, and there’s not one soul in God’s Kingdom on Earth (a.k.a. the Church) that’s not been sainted. In fact, sainthood and holiness are the prerequisites for membership in God’s Church, just as they are for entrance into God’s Kingdom in Heaven.

I haven’t drawn a halo around any of my pictures yet (maybe I should? lol) or manufactured any dishes or spoons with my saintly image on them. Still, even without a visible halo or trinkets, I’m a verified saint. All genuine born-again believers are.

Just ask God.