My Catholic Mother-in-law will not pray to God

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leschornmom

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My mother-in-law is Catholic and we have had several religious conversations. She claims that she ONLY prays to a particular Saint and that that saint then goes to God on her behalf. My cousin is Catholic also, and she says that what my mother-inlaw does is wrong. I am curious to know what some other Catholics think about this.
 
We are supposed to be like Christ in all things. Christ prayed to the Father, so should your MIL. I usually go to God First, then ask the saints to add their prayers to mine. I looked, but could not find anything in the Catechism. I thought there was something in there about prayers specifically to God, but could not find it. Sorry.

God Bless,
Maria
 
Leschornmom,

I think that your Catholic Mother In Law has bad theology and a poor understanding of the Catholic Faith. Unfortunately that seems to be the rule rather than the exception. I urge you to read the Catechism and show it to your Mother In Law.
 
I have searched it many times…not only about this subject but many others. I have never found anything reguarding this matter. I must admit that I have never read it through from begining to end so I may very well have missed it. Do you consider searching scripture (Bible) OK under your doctorine or is that not allowed…my MIL says that its not right to find answers there either because every one hears what they want to? I hope that’s not changing the subject to much but I think it all falls in line together.
 
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leschornmom:
I have searched it many times…not only about this subject but many others. I have never found anything reguarding this matter. I must admit that I have never read it through from begining to end so I may very well have missed it. Do you consider searching scripture (Bible) OK under your doctorine or is that not allowed…my MIL says that its not right to find answers there either because every one hears what they want to? I hope that’s not changing the subject to much but I think it all falls in line together.
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Why, oh why does my detector go off?

I must remember to take it in for repairs…
 
There is nothing wrong with praying to a saint for intercession. However, we, as Catholics and others, should always pray to God as well.
 
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leschornmom:
I have searched it many times…not only about this subject but many others. I have never found anything reguarding this matter. I must admit that I have never read it through from begining to end so I may very well have missed it. Do you consider searching scripture (Bible) OK under your doctorine or is that not allowed…my MIL says that its not right to find answers there either because every one hears what they want to? I hope that’s not changing the subject to much but I think it all falls in line together.
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WHOA!!! That is MOST DEFINITELY NOT Catholic theology!!! We ABSOLUTELY are supposed to search the Bible!!!
 
The Barrister:
Why, oh why does my detector go off?

I must remember to take it in for repairs…
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I would like to know what you mean by that? I hope that you can see that I am very interested in the truth. I am not trying to trick or bait any one. I can assure you that I wouldn’t deal well with confrontaion because I don’t know enough about you religion.
 
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tkdnick:
WHOA!!! That is MOST DEFINITELY NOT Catholic theology!!! We ABSOLUTELY are supposed to search the Bible!!!
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Is Catholic Theology theory or fact? I think that different people on this sight use that phrase but mean different things.
I am quickly learning through this sight that all the ideas I have had about Catholics and their beliefs are quite mixed up.
 
The appostles asked the Lord how to pray and Jesus said, Pray like this, Our Father who art in heaven hallow be thy name,ect. So yes we are to pray to the Father. 👍
 
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leschornmom:
My mother-in-law is Catholic and we have had several religious conversations. She claims that she ONLY prays to a particular Saint and that that saint then goes to God on her behalf. My cousin is Catholic also, and she says that what my mother-inlaw does is wrong. I am curious to know what some other Catholics think about this.
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We are always praying directly to God. The mass is partly one long prayer to God. It is done everyday in many churches throughout the world. We also pray the “Our Father” often. The eastern Catholics often pray the “Jesus Prayer”, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner”.

Our prayer before meals is directly to God, “Bless us o Lord…”. There are many others also.

I think your MIL has a bad view of the teaching of the Catholic church. The Catholic Church teaches that all prayer, even though done through a saint, is to God. The Catholic Church also teaches that all the power that a saint has of hearing our prayers comes directly from God. So you must honor God because he is the source of it all.

I hope this helps.
 
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jimmy:
We are always praying directly to God. The mass is partly one long prayer to God. It is done everyday in many churches throughout the world. We also pray the “Our Father” often. The eastern Catholics often pray the “Jesus Prayer”, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner”.
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I was thinking this myself. Take out a missal from Church and note that every prayer in the Mass is to God the Father. How does she manage during Mass? :confused:
 
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leschornmom:
My mother-in-law is Catholic and we have had several religious conversations. She claims that she ONLY prays to a particular Saint and that that saint then goes to God on her behalf. My cousin is Catholic also, and she says that what my mother-inlaw does is wrong. I am curious to know what some other Catholics think about this.
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Your mother-in-law is wrong, plain and simple. She needs to get into a good RCIA program and relearn her Faith.
 
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Fidelis:
I was thinking this myself. Take out a missal from Church and note that every prayer in the Mass is to God the Father. How does she manage during Mass? :confused:
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Yes, the mass is a sacrifice directly to God the Father and can not be offered to anyone else.
 
Leschornmom,

Others have mentioned the *Catechism of the Catholic Church. *This is a brief (700 pages or so) compendium of the faith. It is well indexed. The Fourth Part is ALL about prayer. You will not find a more beautiful summary of what prayer is in the life of a Christian. The CCC is available all over the place – if you’ve ordered West’s book probably the same place has the Catechism.

The CCC is also available on line with a search engine. Notice that you can search via the index and table of contents as well as by single word: scborromeo.org/ccc.htm
 
Start here:
CCC 2601 “He was praying in a certain place and when he had ceased, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray.”’ In seeing the Master at prayer the disciple of Christ also wants to pray. By contemplating and hearing the Son, the master of prayer, the children learn to pray to the Father.
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scborromeo.org/index2.htm
 
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leschornmom:
Is Catholic Theology theory or fact? I think that different people on this sight use that phrase but mean different things.
I am quickly learning through this sight that all the ideas I have had about Catholics and their beliefs are quite mixed up.
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I’m not sure I understand the question “theory or fact”. The Catholic Church does teach specific things about many subjects. These can often be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as well as several other locations. Unfortunately, as I’m sure you know, not everyone who claims a certain religion actually follows what that religion teaches. That’s why it is important to get the official view of the church.
 
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leschornmom:
I would like to know what you mean by that? I hope that you can see that I am very interested in the truth. I am not trying to trick or bait any one. I can assure you that I wouldn’t deal well with confrontaion because I don’t know enough about you religion.
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I don’t mean anything.

By the way, perhaps you can help me with this: My sister-in-law is a Mormon, and she claims that there is only ONE GOD, that He has existed forever, and that He is a TRINITY of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. She also claims that the Son, Jesus, could atone for ALL SINS! My other sister-in-law, who’s also Mormon, claims that these beliefs are wrong! I am curious to know what other Mormons think about this.
 
Perhaps you and your MIL are victims of simple miscommunication.

Some people have devotions to particular saints, or to the Blessed Mother.

Naturally, they pray to God daily, and at church–as has been pointed out, the entire Mass is a prayer to GOD.

And, in ADDITION, they pray to their favorite saint, and through that saint, to God.

Perhaps your MIL was trying to tell you, if you objected to her praying, say, to St. Joseph, that she prays to St. Joseph ONLY in order for him to then intercede (which means something a little different to a Catholic than a Protestant) with God. With a Catholic, we know that Christ is the ONLY mediator between us and God. . .but that doesn’t mean that we–living and dead alike (for the dead are with Christ and live with Him eternally)–can’t intercede for each other, just as you might ask your fellow Mormons and your pastor to all pray together for some fellow Mormon who was ill, or in trouble.

Could this be a possible explanation?
That your MIL has a devotion to a favorite saint, and that through his or her good example and prayers, she is drawn closer to God?
 
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leschornmom:
I have searched it many times…not only about this subject but many others. I have never found anything reguarding this matter. I must admit that I have never read it through from begining to end so I may very well have missed it. Do you consider searching scripture (Bible) OK under your doctorine or is that not allowed…my MIL says that its not right to find answers there either because every one hears what they want to? I hope that’s not changing the subject to much but I think it all falls in line together.
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Are you sure you are understanding your MIL correctly? How does your Catholic spouse answer the questions you’ve posted here?

Were you married in a Catholic Church? You seem to have been exposed only to the standard, classic Protestant misconceptions about Catholicism.

Entire sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church are devoted to the subject of prayer. Can’t miss them. Did you check the index?

Huge chunks of the Bible are read aloud at every Mass and Catholics are granted special spiritual blessings for reading it.

Perhaps my sulphur detector is malfunctioning.

Peace be with you.

JMJ Jay
Ex-Southern Baptist, ex-agnostic, ex-atheist, ecstatic to be Catholic!
 
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