Hail Mary

[Stylteralmaldo]

How old are you?

I am 37.

hays1122:

But no where did I find a definition like what you mention above. Please tell me where you find a reference to support your definition of “prayer”.
I’m here to learn.

I am unsure which part of my response you do not find the definition of prayer as you defined it in your response, but I will try to see if I can parse that definition with the definition you provided and elaborate further if necessary:
hays1122 defined prayer:

No disrespect but, Prayer is “a devout petition to God or an object of worship.”

Stylteralmaldo defined prayer:

Everything I do in Christ I do as a prayer to God.

The way you defined prayer, you stated it as a devout petition to God. As a Christian, I believe that my access to God comes through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ gives me access to the petition I seek from God.
hays1122 defined prayer:

or "prayers, a religious observance, either public or private, consisting wholly or mainly of prayer. "

Stylteralmaldo defined prayer:

Prayer is more than something that occurs in a church setting.

The way I defined prayer here was that I said prayer is more than something that occurs in a church setting. A church setting fits the definition as you defined it as a form of public prayer. Just so I am clear, I did not say a church setting is not an acceptable form of prayer. A church setting is certainly an acceptable form of prayer. What I did not include in my post was any mention of private prayer. I consider private prayer acceptable and even desirable.

hays1122:

I also found this meaning,“the section of a bill in equity, or of a petition, that sets forth the complaint or the action desired.”

I’m afraid I’m not grasping this definition very well. It appears to be a legal definition.
Stylteralmaldo defines further what prayer means in his personal life:

Whether it is enjoying a nice conversation with my wife, helping my friend with his flooded basement, or listening to my daughter practice her piano lessons for the first time.

If what you object to is what I consider prayer (such as a nice conversation with my wife, etc. etc.), then perhaps I can explain it like this:

My wife is a Christian. She is filled with the Holy Spirit. She lives the Christ-life within her. Whatever I do or say to her, I do to Christ. If I pray with her I pray with Christ. If I ask her to pray for me, I am asking Christ to pray for me. Prayer is communication with God (source: wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=prayer ). When I communicate with my wife, I am communicating with God. Is my wife God? No, my wife is not a deity. But I am communicating with the Christ-life within her. I hope that made sense.

hays1122:

May the Holy Spirit guide us in all we do and say.

My prayers for you as well guided by the Holy Spirit.

 

[Stylteralmaldo]

I think there is something to be said for the idea that the ideal in Christian life is for our every action to be a prayer to God, at all times, situations, and environments.

You summed up quite nicely what I was trying to convey.

 

[Highwayhound]

I was listening to a Catholic radio station near Portland, OR today. They actually had a segment from Catholic Answers on the station. I also noticed that this particular station is very centered on Mary. They kept asking Mary to intercede for them to Jesus. They also kept playing chants of Hail Mary prayers. I just don’t get it? Why center so much on Mary as compared to Christ Jesus? I can’t find such deep devotions to Mary in the Bible to validate this kind of attention. Would anybody give me a reason to shift my attention and love from our Triune God to Mary?

kbvm.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

The above is the original post. It is a snapshot statement made regarding the radio station KBVM. The station is preset with the #4 button on the radio. I listened to the station on the way to officiate a volleyball match at Blanchett H.S. and again on the way home, about 30 minutes each way depending on traffic. Not once did I hear the name ‘Mary’ spoken nor ‘blessed virgin’. What I heard were songs about Jesus, prayers to God, discussion segments, etc. They have weekend kids programs. The station does pray the rosary at 7 p.m. everyday and afterwards they pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Here are the words to the chaplet:

Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

The reason I bring up the radio station and how it was misrepresented follows. After reading several threads my impression is that Protestants are Lucy and we Catholics are Charlie Brown, ever charging up to kick only to have the football pulled away from us. I believe Christ wants his flock united, not working against each other.

Love is not a finite quantity.

 

[dzheremi]

You summed up quite nicely what I was trying to convey.

Thanks.

The way I figure it is that if hays1122’s definition of prayer is correct to the exclusion of every other definition, then okay. We certainly do all pray in supplication already. But if prayer is in all forms of communication with God and all interaction with His message through Jesus Christ and His Church, then only using prayer as supplication misses a lot of what prayer also is, or at least can be if we turn to God in all instances.

 

[hays1122]

I am 37.

I am unsure which part of my response you do not find the definition of prayer as you defined it in your response, but I will try to see if I can parse that definition with the definition you provided and elaborate further if necessary:

The way you defined prayer, you stated it as a devout petition to God. As a Christian, I believe that my access to God comes through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ gives me access to the petition I seek from God.

The way I defined prayer here was that I said prayer is more than something that occurs in a church setting. A church setting fits the definition as you defined it as a form of public prayer. Just so I am clear, I did not say a church setting is not an acceptable form of prayer. A church setting is certainly an acceptable form of prayer. What I did not include in my post was any mention of private prayer. I consider private prayer acceptable and even desirable.

I’m afraid I’m not grasping this definition very well. It appears to be a legal definition.

If what you object to is what I consider prayer (such as a nice conversation with my wife, etc. etc.), then perhaps I can explain it like this:

My wife is a Christian. She is filled with the Holy Spirit. She lives the Christ-life within her. Whatever I do or say to her, I do to Christ. If I pray with her I pray with Christ. If I ask her to pray for me, I am asking Christ to pray for me. Prayer is communication with God (source: wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=prayer ). When I communicate with my wife, I am communicating with God. Is my wife God? No, my wife is not a deity. But I am communicating with the Christ-life within her. I hope that made sense.

My prayers for you as well guided by the Holy Spirit.

Yes it was that last part about your wife that confused me.
“If I pray with her I pray with Christ. If I ask her to pray for me,I am asking Christ to pray for me.”
This explanation,“But I am communicating with the Christ-life within her.” It makes sense.
It’s a deep thought,and I don’t go there that often,but I get it now.
If we all pray for each other through the Holy Spirit, there can only be peace and understanding.

 

[Gabriel_of_12]

Non catholics and some protestants who view veneration of the blessed Mother ever Virgin Mary as worship. Confirms to me, there status outside the body of Jesus Christ. For to be in the body of Jesus Christ, a believer does not have any problem honoring the “Mother of my Lord” as scripture states. The point being missed here is that in the family of God, we have a Father, Mother, and brother in Jesus making us all one body, one faith in one baptism in one Holy Apostolic Catholic (universal) Church.

Mary was in the upper room with the apostle when the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost. Jesus states, “if they reject you, they reject me”. So to reject a member of the body of Jesus Christ, especially not to honor his bless’d Mother Mary, is to dishonor Jesus who is the head of his body in the Catholic church. We are all one in Jesus Christ. If one hurts we all hurt, if one is lifted up, we are all lifted up scripture teaches this in the body of Jesus Christ. We are all different parts of the body of Jesus Christ with different functions. God gave Mary a special function to give birth to Jesus for all of us. We ask for Mary’s prayer so that she can help Jesus grow in our hearts, mind and soul, just as she experienced Jesus growing in Her womb, and as a child to his passion.

Mary points those who give witness to her son Jesus to follow her son, and as her last words in sacred scripture Mary tells all of us " Do whatever he tells you".

Peace

 

[peary]

I was listening to a Catholic radio station near Portland, OR today. They actually had a segment from Catholic Answers on the station. I also noticed that this particular station is very centered on Mary. They kept asking Mary to intercede for them to Jesus. They also kept playing chants of Hail Mary prayers. I just don’t get it? Why center so much on Mary as compared to Christ Jesus? I can’t find such deep devotions to Mary in the Bible to validate this kind of attention. Would anybody give me a reason to shift my attention and love from our Triune God to Mary?

kbvm.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

**You don’t need to. The devotion is found in the Church, some of it quite profound, other parts of it more balanced. This is part of the Church’s Sacred Tradition. Why would you shift your attention and love from the Triune God to Mary? If you are satisfied with the former, then there is no need to make a conscious effort to do the latter. However, please keep in mind that the last gift Christ gave us before He said “It is finished” and died was His mother. The devotion to Mary as Mother of the Church goes back to the beginning - at first, it was a maternal love that the followers had for her and they gave her a special place in their hearts because of her special relationship to the Savior. We know this because we have pictures and prayers to Mary in the catacombs.The earliest church that we know of that was dedicated to the Blessed Mother was that of Nuestra Senora del Pilar in Zaragoza, Spain, around 40 - 44 AD. **

 

[guanophore]

I’m afraid I’m not grasping this definition very well. It appears to be a legal definition.

You are right on with this. It means to entreat, ,or supplicate. This is the type of “prayer” that we use with the saints in heaven, not adoration. This term is also used today in the legal system in the United States (It was inherited from England and Spain) where a plaintiff “prays” the court to make a judgement.

 

[hays1122]

**You don’t need to. The devotion is found in the Church, some of it quite profound, other parts of it more balanced. This is part of the Church’s Sacred Tradition. Why would you shift your attention and love from the Triune God to Mary? If you are satisfied with the former, then there is no need to make a conscious effort to do the latter. However, please keep in mind that the last gift Christ gave us before He said “It is finished” and died was His mother. The devotion to Mary as Mother of the Church goes back to the beginning - at first, it was a maternal love that the followers had for her and they gave her a special place in their hearts because of her special relationship to the Savior. We know this because we have pictures and prayers to Mary in the catacombs.The earliest church that we know of that was dedicated to the Blessed Mother was that of Nuestra Senora del Pilar in Zaragoza, Spain, around 40 - 44 AD. **

If I should decide to become a Catholic but refuse to say the hail Mary or pray to saints,will I still be allowed to become a Catholic?
I believe in how the Catholic church worships the Lord.
I don’t mind the idea of confession to a priest.
I agree with taking communion every Sunday.
I don’t see anything wrong with the Pope as leader.
I actually feel very comfortable with making the sign of the cross.
I understand and appreciate all the icons and pretty pictures in the sanctuaries.
I now understand why babies are baptized and it makes good sense.
But I still don’t feel in my heart that I should ask Mary to “forgive us our sins now and at the hour of our death”.
Saying the rosary is nice but I’d want to cut out a lot of what is directed strictly toward Mary.
I do appreciate the stories told about the apparitions of Mary.
I can see why people want to give her honor.
So would I be allowed to be a Catholic?

 

[jam070406]

If I should decide to become a Catholic but refuse to say the hail Mary or pray to saints,will I still be allowed to become a Catholic?
I believe in how the Catholic church worships the Lord.
I don’t mind the idea of confession to a priest.
I agree with taking communion every Sunday.
I don’t see anything wrong with the Pope as leader.
I actually feel very comfortable with making the sign of the cross.
I understand and appreciate all the icons and pretty pictures in the sanctuaries.
I now understand why babies are baptized and it makes good sense.
But I still don’t feel in my heart that I should ask Mary to “forgive us our sins now and at the hour of our death”.
Saying the rosary is nice but I’d want to cut out a lot of what is directed strictly toward Mary.
I do appreciate the stories told about the apparitions of Mary.
I can see why people want to give her honor.
So would I be allowed to be a Catholic?

It’s “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death”

 

[guanophore]

Would anybody give me a reason to shift my attention and love from our Triune God to Mary?

I cannot. For those of us that have devotion and recourse to the Mother of our Lord, she is not separated from Him. Just as the Magi came to Him bearing gifts and adoring Him, so do we. The fact that Mary is also present is not a deterrent to us. The fact that they knelt with her present did not mean they were there to worship her. If He was in her arms, they were still not there to worship her. She is not separated from Him.

 

[Linda_Marie]

If I should decide to become a Catholic but refuse to say the hail Mary or pray to saints,will I still be allowed to become a Catholic?
I believe in how the Catholic church worships the Lord.
I don’t mind the idea of confession to a priest.
I agree with taking communion every Sunday.
I don’t see anything wrong with the Pope as leader.
I actually feel very comfortable with making the sign of the cross.
I understand and appreciate all the icons and pretty pictures in the sanctuaries.
I now understand why babies are baptized and it makes good sense.
But I still don’t feel in my heart that I should ask Mary to “forgive us our sins now and at the hour of our death”.
Saying the rosary is nice but I’d want to cut out a lot of what is directed strictly toward Mary.
I do appreciate the stories told about the apparitions of Mary.
I can see why people want to give her honor.
So would I be allowed to be a Catholic?

Catholics are not required to pray to Mary or any of the other Saints. What is required in a belief in the Communion of Saints which gives us the basis of being able to ask them to pray for us. Also, be aware that for Catholics, ‘to pray’ has a wider meaning than for Protestants. For us, it means ‘to ask’. When you ask another believer here on earth to pray for you, you have ‘prayed’ to them that they pray for you. The verb, for us, does not have the exclusivity of being directed only to God.

The communion of saints is the spiritual solidarity which binds together the faithful on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven in the organic unity of the same mystical body under Christ its head, and in a constant interchange of supernatural offices. The participants in that solidarity are called saints by reason of their destination and of their partaking of the fruits of the Redemption (1 Corinthians 1:2 — Greek Text).

Since the Saints, the Church Triumphant, are alive in Christ, they are closer to Him than we, the Church Militant, are so their prayers are of great assistance to us. We regard Mary as being the closest of all, the greatest of all Saints, so her prayers are sought more than other Saints.

As jam070406 pointed out, the Hail Mary states, “Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.” not ‘forgive us sinners’.

 

[CHESTERTONRULES]

Thank for that clarification. Can you help me find biblical support for this practice? I thought we are instructed in Scripture to go through Christ our mediator as we make our requests to our Heavenly Father? Scirpture bears testimony that both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is interceding on behalf of God’s adopted children. Where in Scripture tells us that Mary can and is interceding for us. The 2nd and 3rd person of the godhead is infinitely superior to Mary who is a created being.

COLOR]

I’ll concede from the start that this case is not explicit in scripture. However, I think the implicit case is compelling. I’ll attempt to make four main points:

1. Those who have died in God’s good grace are alive and that these people are aware of what is happening on earth.
2. Those in heaven are concerned about what happens on earth.
3. That our prayers can be carried by intercessors to God.
4. That the prayers of the righteous are worth pursuing.

1)Those who have died in God’s good grace are alive and that these people aware of what is happening on earth.

Mark 12

Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses,‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 27 So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.”

In Heb 11, the achievements of the Old Testament saints are reviewed with an emphasis on their faith. It ends by stating that they had not yet received salvation:

39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Heb 12 starts like this:

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

I believe this makes the case that those who have died physically are still alive and that they are witnesses to what occurs on earth.

1. Those in heaven are concerned about what happens on earth.

Luke 15

7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

1. That our prayers can be carried by intercessors to God.

Rev. 8

3Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. 4The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand.

1. That the prayers of the righteous are worth pursuing.

James 5

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

To summarize, Catholics, as well as several other faiths, believe that once we are alive in Christ we remain alive in Christ. We also believe that those in heaven are aware and concerned about those still on earth. For this reason, we seek their intercessions given that they have been deemed righteous.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Yes, we ask Mary to ‘pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death’.

We ask the Father to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. . .”

Moving along from this and onto the topic, here’s something that I wonder.

Ok, suppose that I am praying to God. And at the end of my prayer, I say, “And I ask the saints in heaven and Mary the Blessed Mother to pray with me to the Lord our God.”

Now, suppose that the non-Catholics are right eek: ) and that somehow there is no ‘communion of saints’ and nobody ‘hears’ the prayer but God.

Now, are we ‘taking anything away from God’ by asking others to pray for us who don’t happen to be able to pray for us?

Suppose we were in church and we asked “our brothers and sisters in the congregation to pray to the Lord with us”. Now some of ‘our brothers and sisters’ might be distracted, or might not like us, or for whatever reason, and DON’T actually pray for us. (they might even pray ‘against’ us, for heaven’s sake!)

Now, is God going to condemn us for mistakenly thinking that our brothers and sisters were praying to the Lord with us? He isn’t, is He? He isn’t going to say that we ‘wasted time’ because we were asking Brother Hiram and Sister Lulabelle to pray for us and THEY DIDN"T DO IT, so that was 'taken away from HIM".

So why are some (not all) Protestants in such an all-fired holy halleluia TIZZY that Catholics ask the saints in heaven to pray with them? If the saints ‘can’t’ pray, is that taking things from God? No. It is no worse than having Brother Hiram and Sister Lulabelle not praying for us when we thought they were (but they weren’t).

And do the Protestants KNOW that the saints cannot hear? They don’t, really.

Now I made a decent case, I think, that if the Protestants are right about the saints ‘not being able to hear’, we are not denying God, shorting God, defying God’s word, etc. We might be mistaken but we are not sinning, we are not depriving God of His due, we would be simply mistaken in our belief. . .just as we would be mistakenly thinking Brother Hiram and Sister Lulabelle were praying for us when they were not.

How about some reciprocity? Prostestants, what if Catholics are RIGHT and the saints DO hear and join our prayers to God? Not only does this not ‘take away’ from God, it ‘adds’ their prayers to ours. More prayers for God!! Isn’t that something GOOD? I think so!!!

So, why not be gracious people? Why not say, “Well, I personally don’t believe the saints are able to ‘hear prayers’ but hey, if they do, then it would be wonderful for God to hear their prayers with ours. I won’t pray to them myself and I’ll be upfront about why I don’t believe. . .but if Catholics do believe, that’s their business, if they happen to be right, it’s a wonderful thing, and if they’re wrong. . .well, they aren’t HARMING ANYBODY, particularly not GOD.”

 

[CHESTERTONRULES]

Yes, we ask Mary to ‘pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death’.

We ask the Father to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. . .”

Moving along from this and onto the topic, here’s something that I wonder.

Ok, suppose that I am praying to God. And at the end of my prayer, I say, “And I ask the saints in heaven and Mary the Blessed Mother to pray with me to the Lord our God.”

Now, suppose that the non-Catholics are right eek: ) and that somehow there is no ‘communion of saints’ and nobody ‘hears’ the prayer but God.

Now, are we ‘taking anything away from God’ by asking others to pray for us who don’t happen to be able to pray for us?

Suppose we were in church and we asked “our brothers and sisters in the congregation to pray to the Lord with us”. Now some of ‘our brothers and sisters’ might be distracted, or might not like us, or for whatever reason, and DON’T actually pray for us. (they might even pray ‘against’ us, for heaven’s sake!)

Now, is God going to condemn us for mistakenly thinking that our brothers and sisters were praying to the Lord with us? He isn’t, is He? He isn’t going to say that we ‘wasted time’ because we were asking Brother Hiram and Sister Lulabelle to pray for us and THEY DIDN"T DO IT, so that was 'taken away from HIM".

So why are some (not all) Protestants in such an all-fired holy halleluia TIZZY that Catholics ask the saints in heaven to pray with them? If the saints ‘can’t’ pray, is that taking things from God? No. It is no worse than having Brother Hiram and Sister Lulabelle not praying for us when we thought they were (but they weren’t).

And do the Protestants KNOW that the saints cannot hear? They don’t, really.

Now I made a decent case, I think, that if the Protestants are right about the saints ‘not being able to hear’, we are not denying God, shorting God, defying God’s word, etc. We might be mistaken but we are not sinning, we are not depriving God of His due, we would be simply mistaken in our belief. . .just as we would be mistakenly thinking Brother Hiram and Sister Lulabelle were praying for us when they were not.

How about some reciprocity? Prostestants, what if Catholics are RIGHT and the saints DO hear and join our prayers to God? Not only does this not ‘take away’ from God, it ‘adds’ their prayers to ours. More prayers for God!! Isn’t that something GOOD? I think so!!!

So, why not be gracious people? Why not say, “Well, I personally don’t believe the saints are able to ‘hear prayers’ but hey, if they do, then it would be wonderful for God to hear their prayers with ours. I won’t pray to them myself and I’ll be upfront about why I don’t believe. . .but if Catholics do believe, that’s their business, if they happen to be right, it’s a wonderful thing, and if they’re wrong. . .well, they aren’t HARMING ANYBODY, particularly not GOD.”

Great post.

I saw an episode on the Journey Home when the wife of a pastor convert said that her friends asked her how she could join a church where they had to pray to the saints.

She answered: "we don’t have to pray to the saints, we get to pray to the saints.’

 

[hays1122]

Great post.

I saw an episode on the Journey Home when the wife of a pastor convert said that her friends asked her how she could join a church where they had to pray to the saints.

She answered: "we don’t have to pray to the saints, we get to pray to the saints.’

I once asked if our dead loved ones could see us here on earth. And I was told they could not. The reason was that Heaven is a place with no tears and no sadness. If those in heaven could see what’s going on here,they would be crying with sadness.
My mother and grandfather were not Catholics. I would like to believe that they are in heaven. I sure hope they aren’t aware of me communicating with Catholics.
My grandpa would be understanding he is a saint in my eyes. But I would rather not think of how my mother is behaving if she can see me now!

 

[CHESTERTONRULES]

I once asked if our dead loved ones could see us here on earth. And I was told they could not. The reason was that Heaven is a place with no tears and no sadness. If those in heaven could see what’s going on here,they would be crying with sadness.
My mother and grandfather were not Catholics. I would like to believe that they are in heaven. I sure hope they aren’t aware of me communicating with Catholics.
My grandpa would be understanding he is a saint in my eyes. But I would rather not think of how my mother is behaving if she can see me now!

Who do you think this refers to?

Luke 15

7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

 

[AliciaCL]

For “hays 1122” I understand that Mary is a huge obstacle for some people. You acccept just about everything in the Catholic theology but won’t pray to Mary. You aren’t required to, of course. My suggestion is that you take on some more study of Mary and particularly her apparitions at Lourdes, Fatima and Guadalupe.

Also, Scott Hahn has a book about her and the Catholic view. In essense, as so much of Catholic theology our view of her is derivative of Jewish religion and culture. She is the queen mother as in Jewish history, a more revred role than the wife of a king. The people took their petitions to her for intercession to the king. That’s her role for us. She is/was human, the human mother of Christ. She is the perfect example of a Christian, she willingly took on the motherhood of the Messiah, raised him and stood by him through his ministry and death. Christ himself “gave” her to St. John at the foot of the cross. At that point, she became the figurative mother for his disciples. See what she has said at her recognized apparitions. You might begin to think differently. She is not a deity. She’s human. Non-Catholics have not understood her role.

 

[guanophore]

Thank for that clarification. Can you help me find biblical support for this practice? I thought we are instructed in Scripture to go through Christ our mediator as we make our requests to our Heavenly Father? Scirpture bears testimony that both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is interceding on behalf of God’s adopted children. Where in Scripture tells us that Mary can and is interceding for us. The 2nd and 3rd person of the godhead is infinitely superior to Mary who is a created being.

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. [1] 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mary is a most devoted example of one who does the will of the Father. Her whole life was given over in obedience to Him, body, soul, and spirit.

Why would you NOT want these “brothers, sisters, and mothers” to pray for you? Do you never ask for prayer from those who love God?

 

[Pixie_Dust]

I once asked if our dead loved ones could see us here on earth. And I was told they could not. The reason was that Heaven is a place with no tears and no sadness. If those in heaven could see what’s going on here,they would be crying with sadness.
My mother and grandfather were not Catholics. I would like to believe that they are in heaven. I sure hope they aren’t aware of me communicating with Catholics.
My grandpa would be understanding he is a saint in my eyes. But I would rather not think of how my mother is behaving if she can see me now!

They might not have been Catholics on earth, but they are Catholics in Heaven. Heaven doesn’t have Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian departments, contrary to lots of jokes about such things. In Heaven we will all share the same Catholic faith. I highly doubt they’re too concerned about you investigating the Catholic faith.