De Wekker also devoted a column to the above topic, written by Prof. Dr. W. VanÕt Spijker. In the same week of Princess DianaÕs funeral, Mother Teresa of Calcutta died. VanÕt Spijker noted that we have here two separate attempts to canonize (or declare someone a saint). The one attempt is by the world which wants to make Princess Diana into a saint. Her shady side will soon be forgotten, but the bright side will have to be kept alive, so the world thinks. This is a secular kind of canonization. Mother Teresa will certainly candidate for another kind of canonization, and that by the Roman Catholic Church. This will take some time, but some day she too will be considered a saint and will be prayed to and worshipped and adored. Mother Teresa has certainly given her life to a commendable project and has left a legacy of love and care for the poor and under-privileged. Rome will in due time confer sainthood upon her for her good works. Two kinds of canonization ... one by the world and one by the church.

VanÕt Spijker rightly concludes that neither kind of canonization satisfies us. The Bible speaks a different language about those who can be declared saints. They are those who are in Christ by faith, and who become more Christ-like as the Holy Spirit works in them. We prefer to leave Òcanonization,Ó not in the hands of the world, nor in the hands of the church, but in the hands of a gracious God.