Praying to Saints

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If a non-Catholic converts to Catholicism, is praying to Saints a strict requirement if they accept all teachings of the Church but are not comfortable praying to Saints (including Mary) even though they have tremendous respect and honor for Mary and the Saints?
 
The way I was taught (feel free to correct me), was that you don’t pray to Mary/saints but rather ask them to intercede/pray for you and you don’t worship them but instead you show devotion to them.
 
Yes, but is it strictly necessary in order to be Catholic? Thanks
 
I think that the answer is yes and no. Very often prayer to our Lady and the saints is offered by the Church during her liturgies. Insofar as you are a member of the body of Christ then you are incorporated in her prayers so to that extent you are praying to the saints. In your private devotions you are under no compulsion to invoke the aid of Mary and the other Christians in heaven.

If it’s any help I’ve written about Praying to Saints on my blog.
 
catholicscot said:
I think that the answer is yes and no. Very often prayer to our Lady and the saints is offered by the Church during her liturgies. Insofar as you are a member of the body of Christ then you are incorporated in her prayers so to that extent you are praying to the saints. In your private devotions you are under no compulsion to invoke the aid of Mary and the other Christians in heaven.
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That is very well stated. A convert is not required to ask the saints for intercession in private devotions, but they must accept that it is not wrong. In otherwords, a convert cannot say they reject intercessory prayer because it is wrong to ask the dead for help.
 
Good answers, thanks.

So then, one must believe that it is God’s will that all Christians be involved in intercessory prayer to saints even if only during church liturgies in order to be Catholic?

Is this related to belief in the communion of Saints?

Could one tell a priest that they prefer not to be given prayer to saints (e.g. Hail Mary prayer) as part of penance?
 
It’s not necessary to pray to the saints, but we should understand what prayer is.

The true meaning of the word, “prayer,” is to ask, to beckon.

In other words, when we pray to a saint or the Blessed Mother, we’re not worshiping them as God, but we’re asking them to pray for us.

Remember, they’re in heaven in God’s presence.

A legendary story was when the Blessed Mother was on her death bed, St Peter asked her to tell Jesus that he loved her, when she met Him in heaven. The Blessed Mother told Peter, but he knows you love him. St Peter responded, I know, but it gives me joy knowing that you’ll do this for me.

So it is when we pray to saints, we’re merely asking them who are in the presence of God, to ask, beckon to God for us.

For a convert who has a hard time with this, no problem.

Remember the tenets of the faith are in the Nicene Creed, which was say at every Mass on Sunday’s;

The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

These are the tenets of faith, which we must believe for they are the truths revealed to the Church, by God.

Jim
 
Thank you, I’m reading about the communion of saints to get a better understanding.
 
The Apostles’ Creed contains the “communion of saints” but the Nicene Creed doesn’t. The Nicene Creed is (generally?) the creed used at mass. Could this mean that the belief of intercessory prayer to saints is considered of less importance than other beliefs.?
 
Coder said:
The Apostles’ Creed contains the “communion of saints” but the Nicene Creed doesn’t. The Nicene Creed is (generally?) the creed used at mass. Could this mean that the belief of intercessory prayer to saints is considered of less importance than other beliefs.?
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Prayer to saints isn’t necessary for salvation.

Consider it the gravy of the faith, bot the beef. 🙂

Jim
 
Coder said:
Good answers, thanks.

So then, one must believe that it is God’s will that all Christians be involved in intercessory prayer to saints even if only during church liturgies in order to be Catholic?

Is this related to belief in the communion of Saints?

Could one tell a priest that they prefer not to be given prayer to saints (e.g. Hail Mary prayer) as part of penance?
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God does want you to understand the concept of the communion of saints (The Catholic faith requires that you believe it), but that in no way means you have to ask the saints in heaven to pray for you (why wouldn’t you though?), does that make sense? As far as I’m aware, all Christians, not only Catholics, believe in asking someone here on earth to pray for them from time to time whenever someone especially needs prayer in their life, such as someone about to have surgery, going for a job interview, someone who needs their faith strengthened, etc. We believe the saints in heaven and those believers here on earth are all part of the Body of Christ, and the Body is bonded together spiritually and works for the good.
 
Coder said:
Good answers, thanks.

So then, one must believe that it is God’s will that all Christians be involved in intercessory prayer to saints even if only during church liturgies in order to be Catholic?

Is this related to belief in the communion of Saints?

Could one tell a priest that they prefer not to be given prayer to saints (e.g. Hail Mary prayer) as part of penance?
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Lets approach this from another angle. The Catholic Church is composed of faithful Christians on earth and triumphant Christians in heaven, for all are alive to God. We are required of faith to pray for others and to ask others to pray for us. Asking Church members in heaven to pray for us is, in effect, the same as asking Church members on earth with the exception that we know for certain that those in heaven are righteous and that the prayer of a righteous person availeth much.

It is sometimes asked how can the saints hear our requests. Well, how can you hear mine? If God did not make it possible then you could not and if He did you could not help but hear them. Also it is asked how can our Lady hear millions of people praying to her at the same time? Because she does not inhabit time, she inhabits eternity. What we experience as linear time and simultaneity she experiences in a way we will only be able to understand when we inhabit eternity too.

I can well understand why people from certain Protestant backgrounds feel uncomfortable about praying to saints. The point has already been made that you, personally, do not need to do so but you are required as an article of faith to believe that such prayers are acceptable to God and can be efficacious.
 
Excellent answers, it’s just that we don’t live in Heaven now, and if you talk/pray to people that aren’t present in person (except God) one might argue that it could be considered odd 🙂 (said with a bit of humor). 🙂

Some people seem to think it’s fine to talk/pray to their deceased loved ones (e.g. parents) - isn’t that wrong (albeit understandable)?
 
Coder said:
If a non-Catholic converts to Catholicism, is praying to Saints a strict requirement if they accept all teachings of the Church but are not comfortable praying to Saints (including Mary) even though they have tremendous respect and honor for Mary and the Saints?
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Our Lady and the Saints are in heaven with God. They intercede for us to God because they are closer to Him than we are being in Heaven. Mary especially is closer to Jesus’s because She is His Mother and Jesus wants us love and honour Her. If we love Jesus how can we not love His Holy Mother too?
 
Okay, I personally have ask for the intercessions of various saints before… It is a little bit “non-Protestant” despite how Anglicans do it at times. I’m not comfortable praying to Mary, simply because I am dubious all of the miracles and apparitions coming out of every denomination (yes, non-Catholic denominations have them) and that draws me away from her, but the apparitions of Jesus to modern-day people are not as notable, if you will.

The fact that it is common in Eastern Orthodoxy and present somewhat in Oriental Orthodoxy made me more prepared to do it. 🤷
 
Coder said:
Excellent answers, it’s just that we don’t live in Heaven now, and if you talk/pray to people that aren’t present in person (except God) one might argue that it could be considered odd 🙂 (said with a bit of humor). 🙂

Some people seem to think it’s fine to talk/pray to their deceased loved ones (e.g. parents) - isn’t that wrong (albeit understandable)?
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After my mother died I did talk at times as if she could hear me. That was really about me working some things out and the question as to whether or not she could actually hear me was kind of secondary to that. At the same time I also prayed to God (through Mary) for the repose of my mother’s soul. So I don’t think I did anything theologically wrong though almost any practise taken to excess or done with a wrong intention can do more harm than good.
 
Hatikvah said:
Okay, I personally have ask for the intercessions of various saints before… It is a little bit “non-Protestant” despite how Anglicans do it at times. I’m not comfortable praying to Mary, simply because I am dubious all of the miracles and apparitions coming out of every denomination (yes, non-Catholic denominations have them) and that draws me away from her, but the apparitions of Jesus to modern-day people are not as notable, if you will.

The fact that it is common in Eastern Orthodoxy and present somewhat in Oriental Orthodoxy made me more prepared to do it. 🤷
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Don’t blame the Blessed Mother for all the fanatics who claim to have seen her or received some miraculous favor.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Don’t blame the Blessed Mother for all the fanatics who claim to have seen her or received some miraculous favor.

Jim
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I don’t, not at all, and I still value her example and role. However, this simply drove me from “that life” (practice, really).
 
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