Asking someone for prayers before they are declared Saints?

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HickmanJosh

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Hi i am wondering if it is ok to ask someone who recently died (the funeral has not yet happened) for prayers for a friend?
 
One of the most beautiful things about Catholicism for me, is the Communion of Saints. Death does not bar us asking someone who has already passed to pray for us, no more than it would bar us from asking one another to pray for us. Whether the person is in heaven, in purgatory or alive and well in your living room, you can ask any and all of them to pray for you. What would make God happier than showing unity and love behind honest intentions? God Bless!
 
Asking the intercession of holy people who have died is certainly okay! We can also pray for the holy souls in purgatory as they cannot pray for themselves…but they can intercede for us, and are happy to do so, as you are getting them closer to union with the Lord with your prayers.
 
There’s no waiting period to ask someone to pray for us, and no statute of limitations where we have to stop asking them to pray for us. 🙂 So whether someone is alive, recently deceased, or has been deceased for centuries or millennia; whether someone is canonized or not canonized; it doesn’t matter— we’re all united in the way that matters most.

On a side note, though, if your friend is recently deceased, I’d probably be inclined to offer prayers of some sort-- Mass intentions, rosaries, novenas, etc-- on their behalf, in addition to asking them for their intercessions for your friend as well. 😛
 
HickmanJosh said:
Hi i am wondering if it is ok to ask someone who recently died (the funeral has not yet happened) for prayers for a friend?
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That’s how saints become canonized saints. Think about the process of canonization. The way that the Church knows that someone is in heaven is by a miracle attributed to the prayers addressed to that person. If we didn’t have people praying for the intercession of not-canonized-saints, we would hardly get any new canonized saints!

I would strongly suggest some caution here though. We can never presume on God’s judgement, so we should never fail to pray for the souls of the deceased (that is, we should not stop praying for them until they’re canonized ;)). In other words, yes, you can ask your deceased friend/relative to pray for someone else; but keep in mind that the deceased likewise still needs your prayers.

People in Purgatory can and do pray for us and for others; so asking for this prayer is very appropriate indeed. Just remember that you should not neglect to pray for the soul of the loved one.
 
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