Foreknowledge in the Communion of Saints?

[pseudo_macarius]

Hello, I’m wondering whether the saints share in the omniscience of God regarding the temporal unfolding of events.

That is, how does the communion of saints – the saints who, understandably, are perfect and immutable and thus extra-temporal in a significant sense – interact with our earthly temporality when they intercede for us? For example, when I pray for a saint’s intercession, does the saint have the same foreknowledge of how my request will be answered by God, as God himself does? Or is the saint looking on along with me, watching the drama of events unfold?

If anyone knows the answer, or could at least point me towards resources on the topic, I would be greatly indebted.

 

[IHSpetros]

Hello, I’m wondering whether the saints share in the omniscience of God regarding the temporal unfolding of events.

That is, how does the communion of saints – the saints who, understandably, are perfect and immutable and thus extra-temporal in a significant sense – interact with our earthly temporality when they intercede for us? For example, when I pray for a saint’s intercession, does the saint have the same foreknowledge of how my request will be answered by God, as God himself does? Or is the saint looking on along with me, watching the drama of events unfold?

If anyone knows the answer, or could at least point me towards resources on the topic, I would be greatly indebted.

Omniscience requires infinite and perfect knowledge of all things which only God has. The Saints do have a high degree on knowledge in comparison to us and do have some foreknowledge - just not “Omniscience.” However, any knowledge that the Saints do have is attributed to the fact that God has bestowed that Grace on them, not because they inheritly have that power.

A case in point is Luke 16. When Lazarus and the Rich Man die, one goes to Abraham’s side while the other goes to Hades, respectively. Fearing that his brothers would end up in the same place of torment, the Rich Man pleads with Abraham to allow Lazarus to go back to earth to warn the brothers about the torments. Abraham said that if they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, then they would not listen to someone who rises from the dead, like Lazarus. This example shows that Abraham, who is a Saint in heaven, has foreknowledge concerning whether someone on earth will repent or not.

Sirach 46:20 also tells us that Samuel, who had died, appeared to the King and prophesied to him. This suggest that Saints like Samuel had foreknowledge of certain events.

Another example is seen in Luk 15:7 which says “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Consider that many times repentance is a simple change of heart. This passage seems to suggest that this seemingly personal moment is already known by those in heaven. This suggests that the Saints and Angels do have a high degree on knowledge of what occurs on earth.

However, it must be noted that the Saints do not have infinite knowledge, in other words, they are not Omniscient like God. This is seen from the fact that they lack knowledge in certain respects, for example, the second coming of Christ. Mar 13:32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

You asked “Or is the saint looking on along with me, watching the drama of events unfold?” My reply is yes and no. The Saints do display some degree of knowlege of certain events before they occur, see the examples of Abraham and Samuel. However, the saints do lack knowledge in some areas and as a result they have to sit back and watch like the rest of us, see my Second Coming example. I hope this helps.

God Bless

 

[pseudo_macarius]

Thank you so much for your response! This is very helpful.

However, I’m not so sure I would take Luke 16 as evidence of Abraham’s foreknowledge. For one, it’s expressed as a conditional statement, which suggests that Abraham may be stating his “prediction” based on presently-known truths about the human heart as well as the relationship between the law and a dead man’s resurrection, rather than by knowledge of future events. The Catena Aurea (scroll down to the bottom of the page here: catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea-Luke16.php) unveils in Abraham’s remark (1) that those who have rejected the Law have made their hearts inhospitable to the its fulfillment in Christ and (2) that the Word of God (in Sacred Scripture) has higher authority than a dead man coming back to life; listeners can’t be more captivated by a lower form of communication than a higher form. These are truths about the situation contained in Abraham’s statement that don’t require foreknowledge.

But it does seem to be true, as you say, that saints may be granted some foreknowledge according to God’s will. I think of Mary’s predictions at Fatima. And however the foreknowledge issue works, it’s clear that the saints are generously interceding for us always, and are never far removed, as exemplified in the beautiful passage you quoted from Luke 15.

God bless.