Prayers to the Saints

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Here is an example of a Catholic prayer to St Anthony of Padua;

***Unfailing Prayer to Saint Anthony
Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints. **

O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God
and Charity for His creatures made you worthy, when on
earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on
your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in
trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought,** I implore
of you to obtain for me (request).** The answer to my prayer
may require a miracle. Even so, you are the saint of
Miracles.

O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full
of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the
Sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms, and
the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.

Amen. (Say 13 Paters, Aves, and Glorias) *

Such tender devotion and intercessory prayer is cherished by Catholics, and I invite my Protestant brethren to try it too, you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.

:blessyou:
 
Vile_Servant said:
Here is an example of a Catholic prayer to St Anthony of Padua;

***Unfailing Prayer to Saint Anthony
Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints. ***

O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God
and Charity for His creatures made you worthy, when on
earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on
your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in
trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought,** I implore
of you to obtain for me (request).** The answer to my prayer
may require a miracle. Even so, you are the saint of
Miracles.

O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full
of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the
Sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms, and
the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.

Amen. (Say 13 Paters, Aves, and Glorias)

Such tender devotion and intercessory prayer is cherished by Catholics, and I invite my Protestant brethren to try it too, you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.

:blessyou:
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???

Not even once does the Bible teach us to pray to any man.

Acts 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying** to God** for him.

Acts 16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Acts 4:24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.

Prayers are ALWAYS directed straight to God. ONLY.

Man -------> Jesus/God

.
 
It doesn’t take being Catholic, or even agreeing with the invocation of saints to understand it.
=Mosacked;6420878]???
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Not even once does the Bible teach us to pray to any man.
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Depends on what you mean by prayer. To pray can also mean to ask with ernestness. “I pray the court show mercy”. Prayers to saints are requests for prayers to God, in the same way that we all pray for others.
Acts 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying** to God** for him.
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Exactly. The Church, which includes the saints, were praying for them (who knows, maybe they asked the Church to do so.)
Prayers are ALWAYS directed straight to God. ONLY.
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Catholics, I believe, would agree with this, but asking others to pray for you is a good thing. The issue with invocation of saints is not that it is idolatry (its not), but do the saints hear individual requests for intercession.

Jon
 
JonNC,

Thank you for your post. I have never understood how anyone could not comprehend the beauty and reasoning in praying for a saints intercession once it was explained to them that the prayer is through them, not to them. It’s such an advantage to have more holy persons praying on your behalf for you as well as your own prayer. And to reiterate what should be known, a prayer to a saint does not substitute for a personal prayer to God, only supplements it.
 
There is very little mention of invocation to the Saints before the Gregorian Canon was composed around 500. That said one would wonder, what’s the need to pray to Saints when we can pray to God. Am I really supposed to believe that praying 13 “paters, aves, and glory bes” is going to save me? I can’t believe this because Jesus tells us that your faith has saved you (Luke 7:50). Also Jesus teaches us how to pray in the Beatitudes, he doesn’t mention this.

Now as far as Purgatory goes, Luther did not flat out oppose praying to the dead, but he opposed the cultic devotion of daily Requiem Masses and Gregorian Masses. I remember reading once he said to offer one or two short prayers for a dead relative or friend and move on.
 
DorianGregorian said:
There is very little mention of invocation to the Saints before the Gregorian Canon was composed around 500. That said one would wonder, what’s the need to pray to Saints when we can pray to God. Am I really supposed to believe that praying 13 “paters, aves, and glory bes” is going to save me? I can’t believe this because Jesus tells us that your faith has saved you (Luke 7:50). Also Jesus teaches us how to pray in the Beatitudes, he doesn’t mention this.

Now as far as Purgatory goes, Luther did not flat out oppose praying to the dead, but he opposed the cultic devotion of daily Requiem Masses and Gregorian Masses. I remember reading once he said to offer one or two short prayers for a dead relative or friend and move on.
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One as you say ‘would wonder’ what was the need to ask anyone to pray for you when you can pray to God yourself.

Christ also taught us to pray the Lord’s prayer.

In the garden, Christ prayed the selfsame words 3 times.

**Rev 4:8 And the four living creatures had each of them six wings: and round about and within they are full of eyes. And they rested not day and night, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. **
 
I did not say Christ didn’t teach us the Lord’s Prayer, just that he didn’t teach praying as if it were a formula, pray X prayer, Y times, for Z result.

Four living creatures, could that not refer to the four corners of the earth? Of course we should pray for each other, I was saying that we can only rely on God to grant us our needs, not men.
 
DorianGregorian said:
I did not say Christ didn’t teach us the Lord’s Prayer, just that he didn’t teach praying as if it were a formula, pray X prayer, Y times, for Z result.

Four living creatures, could that not refer to the four corners of the earth? Of course we should pray for each other, I was saying that we can only rely on God to grant us our needs, not men.
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The Lord prayed the selfsame words 3 times in the garden, each time including the will of the Father be done. That should be everyone’s expectations of ‘Z’ result. Note that is included in the Lord’s prayer. God answers every prayer. It’s just that sometimes the answer is no.

The publican prayed X prayer, Y times and Christ tells us the Z result.

Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven; but struck his breast, saying: O God, be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other: because every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled: and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

When a Catholic asks a saint to pray for them, they are not relying on that saint to do anymore than pray for them. That’s the same as asking anyone else to pray for you, isn’t it?
 
What if you’re not sure if saints can hear you so you pray without really knowing if they hear you, will your prayer still be answered?
 
mariahloves said:
What if you’re not sure if saints can hear you so you pray without really knowing if they hear you, will your prayer still be answered?
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**Heb 12:1 And therefore we also having so great a cloud of witnesses over our head, laying aside every weight and sin which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us

Rev 5:8 And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. **
 
Vile_Servant said:
Here is an example of a Catholic prayer to St Anthony of Padua;

***Unfailing Prayer to Saint Anthony
Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints. ***

O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God
and Charity for His creatures made you worthy, when on
earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on
your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in
trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought,** I implore
of you to obtain for me (request).** The answer to my prayer
may require a miracle. Even so, you are the saint of
Miracles.

O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full
of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the
Sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms, and
the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.

Amen. (Say 13 Paters, Aves, and Glorias)

Such tender devotion and intercessory prayer is cherished by Catholics, and I invite my Protestant brethren to try it too, you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.

:blessyou:
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Why is this a prayer to “sweet infant Jesus?” Jesus died and ascended to Heaven way after infancy.
 
mariahloves said:
What if you’re not sure if saints can hear you so you pray without really knowing if they hear you, will your prayer still be answered?
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mariah what is faith? no need answer in post just something to ponder for yourself in context of your question.
 
The Church does not teach that prayers to saints (or anyone else’s prayers for you for that matter) are needed for salvation. As I posted earlier, they are SUPLEMENTAL. As in extra. The rosary is extra. One could go their entire life and reach heaven without saying the rosary once. Extra prayers is a logical good thing. This does not doubt the power of God in any way however, just as if you pray the same thing more then once you are not saying God did not hear you the first time. More prayers is always a good thing.
 
mariahloves said:
What if you’re not sure if saints can hear you so you pray without really knowing if they hear you, will your prayer still be answered?
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If you address your request for intercession to the Blessed Virgin, does the Lord hear your request? Of course!!! Does Mary? I’m honestly not sure.

Jon
 
There is a lot of scriptural evidence suggesting that holy people have had an unusual capability for understanding what was going on in the world around them, past what they could perceive with their senses. Is it that weird that they could retain that capability past death? Since death has been conquered by Christ, why should not such persons continue their ministry to us after they have joined Christ in heaven?
 
PeaceSerenity said:
There is a lot of scriptural evidence suggesting that holy people have had an unusual capability for understanding what was going on in the world around them, past what they could perceive with their senses. Is it that weird that they could retain that capability past death? Since death has been conquered by Christ, why should not such persons continue their ministry to us after they have joined Christ in heaven?
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Welcome to CAF, PeaceSerenity,
If this question is directed to me, or even if to all, I would say that this is certainly a possibility, as all things are possible through Him. I have been pondering this question - of invocation and intercession of the saints - for a while. It seems to me that scripture offers only scant and rather implicit evidence (Luke 15:7 is the most compelling for me
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.)

So, as I said, I honestly don’t know. I do know they pray for the Church Militant in a general sense for sure, and I do know that millions have gained comfort from the practice over the centuries. Therefore, I find it hard to condemn, even if I don’t accept or practice it.

Jon
 
Again, Why is this a prayer to “sweet infant Jesus?” Jesus died and ascended to Heaven way after infancy.
 
MeekandHumble said:
Again, Why is this a prayer to “sweet infant Jesus?” Jesus died and ascended to Heaven way after infancy.
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St. Irenaeus
Against Heresies (Book II, Chapter 22)
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  1. Being thirty years old when He came to be baptized, and then possessing the full age of a Master, He came to Jerusalem, so that He might be properly acknowledged by all as a Master. For He did not seem one thing while He was another, as those affirm who describe Him as being man only in appearance; but what He was, that He also appeared to be. Being a Master, therefore, He also possessed the age of a Master, not despising or evading any condition of humanity, nor setting aside in Himself that law which He had appointed for the human race, but sanctifying every age, by that period corresponding to it which belonged to Himself. For He came to save all through means of Himself— all, I say, who through Him are born again to God — infants, and children, and boys, and youths, and old men. **He therefore passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, thus sanctifying infants; a child for children, thus sanctifying those who are of this age, being at the same time made to them an example of piety, righteousness, and submission; a youth for youths, becoming an example to youths, and thus sanctifying them for the Lord. **So likewise He was an old man for old men, that He might be a perfect Master for all, not merely as respects the setting forth of the truth, but also as regards age, sanctifying at the same time the aged also, and becoming an example to them likewise. Then, at last, He came on to death itself, that He might be the first-born from the dead, that in all things He might have the pre-eminence, Colossians 1:18 the Prince of life, Acts 3:15 existing before all, and going before all.
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Christ was the Son of the Father, the second part of the Trinity. He was, is and will always be. He is not limited by the constraints of time as you and I are.
 
Prodigal_Son1 said:
St. Irenaeus

Christ was the Son of the Father, the second part of the Trinity. He was, is and will always be. He is not limited by the constraints of time as you and I are.
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Do you realize that this sounds just like the Egyptian sun god Ra? Ra passed through all cycles of life. I understand what you are explaining to me, but Christ was never an old man. Aren’t we to pray to Jesus as He is, and not as He was born?
 
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