2006-08-03 16:22:46 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Catholics share the belief in the Communion of Saints with many other Christians, including the Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Episcopal Churches.
The Communion of Saints is the belief where all saints are intimately related in the Body of Christ, a family. When you die and go to heaven, you do not leave this family.
Everyone in heaven or on their way to heaven are saints. You, me, my deceased grandmother, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mother Teresa.
As part of this family, you may ask your family and friends here on earth to pray for you. Or you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother in heaven to pray for you.
With love and prayers in Christ.
2006-08-03 18:02:08 · answer #1 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No. Not all Catholics pray to saints. Its an unfortunate premontition that people think that. But its not true.
And nobody should be embarrassed to pray to GOD. Your question was kind of offending.
2006-08-03 23:26:41 · answer #2 · answered by lilfroggy992 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's the basic idea. You would ask your friends who are alive to pray for something that you wanted help with, wouldn't you? Say you were sick, and wanted God to make you well. You'd tell your friends, 'Say a prayer for me, cos I need it."
Well, to Catholics, the saints in heaven are just like friends that you know are religious. Since we believe that if a person is a saint they are in heaven, near God, it seems sensible that a saint's prayers would be at least as effective as asking for prayers from living friends. We ask the saints to pray to God for us, the same way we'd ask any other friend. It's not that we don't pray to God, it's that we ask for help from the saints, in addition to praying to God on our own.
2006-08-03 23:33:18 · answer #3 · answered by homebuyer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Catholics beseech Saints to speak to God on their behalf. So we would pray to St. Jude (Saint of the Impossibles) for miracles. I am a retired Catholic (retired from the church but not from work and now follow a different faith. I felt that too many ideas and premises demanded absolute blind faith.
2006-08-03 23:32:05 · answer #4 · answered by Frank 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know WHY they do it but to me it's saying that God is too busy to listen to ya. I pray to God. And only God. And the Bible says you should only pray to Him. I will never understand the Catholic religion. I can defend my so-called "bashing" though... I will never say anything against the religion which I cannot fully back.
2006-08-03 23:29:06 · answer #5 · answered by Sarah 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's the argument that saints DID exist, and there's more proof of someone who was a saint than a paradox. Pray to (i.e. believe in) yourself and you'll get results, fast ones too.
2006-08-03 23:27:20 · answer #6 · answered by Ron 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, we ask them to pray with us and for us because we believe we need all the help we can get.
2006-08-03 23:25:43 · answer #7 · answered by Debra M. Wishing Peace To All 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dont know, the Bible says only to pray to God, no one else
2006-08-03 23:26:37 · answer #8 · answered by Brad 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Saints are dead Liberals that Conservatives pray to."
2006-08-03 23:27:39 · answer #9 · answered by auntiegrav 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
pedophiles pray to anything
2006-08-03 23:27:00 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋