Why do Catholics pray to Saints........

[Catholic_to_LDS]

I would like to know why Catholics pray to saints. I ahve wondered about this since childhood. No one has every answered me using the Bible as support. Doesn’t God say that we are not to pray to any other god or thing but Him? I would like biblical refernce if possible. I do not have a Catholic Bible (not sure of the difference) but I use the King James. I have copies of the Bible in the following versions: NKJ, NIV, and a cross refenced Greek/Hebrew.

I have attended CCD, Catholic School, and I attended confermation class but was not confermed a member. As an adult, I attended 4 adult classes before leaving and joining the LDS church. THe priest could not explain to me why beyond " We are but mere mortals who cannot stand before God. We are in need of an intermediator who is worthy to stand before God and plead on our behalf." That is a direct quote. It’s from my Journal entry.

Please…I don’t want to argue…I only want to understand.

 

[choy]

Catholics don’t pray TO saints

we pray WITH saints

the whole Church is made up of those who are living in the flesh, and living for all eternity in spirit with God in heaven. not because you died means you’re not part of the Church anymore. we pray for one another, always

 

[TheosisM]

I would like to know why Catholics pray to saints. I ahve wondered about this since childhood. No one has every answered me using the Bible as support. Doesn’t God say that we are not to pray to any other god or thing but Him? I would like biblical refernce if possible. I do not have a Catholic Bible (not sure of the difference) but I use the King James. I have copies of the Bible in the following versions: NKJ, NIV, and a cross refenced Greek/Hebrew.

I have attended CCD, Catholic School, and I attended confermation class but was not confermed a member. As an adult, I attended 4 adult classes before leaving and joining the LDS church. THe priest could not explain to me why beyond " We are but mere mortals who cannot stand before God. We are in need of an intermediator who is worthy to stand before God and plead on our behalf." That is a direct quote. It’s from my Journal entry.

Please…I don’t want to argue…I only want to understand.

This was a very odd statement by the priest. I also advise you to read the articles found on catholic.com, as they go through many of the beliefs of Catholicism, including this one.

As far as scripture references, this website should be helpful to you:

scripturecatholic.com/saints.html

I think it is important to realize a few things. Firstly, Catholics do not approach the Heavenly saints in the same way that we approach God. God is God, and there is no other God but God. The saints (whether on earth or in heaven) are not God. Similarly, Jesus Christ is the only Mediator. It is only through Jesus Christ that we come unto the Father (in so many ways). Now, everyone in practically all Christian churches has asked someone to pray for them. I ask my mom to pray for me, or my roommate, etc. Catholics (and Orthodox and a few other churches) also believe that we can ask those Christians that have gone before us to pray for us as well, since they are still members of the Church (since the Body of Christ transcends this world, and is also found on this earth). It i is important to realize that Catholics believe that all members of the Church are saints, not just those that are in Heaven (according to our belief). “Canonized saints” (who are those that are typically referred to as “saints”) are those that the Church believes should be known by everyone, for various reasons.

So again, see the link above for typical Catholic interpretations of various scriptures related to this issue. To put it simply: we believe that it is possible to ask saints on earth to pray for us, and the saints in Heaven.

 

[Bob4BVM]

We DON’T pray to them in a worshipping sense, that is only for God.
We pray to ask them to pray For Us & our intentions.
Just like you’d ask your mother, father, friends, to do for you.

If you KNEW your friend was in Heaven, do you see the value of asking him to pray for you from there ?

The saints are as alive as we are (maybe more ! )
They are in Heaven, before GOD.
Why WOULDN’T we ask them to pray for us ???

 

[Sam_777]

Catholics don’t pray TO saints

we pray WITH saints

Do all Catholic Churches agree on that?

So let us say for example “Praying With Virgin Mary” instead of “Praying To Virgin Mary”.

 

[LilyM]

Do all Catholic Churches agree on that?

So let us say for example “Praying With Virgin Mary” instead of “Praying To Virgin Mary”.

They don’t need to make the distinction in their language, because it’s self-evident, except to the utterly deluded and totally uneducated, that prayer to/with Mary is a different (and lesser) thing from prayer to God.

When I prepare documents for the Supreme Court I might use the terms ‘PRAY TO the Court for relief’ or ‘PRAYER for relief’ (which US Supreme Court documents contain). When I address a judge I might call him or her ‘Your Worship’ (some are in Australia and Britain).

But I don’t need to specifically state that I’m NOT praying to the Court or worshipping the Judge as I would pray to or worship God. It’s self-evident that the words take on a different meaning when I use them in relation to the Court or the Judge than when I use them in relation to God. Same with prayer to the Saints.

 

[rep140]

There is something in St. Paul’s letters. I’ll post when I find it.

 

[rep140]

My closest answer is St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 2:19-22. It states that we are in union with the saints. It goes along with the statement in The Creed that we are part of the communion with saints, so why not ask them to pray for us? It is not unusual for someone to ask “pray for me”.

 

[Answersplease]

THe priest could not explain to me why beyond " We are but mere mortals who cannot stand before God. We are in need of an intermediator who is worthy to stand before God and plead on our behalf." That is a direct quote. It’s from my Journal entry.

Please…I don’t want to argue…I only want to understand.

This was a very odd statement by the priest.

 

[Answersplease]

Do all Catholic Churches agree on that?

So let us say for example “Praying With Virgin Mary” instead of “Praying To Virgin Mary”.

It is practically the same thing.

In older English (Elizabethan English? or Shakespeare’s English?), the word “pray” means to “ask”, for example: “I pray thee Sir, would you direct me to…”

So “pray with or to” is “ask with or to.”

They also said “prithee”, which is the same thing as “pray thee.”
I’m guessing “pray thee” would be used formally or for a high official,
and “prithee” would be used informally or for a peasant.

If you “pray to” a saint, you are asking them to add their own prayer to your prayer.

For example:

“Dear Saint (name), I am a wretched sinner and the bible has many verses that say God might not hear or grant the prayers of sinners. But you Saint (name) are a pure sinless saint in heaven and God will hear you and may even grant the prayer to you. Please Saint (name) pray for me to our God and try to acquire His help for me.”

prithee

merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prithee

 

[rinnie]

Lets put it this way, Have you ever asked anyone to pray for you? If you have do you feel that you are praying to them? Same thing.

Every prayer that is prayed to any Saint is not prayed to them, it is praying and asking them to Pray for you. The same as asking a person to pray for you.

There is no difference between asking a Priest to pray for you then asking St Joseph, or St Jude, etc to pray for you.

Do we believe that the Saints Prayers are powerful. Sure we do. All prayers are powerful but we believe they their prayers are powerful because they have fulfilled their promises to God and are with him as we speak in heaven.

Personally I look at the Blessed Mother as my attorney. Its like going to court. If you have her with you its like extra protection.

Why anyone would not prefer someone Good, Pure and Holy joining you in prayer and praying for you is beyond my intelligence.

 

[kalt]

This was a very odd statement by the priest. I also advise you to read the articles found on catholic.com, as they go through many of the beliefs of Catholicism, including this one.

As far as scripture references, this website should be helpful to you:

scripturecatholic.com/saints.html

I think it is important to realize a few things. Firstly, Catholics do not approach the Heavenly saints in the same way that we approach God. God is God, and there is no other God but God. The saints (whether on earth or in heaven) are not God. Similarly, Jesus Christ is the only Mediator. It is only through Jesus Christ that we come unto the Father (in so many ways). Now, everyone in practically all Christian churches has asked someone to pray for them. I ask my mom to pray for me, or my roommate, etc. Catholics (and Orthodox and a few other churches) also believe that we can ask those Christians that have gone before us to pray for us as well, since they are still members of the Church (since the Body of Christ transcends this world, and is also found on this earth). It i is important to realize that Catholics believe that all members of the Church are saints, not just those that are in Heaven (according to our belief). “Canonized saints” (who are those that are typically referred to as “saints”) are those that the Church believes should be known by everyone, for various reasons.

So again, see the link above for typical Catholic interpretations of various scriptures related to this issue. To put it simply: we believe that it is possible to ask saints on earth to pray for us, and the saints in Heaven.

I suspect that the priest’s answer provided by the OP was to a question that wasn’t asked exactly as it is here.

The Bible indicates that those in Heaven are aware of our “sufferings”. If they are, wouldn’t it make sense that they will pray for us if asked, just as our friends on Earth would?

And a different, but related topic - I think many Protestants forget how prayers are presented to God, according to the Bible.

 

[why_me]

As far as scripture references, this website should be helpful to you:

scripturecatholic.com/saints.html

I think it is important to realize a few things. Firstly, Catholics do not approach the Heavenly saints in the same way that we approach God.

I think that the site is a little far fetched in stretching catholic logic with the scriptures. I looked at the some of the verses mentioned and commented on and found no mention of canonized saints. Catholics pray to saints for intercession on their behalf. In fact, on the back of prayer cards one can find intercessory prayers to the saint on the card.

Now I know that saint therese is spending her heaven doing good on earth to those who ask for her intercession but I do not see this correlated with bible verses that it is possible to do so.

Also, as a good catholic boy I never heard it mentioned that we were all saints. But it was mentioned that we all can become saints and should model the actions and behavior of the saints as a way to god. I believe that it was the mormons who began the calling of each other ‘saints’.

Now I even hear some protestant sects addressing their members as saints. But in the past, it was not done.

If I would have claimed as a boy that I was a saint, my catholic friends would have laughed or had a good chuckle. And the nuns would have pulled my ear.

 

[Third_Day]

=Catholic to LDS;6186965]I would like to know why Catholics pray to saints. I ahve wondered about this since childhood. No one has every answered me using the Bible as support. Doesn’t God say that we are not to pray to any other god or thing but Him?

It’s quite simple. We do not belive that the saints are dead. They are alive in heaven.
We believe that the saints in heaven are members of the body of Christ.
Here is what Paul says about members of the body of Christ.

Romans 12: 5 “we…. are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.”

1 Cor 12:18-26 “ But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. If they were all one part, where would the body be? But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee: or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. ….But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

Romans 10: 1 “ Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on their behalf is for salvation.”

All members of the body of Christ should care for each other. Therefore the saints in heaven care for us. This is why we ask them to pray for us. They have no power of their own. Their intercession for us goes through Christ. If I ask you to pray for me, you become an intercessor. This is what members of the body of Christ are called to do, to care for on another.

We see those in heaven taking the prayers of the saints on earth to God.

Rev 5:8 “And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints"

 

[CHESTERTONRULES]

I would like to know why Catholics pray to saints. I ahve wondered about this since childhood. No one has every answered me using the Bible as support. Doesn’t God say that we are not to pray to any other god or thing but Him? I would like biblical refernce if possible. I do not have a Catholic Bible (not sure of the difference) but I use the King James. I have copies of the Bible in the following versions: NKJ, NIV, and a cross refenced Greek/Hebrew.

I have attended CCD, Catholic School, and I attended confermation class but was not confermed a member. As an adult, I attended 4 adult classes before leaving and joining the LDS church. THe priest could not explain to me why beyond " We are but mere mortals who cannot stand before God. We are in need of an intermediator who is worthy to stand before God and plead on our behalf." That is a direct quote. It’s from my Journal entry.

Please…I don’t want to argue…I only want to understand.

The bible tells us that death will not separate us from Jesus.

The bible tells us that we are being observed by a cloud of witnesses and that there will be joy in heaven when one sinner repents, so this means that there is awareness of events on earth in heaven.

The bible tells us to pray for eachother.

The bible tells us that the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

So, Catholics ask those now in heaven, who have been fully sanctified and made holy, to pray for us.

 

[Third_Day]

=why me;6187654]
Also, as a good catholic boy I never heard it mentioned that we were all saints. But it was mentioned that we all can become saints and should model the actions and behavior of the saints as a way to god. I believe that it was the mormons who began the calling of each other ‘saints’.

The frist followers of Jesus were called “saints”. For example 2 Cor 1 " To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia"
As the Church grew the followers were called “christians” Acts 11:26

If I would have claimed as a boy that I was a saint, my catholic friends would have laughed or had a good chuckle. And the nuns would have pulled my ear.

I also went to Catholic Schools and you are right we didn’t call ourselves saints. That’s because as the early Church grew the members of the Church were called christians and the word "saint’ was reserved for those that were martyred for the faith. 29 of the first 30 Popes (Bishops of Rome) were all killed by the Romans and over time that title "saints’ was reserved for those who died for the faith.
You see this principle in scripture

Colossians 1:12
“giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light”

 

[TheosisM]

I think that the site is a little far fetched in stretching catholic logic with the scriptures. I looked at the some of the verses mentioned and commented on and found no mention of canonized saints. Catholics pray to saints for intercession on their behalf. In fact, on the back of prayer cards one can find intercessory prayers to the saint on the card.

Now I know that saint therese is spending her heaven doing good on earth to those who ask for her intercession but I do not see this correlated with bible verses that it is possible to do so.

Also, as a good catholic boy I never heard it mentioned that we were all saints. But it was mentioned that we all can become saints and should model the actions and behavior of the saints as a way to god. I believe that it was the mormons who began the calling of each other ‘saints’.

Now I even hear some protestant sects addressing their members as saints. But in the past, it was not done.

If I would have claimed as a boy that I was a saint, my catholic friends would have laughed or had a good chuckle. And the nuns would have pulled my ear.

I’m not really concerned with how you see those verses. Also, if you think those verses are supposed to mention “canonized saints”, then you miss the entire point.

Odd that you never heard of something called the “communion of saints”, since that’s right in the Apostles Creed. The more I hear about your supposed “Catholic youth”, the more I realize that, if it existed, it was very deficient.

 

[TheosisM]

I also went to Catholic Schools and you are right we didn’t call ourselves saints. That’s because as the early Church grew the members of the Church were called christians and the word "saint’ was reserved for those that were martyred for the faith. 29 of the first 30 Popes (Bishops of Rome) were all killed by the Romans and over time that title "saints’ was reserved for those who died for the faith.
You see this principle in scripture

Colossians 1:12
“giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light”

That’s interesting. Where did you read that?

Although Catholics (nor Orthodox) run around calling each other saints, it is understood that we, as members of the Church, are saints, since it is the principle of the “communion of saints” that intercession is based on. Saints are part of the Body of Christ, and because the Church transcends this earth, we believe that it is possible for saints on earth to pray for each other, and the saints in Heaven to pray for us as well. If someone thinks that asking Heavenly saints to pray/intercede for us is taking away from Christ’s mediator role, then they should also realize that the same can be said when we ask saints on earth to pray for us as well.

 

[TheosisM]

Catholic to LDS, here are some excerpts on what author Scott Hahn (one of my favorite Catholic authors) says on “Intercession of the Saints” in his book “Signs of Life-40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots”:

To St. Paul, as to all the Catholic Church, all Christians are “saints” by virtue of their baptism. “Saints” means “holy one”, and Christians are made holy not by anything they’ve learned or done, but by the indwelling of almighty God. We are holy because we are temples of the Holy Spirit–and, in Paul’s worldview, noting on earth is holier than God’s temple.

Holiness–sainthood–is simply the common Christian vocation. But, in that short passage from Colossians (Col 1:2-12), Paul also distinguished between the saints on earth (Col 1:2) and the “saints in light” (Col 1:12)–what Catholic devotion would later call, respectively, the “Church militant” and the “Church triumphant”. The Epistle to the Hebrews (12:1) tells us that the latter are “a cloud of witnesses” around the former.

To the saints on earth who share our calling, we give our love. To the saints in light, we give a special honor called veneration. It’s not the same kind of honor we give to God alone. It is more like the profound respect we owe our parents and grandparents. We love them so much that we frame their photos and give them a prominent place in our home. We shouldn’t hesitate to ask our parents for prayer; nor should we hesitate to ask our ancestors in the faith.

St. Paul himself asked for the intercession of the “saints” in Colossae (see Col 4:3). For as we share in the life and divine nature of Jesus Christ, so we share in his singular office as the “one mediator between God and men” (1 Tim 2:5). So St. Paul could “urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men” (1 Tim 2:1). He could, moreover, promise to assure the saints in Colossae of his own intercession on their behalf: “we have not ceased to pray for you” (Col 1:9).

Knowing what we know from elsewhere in the New Testament, we can be certain that St. Paul’s intercession has not ceased, even today. The book of Revelation (6:9-10) shows the martyrs in heaven, very much aware of events on earth, and crying out to God for redress. Jesus himself, in one of his parables, depicts a heavenly intercession (Lk 16:27-28).

The early Christians kept a lively devotion to the Communion of Saints. It was not simply a matter of honoring their ancestors, because they did not think of the saints as dead and therefore removed from their presence. The saints were more present to the Church on earth, because the saints lived in the presence of God. The saints were not dead; indeed, they were more alive than the Church on earth.

I think Hahn emphasizes what I already have said. That Catholics see the Church as the Body of Christ, and includes those on earth right now, and those that have gone before us. The dead are not “dead”(only physically), but are alive in Christ. Therefore, we believe that it is possible for all in the Communion of Saints to pray for us, and this is why we ask those in Heaven to pray for us as well as those on earth, since we are all one family in Christ. The Bible emphasizes the intercessory role of Christians (as Hahn himself emphasizes above), and we believe that that continues after death.

 

[TheosisM]

Also, it may be helpful to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church section on the “Communion of Saints”

scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p5.htm