A Question About Canonization

[Silvereel]

I was reading a thread on here the other day in which someone had asked a question if it was alright to pray (or, rather, ask that person to pray for you) to a dead relative, like a saint. I myself am not Catholic but am interested in the religion (I don’t really consider it a seperate religion from any other Christian church, but simply another, and possibly truer, version of that) but still have an obsticale in my parents…
I have been researching the Church for some time and I no longer have any problem with prayer to the saints, seeing it as being different from prayer to God, and have been practicing it…
Now, in the thread in question someone basicly said that yes, it was alright, and that you could pray to those not canonized… is this official Church teaching? It just seems a little bit weird that you can pretty much pray to anyone, with no knowledge of if they are in heaven.

 

[GJx86]

I believe (but am not certain) that the issue here–whether souls undergoing final sanctification can intercede on our behalf–is still open for theological discussion. I would be inclined to believe that they can; the only thing that can prevent someone from praying is complete separation from God, and only the damned are thus separated.

Even so, asking for the intercession of a dead, uncanonized person seems a bit risky, because you can’t be certain that they’re able to pray for you. On the other hand, since God is responsible for “routing” your requests for intercession in any event, I’d assume that He would make it up to you if you happened to ask for the intercession of someone who can’t intercede.

Food for thought. Hope that helps.

 

[Verbum]

Hi Silver,

Praying to the saints is actually praying to God who is the only one who can answer prayers. When we pray to the saints, their prayer is added to ours. So, even if the person is not saved, God still hears our prayer. Does this answer your question ?

Verbum

 

[JRKH]

I was reading a thread on here the other day in which someone had asked a question if it was alright to pray (or, rather, ask that person to pray for you) to a dead relative, like a saint. I myself am not Catholic but am interested in the religion (I don’t really consider it a seperate religion from any other Christian church, but simply another, and possibly truer, version of that) but still have an obsticale in my parents…
I have been researching the Church for some time and I no longer have any problem with prayer to the saints, seeing it as being different from prayer to God, and have been practicing it…
Now, in the thread in question someone basicly said that yes, it was alright, and that you could pray to those not canonized… is this official Church teaching? It just seems a little bit weird that you can pretty much pray to anyone, with no knowledge of if they are in heaven.

If I may,
It should be noted that often times the way someone is canonized is through miracles recieved as a result of someones asking the “non-canonized” persons intervention. It is this prayer and intervention that, at least in part, gives the Church confidence that the person under consideration is indeed in heaven.

It might seem “risky” to pray to someone who is not a canonized saint, with no knowledge of if they are in heaven, but lets look at the factors that might cause you to pray for someones intercession.

1. You might choose to pray to someone like Mother Theresa or John Paul II because these are people famous for their holiness and pretty much everyone assumes they are in heaven.
2. You might choose to pray to a close family member who you know to have lived a holy life. Perhaps a parent or other close relative who you knew very well during their life.
3. You would likely NOT choose to pray to someone who you did not know well or were close to and thus are not so certain of their salvation at the time of death.

So by looking at just these few factors it can be seen that our prayers for intercession naturally gravitate to those whom we strongly believe are in heaven based upon our best knowledge.
So maybe praying to a non-canonized person isn’t so risky after all.

Hope that helps.

Peace
James