Praying to Saints

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fox6pack

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I’m a new Catholic. The concept of praying to saints is very foreign to me, but I’m eager to learn. I have two questions…
1.) How do I pray to saints? (what do I say?)
2.) How do I know which saint to pray to? (Is there some type of reference book that tells you which saint to pray to in a specific situation?)
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
 
First off the meaning of the word “prayer,” means to ask, or beckon.

So, when we pray to saints, what we’re doing is, “asking.” We’re asking them for their prayers, which is no different than asking other people for prayers, except with the saints, they are in Heaven with God, and ask Him for you.

Which saint you pray to, really doesn’t matter. I would suggest learning about the saints first. Eventually, a particular saints spirituality will touch you in some way, and you’ll feel a bond with them. Pray to them. All that means is, asking for their prayers.

Jim
 
fox6pack said:
I’m a new Catholic. The concept of praying to saints is very foreign to me, but I’m eager to learn. I have two questions…
1.) How do I pray to saints? (what do I say?)
2.) How do I know which saint to pray to? (Is there some type of reference book that tells you which saint to pray to in a specific situation?)
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
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It is important to note that when we say we “pray to a saint” we really mean we are asking for their intercession in prayer.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
First off the meaning of the word “prayer,” means to ask, or beckon.

So, when we pray to saints, what we’re doing is, “asking.” We’re asking them for their prayers, which is no different than asking other people for prayers, except with the saints, they are in Heaven with God, and ask Him for you.

Which saint you pray to really doesn’t matter. I would suggest learning about the saints first. Eventually, a particular saints spirituality will touch you in some way, and you’ll feel a bond with them. Pray to them. All that means is, asking for their prayers.

Jim
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I am very devoted to St Anthony of Padua and I’m always asking his help to find stuff for me. I just say, “St. Anthony, it’s me again! Can you help me find such and such?” He has never let me down. Sometimes it’s a few minutes and sometimes a few days. The saints are our friends. Nothing has to be formal. We don’t have to get on our knees to ask saints to help us. Adoration is for God alone.

As the saints are in heaven and out of time, as we know it, we are not in waiting in a queue for favours. We don’t have to wait our turn. Ask and they will OK it with God before getting the petition answered. If it’s good for you or bad for you is up to Him, not the saint.

As Jim said, we are asking for their prayers to God for us, as we would our freinds.
 
Saintlucy said:
I am very devoted to St Anthony of Padua and I’m always asking his help to find stuff for me. I just say, “St. Anthony, it’s me again! Can you help me find such and such?” He has never let me down. Sometimes it’s a few minutes and sometimes a few days. The saints are our friends. Nothing has to be formal. We don’t have to get on our knees to ask saints to help us. Adoration is for God alone.

As the saints are in heaven and out of time, as we know it, we are not in waiting in a queue for favours. We don’t have to wait our turn. Ask and they will OK it with God before getting the petition answered. If it’s good for you or bad for you is up to Him, not the saint.

As Jim said, we are asking for their prayers to God for us, as we would our freinds.
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My Baptismal name is Anthony, after St. Anthony, who my mother had a devotion to.

Jim
 
Hey fox-
I had a similar question here forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=310115
not too long ago. I too, am kinda confused about it. Anyways, here’s what I found…

catholic-forum.com/saints/patron00.htm <—list of saints, pertaining to what they’re ‘against’ (maybe the answer to your ‘reference’ question) listed by ailments, and then after you select the ailment, it brings you to a list of the saints pertaining to it, and a short bio of each)

catholic.org/saints/stindex.php <— list of saints, by name.

hope some of this helps you

God Bless
 
I would recommend starting with Our Blessed Mother, too. She is… afterall, Queen of Saints.

Then, you might want to do some reading into the lives of saints who share your name… your place of birth… interests in life… etc. and go from there.

The Communion of Saints… is one of the greatest treasures of the Catholic Church. There are so many that each of us, can relate to! God bless you.
 
I felt the same as you not long ago. Just do some readings on the saints. You can find plenty of good sources online, like at catholic.org, or by Google. Plus, the book store has many, many books on them. Butler’s Lives seems nice, or, if your tastes are more ‘legendary’, The Golden Legend.
You don’t have to say a long prayer yet. If you find it easier, just say something like ‘St. _____ pray for me’ or ‘St. _______ pray for my _______’. Once you get more comfortable with it, you can try a longer prayer.
As they said, you will become devoted to a saint. Maybe more than one. I suppose it’s sort of like a friendship, or a ‘prayer pal’. I feel connected to St. George. I’m not sure why, really. I’m not a soldier, which is what his main thing is, but it just feels right. And in a way, I guess we’re all soldiers of God!
Good luck, and God bless.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
First off the meaning of the word “prayer,” means to ask, or beckon.

So, when we pray to saints, what we’re doing is, “asking.” We’re asking them for their prayers, which is no different than asking other people for prayers, except with the saints, they are in Heaven with God, and ask Him for you.

eir prayers.

Jim
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I just talk to them for fun!
 
St. George was a martyr! I am always fascinated by the courage of the martyrs. Also, St. George is the patron saint of England, and I have always liked him for that reason, too.

I dearly love Our Lady, of course. My confirmation saint is St. Mary Magdalene. I love St. Monica, too. And St. Michael the Archangel.

I could go on and on. The saints can and do become our friends. I am grateful to God that He has arranged it so that we don’t have to wait until Heaven to get to know some of the people there! 😃
 
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