What can ask Saints to do?

[nsper7]

I know we can ask Saints to intercede and pray for us, but can we ask them to guide us? To help us? To protect us? To keep us from stumbling and sinning? What can we ask Saints to do when we pray to them? Does the same apply for Angels (i.e. one of the named Archangels or our Guardian Angel)?

 

[roveau]

Surely there would be no difference in outcome whether God grants all those things or if the saint does on their own bat? However…

My understanding is that the saint pleads our case to God to grant what we ask of them. They don’t grant our request personally of themselves.

Rove

 

[MarieVeronica]

To keep us from stumbling and sinning?

“nsper” Certainly! A good example of this is St. Augustine. Many people have prayed to him, and asked him for his guidance… because of living similar life styles, prior to conversion.

I pray for the intercession and guidance of the sister of St. Therese of Lisieux… (Celine Martin) because she, too… was a caregiver to her ailing parent.

I hope this helps. God bless. It’s a good question.

MV

 

[nsper7]

“nsper” Certainly! A good example of this is St. Augustine. Many people have prayed to him, and asked him for his guidance… because of living similar life styles, prior to conversion.

I pray for the intercession and guidance of the sister of St. Therese of Lisieux… (Celine Martin) because she, too… was a caregiver to her ailing parent.

I hope this helps. God bless. It’s a good question.

MV

Then, I guess what I am getting at, is how do the Saints guide, help and protect us?

 

[passus]

Then, I guess what I am getting at, is how do the Saints guide, help and protect us?

The only way we truly know angels or saints protect or guide us is by praying on our behalf that we might receive gifts of wisdom or the strength to protect ourselves by overcoming the challenge of evil.

Any other way of explaining that angels or saints guide or protect us implies that they somehow interact with us or the schemes of our lives directly. While God could presumably allow those celestial bodies to do such a thing, we have no indication that an angel can, say, engage in battle with some kind of evil spirit or that a saint can impart his or her wisdom directly to our minds.

 

[Rawb]

Then, I guess what I am getting at, is how do the Saints guide, help and protect us?

I could see it being argued, very convincingly, that saints are capable of acquiring for us actual graces necessary to protect, guide, and help us, interpreting our petitions to help, guide, and protect us as us asking them to pray for us.

For example. Monica is a Catholic walking home from the library one night. Before she leaves, she asks St. Joseph to protect her on her walk. During the walk St. Joseph prays to Christ, asking Him to get Monica to take a certain path home, as her normal one has a mugger waiting for her. Christ grants this and Monica walks a different way. In a sense, St. Joseph protected her, but of course, as with all good things, it ultimately comes from the goodness of Christ. She didn’t ask St. Joseph to pray for her protection, but I think that’s implied in her request for protection, because what greater thing can a saint do for us than pray?

This is also just me thinking out loud. I don’t know if this is in accord with actual teachings.

 

[Monica4316]

I know we can ask Saints to intercede and pray for us, but can we ask them to guide us? To help us? To protect us? To keep us from stumbling and sinning? What can we ask Saints to do when we pray to them? Does the same apply for Angels (i.e. one of the named Archangels or our Guardian Angel)?

yes, we can I think it’s different with Angels and Saints. The Guardian Angels can help us by actually being here with us (since they are, already)…so if you ask your Angel to protect you, he will, and will be by your side. (of course his actions will still be dependent on God’s will.)

the Saints, help us with their intercession, and perhaps in other ways that we haven’t yet understood… there HAVE been cases where the Saints have appeared to people on earth, but I think generally they stay in Heaven. Probably what they’d do is pray for your particular intention, and in that way, help you, protect you, etc. Let’s say you have a big test coming up and ask St Joseph of Cupertino for help what he’ll do, he’ll pray for you. So don’t worry about the phrasing, we indeed can ask the Saints for a lot of different things, they just accomplish it through their prayers. (and maybe obtaining miracles or graces for us).

 

[MarieVeronica]

Then, I guess what I am getting at, is how do the Saints guide, help and protect us?

By taking our petitions directly to the Throne of our Merciful God. Once our petitions are given to Our Lord, through the requests of our friends… the saints… they are then in the Hands of the One Who loves us the most.

We are truly part of an enormous, loving Family. And all of them know us and love us (yes, individually! ) God bless.

 

[Monica4316]

I could see it being argued, very convincingly, that saints are capable of acquiring for us actual graces necessary to protect, guide, and help us, interpreting our petitions to help, guide, and protect us as us asking them to pray for us.

For example. **Monica is a Catholic **walking home from the library one night. Before she leaves, she asks St. Joseph to protect her on her walk. During the walk St. Joseph prays to Christ, asking Him to get Monica to take a certain path home, as her normal one has a mugger waiting for her. Christ grants this and Monica walks a different way. In a sense, St. Joseph protected her, but of course, as with all good things, it ultimately comes from the goodness of Christ. She didn’t ask St. Joseph to pray for her protection, but I think that’s implied in her request for protection, because what greater thing can a saint do for us than pray?

This is also just me thinking out loud. I don’t know if this is in accord with actual teachings.

that’s pretty much how I see it too

and…I will keep that in mind about St Joseph hehe… I often walk home late from the library, during the school year.

 

[Monica4316]

By taking our petitions directly to the Throne of our Merciful God. Once our petitions are given to Our Lord, through the requests of our friends… the saints… they are then in the Hands of the One Who loves us the most.

We are truly part of an enormous, loving Family. And all of them know us and love us (yes, individually! ) God bless.

I often wonder how they love us individually. I mean…I do believe it, especially because I have a few Saints who are like my friends, like St Therese. But…do they see us? (they must, if they hear our prayer requests?)

I guess to understand this, we have to understand how Heaven works in relation to earth, and we don’t know anything about that at the moment

 

[MarieVeronica]

I guess to understand this, we have to understand how Heaven works in relation to earth, and we don’t know anything about that at the moment

Very true. We “see” with the eye’s of faith, while here on earth. Someday… we will understand. :yup:

God bless you.

 

[Shin]

I could see it being argued, very convincingly, that saints are capable of acquiring for us actual graces necessary to protect, guide, and help us, interpreting our petitions to help, guide, and protect us as us asking them to pray for us.

For example. Monica is a Catholic walking home from the library one night. Before she leaves, she asks St. Joseph to protect her on her walk. During the walk St. Joseph prays to Christ, asking Him to get Monica to take a certain path home, as her normal one has a mugger waiting for her. Christ grants this and Monica walks a different way. In a sense, St. Joseph protected her, but of course, as with all good things, it ultimately comes from the goodness of Christ. She didn’t ask St. Joseph to pray for her protection, but I think that’s implied in her request for protection, because what greater thing can a saint do for us than pray?

This is also just me thinking out loud. I don’t know if this is in accord with actual teachings.

Yes, that’s exactly it! The saints are like angels, they can walk by our side and take us out troubles.

We can turn to them about anything in our lives.