She teaches that it is right and available to salvation to honor and invoke the Saints.
34. But is not the honor which we pay to the Saints against the First Commandment?
By no means; for 1. We pay no Divine honor to the Saints; and 2. We honor and praise in the Saints God Himself, who has shown Himself so powerful and merciful in them.
35. What is the difference between the honor which we show to God and that which we show to the Saints?
1. We honor and adore God alone as our Sovereign Lord and the Author of all good things; but we honor the Saints only as His faithful servants and friends. 2. We honor God for His own sake, or on account of the infinite perfections which He has of Himself; but we honor the Saints on account of the gifts and advantages which they have received from God.
36. But do we not kneel down when we honor the Saints? Do we not build churches and altars, and offer the Sacrifice of the Mass to them, as to God Himself?
We kneel down, it is true; but we do not adore the Saints any more than a courtier adores his king when on his knees he asks a favor of him. We consecrate churches and altars, and offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to God alone, although, at the same time, we honor the memory of the Saints, and implore their intercession.
From the most ancient times the Church has approved and cherished such veneration, has instituted festivals, built churches and altars in commemoration of the Saints, and implored their intercession at the Holy Sacrifice; and God often confirmed such devotion by extraordinary graces. Churches are not consecrated to the Saints whose names they bear, but to God, under the invocation of the Saints.
37. What should we have principally in view when we venerate the Saints?
We should imitate their virtues, and strive to become
