Can we not ask Saints to intercede?

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I am having second thoughts about intercession of Saints. I accept Saints are special people and it is ok to ask them to intercede. But, why not just ask only Jesus to intercede as He is the only Son, and no father listens to anyone as favorable as his own son? Jesus said (John 15:16) “…whatever you ask of Father in my name, you may get it.”
So, is it not more effective to directly petition our needs through Jesus than a Saint?
 
No one type of prayer is any more “effective” than another.
How we pray does not matter, that fact that we pray is what is important.
 
Joe55 said:
I am having second thoughts about intercession of Saints. I accept Saints are special people and it is ok to ask them to intercede. But, why not just ask only Jesus to intercede as He is the only Son, and no father listens to anyone as favorable as his own son? Jesus said (John 15:16) “…whatever you ask of Father in my name, you may get it.”
So, is it not more effective to directly petition our needs through Jesus than a Saint?
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CCC

2634 Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, especially sinners.112 He is "able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."113 The Holy Spirit "himself intercedes for us . . . and intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."114

2635 Since Abraham, intercession - asking on behalf of another has been characteristic of a heart attuned to God’s mercy. In the age of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ’s, as an expression of the communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays looks “not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others,” even to the point of praying for those who do him harm.115

You are not an island. Don’t separate yourself from the communion.
 
Joe55 said:
is it not more effective to directly petition our needs through Jesus than a Saint?
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Some prayers will probably be answered through direct petition, but other prayers God only wants to answer through intercession. The example of Job is a classic: God said He wouldn’t answer the direct petitions of Job’s three companions, but would only answer their prayer if they got Job to intercede on their behalf. Job 42:7-9. Similarly, there are some direct petitions that God won’t answer, except if they are asked through the intercession of the Saints – just like happened with Job. That is why it is good to pray BOTH directly to the Father, AND/OR through Jesus’ intercession, AND/OR through the Saints’ intercession.
 
I was reading a thing on Fatima yesterday. Part of it stood out to me:
It seems that God loves to “delegate” His work, He has given it to us to be the “secondary” causes of His work, including the salvation of our “brother” and our “neighbor.” And though His Blood poured out on Calvary was sufficient to save all souls, He requires that we, the living branches on Him, the Vine, ask for and even “activate” its application to those souls by our prayers and our sacrifices.
At Fatima both the Angel and Our Lady asked for sacrifices for sinners. They said, “Sacrifice yourself.” This is done largely by generously making individual sacrifices.
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Perhaps if you grow in the habit of interceding for other people, you might learn to embrace asking others to intercede for you as well.
 
Joe55 said:
Good point. I agree it is the latter. But, I’m talking about what is more effective – intercession or direct petition?
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Dear friend, GOD setup the system up, HE decided it was good that human prayed for other humans, we can see examples of this, back in the Old Testament. Abraham, Moses and on and on.

Also remember, that even if you pray (ask) directly to GOD for anything, it is HIS will whether you get it or not. This is why we should always conclude our prayers (petitions) either to a Saint, Jesus or GOD the Father with “…however, not my will be done but Yours”.

…
 
dmar198 said:
Some prayers will probably be answered through direct petition, but other prayers God only wants to answer through intercession. The example of Job is a classic: God said He wouldn’t answer the direct petitions of Job’s three companions, but would only answer their prayer if they got Job to intercede on their behalf. Job 42:7-9. Similarly, there are some direct petitions that God won’t answer, except if they are asked through the intercession of the Saints – just like happened with Job. That is why it is good to pray BOTH directly to the Father, AND/OR through Jesus’ intercession, AND/OR through the Saints’ intercession.
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Thanks for the Job 42:7-9 reference. After reading it I get the impression God wants to hear only the prayers of righteous. So, as Catholics, unless we purify us (through Confession and Penance) there is no point praying directly to Our Father. Until we become righteous in the eyes of God, we could ask Saints to intercede? OR, as you said it is good to pray BOTH direct and through Saints all the time. Something for me to ponder…
 
JM3 said:
CCC

2634 Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, especially sinners.112 He is "able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."113 The Holy Spirit "himself intercedes for us . . . and intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."114

2635 Since Abraham, intercession - asking on behalf of another has been characteristic of a heart attuned to God’s mercy. In the age of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ’s, as an expression of the communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays looks “not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others,” even to the point of praying for those who do him harm.115

You are not an island. Don’t separate yourself from the communion.
Click to expand...
I did not ask the question, but the answer, through the teachings of our Church, gratefully received. 🙂
 
Padre Pio spoke about this.
(I’m paraphrasing here).
In the military, when a private needs something he does not walk up to the general and ask for it. He observes the chain of command and asks his superior, who then if he deems it worthy, sends the request on up the chain of command.

In practice it has often been noted that requests turned down by Jesus will often be granted after a petition to St. Mary, as Jesus will not deny His Mother anything she wishes.
Same with Padre Pio. If he said no to a request, people would often to to the gravesite of his parents and petition them, and Padre Pio would occasionally relent and agree to the petition.

The saints are there to intercede on our behalf, it is their joy to be able to do so.
Take advantage of it, it’s for your benefit.
 
Joe55 said:
Thanks for the Job 42:7-9 reference. After reading it I get the impression God wants to hear only the prayers of righteous. So, as Catholics, unless we purify us (through Confession and Penance) there is no point praying directly to Our Father. Until we become righteous in the eyes of God, we could ask Saints to intercede? OR, as you said it is good to pray BOTH direct and through Saints all the time. Something for me to ponder…
Click to expand...
Well, we can pray both to the Lord and to the Saints irrespective of our merits and level of holiness. However, sometimes it is more logical to address a specific petition to a Saint. For example, imagine You want to do well in sports. You want to pray about that, but how do You know God really wants You to do well in sports? Then, You pray to St. Sebastian, who is a patron saint of athletes and who is without any doubt interested in sports and people who go for them. And then, considering St. Sebastian’s great merits before the Lord, You know God will not ignore his petitions on Your behalf.

Also, yes, sometimes for a sinner it is easier to address the God through a saint. Although God is the most Merciful, He is also the supreme Judge. And, if one messed the things up badly, it is sometimes hard to address the Judge directly - You know You deserve punishment! That’s why You ask Virgin Mary, who is Your Mother, to help You to reconcile with the Lord. It is like, when You do something bad to Your parents, sometimes it is easier to address Your mom first, so that she might arrange for a way You might say formally apologize and make satisfaction to Your father.
 
‘God is wonderful in his saints: the God of Israel is he who will give power and strength to his people. Blessed be God.’ (Ps. 68:35)

The process of canonization is a testament to the fact that God is glorified by His Saints.

Heaven is a place of activity. If the Saints could pray for souls while they were on earth, surely they can pray for souls while they are in Heaven - especially now that their love and understanding is so much greater!
 
Would you ever ask your Mother to pray for you too (assuming that you are praying also)? Do you believe that God intercedes through people everyday on His green Earth? The prayers and the intercession of Jesus through the Saints is just that simple.

Blessings!
 
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