Catholics?

Question

There was a question earlyer, some of you may have seen it others not, that peeked my interest.

For a long time i have had this question and i want real catholics to answer it for me. I am a Christian and being so i pray directly to God and ask him to forgive my sins and other things. What i am wondering is why Catholics think that they have to go and repent to someone else and not just talk directly to God? I can find no passage in the Bible that tells us to do this and it makes me curious to find the motivation behind it.

It also confuses me why Catholics pray to saints. If they are dead, what good can it do? And if they can hear you from heaven, how? I mean, isnt God the only one that can hear prayers?

Just some stuff to think about i guess. if you have any answers to some of my questions it would be appreciated! thanks

I just wanted to thank everyone for answering my question, i found good answers in each responce! I don't think this will propel me to convert to catholicism but it did help me to understand the religion better. God Bless and thanks again!

So, im going to let you guys choose a best answer... i appreciated all of the answers and couldnt choose a best one! thanks again

Answer 1

Sure, I'll give it a shot.

First we will address the confession issue.
John 20:21-23 states "(Jesus) said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' And when He said this, He breathed on them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

Jesus gives the disciples the authority to forgive, and not to forgive. This means a priest must hear the sins in order to know whether to forgive them or hold them bound. We do confess to God directly in our own prayers, but we also confess through the ministery of the priest because that is what God requires, as taught in Scripture. If you will read 2 Cor 5:17-20 you will see that St. Paul explains how the Apostles are ambassadors of Christ's work of reconciliation. This means that they share in the ministry of Christ and forgive sins in His name. James 5:13-16 tells us that the sins of the sick are forgiven in this sacrament of annointing. He specifies that the presbyters (priests) must be called. They obviously had a power the ordinary Christians didn't have, the power to forgive sins. So we go back to what Jesus said "As the Father sent Me so I send you". The Apostles are to continue the mission of Christ. The mission to forgive sins. Jesus knows our human nature and provides sacramental confession to give us several important gifts: humility, the certainty of forgiveness, spiritual direction and help to overcome self-deception and rationalization in matters of sin.

Now for prayer to saints:

We ask the saints to pray for us in the same way that I may ask you to pray for me. The saints are not dead, they are alive in heaven with God. Mk 12;26-27 states "He is not God of the dead, but of the living." The saints are more alive than we are. They are free from all sin. They enjoy the fillness of God's life-giving presence. Flooded with God's love, they care more about us now than they did on earth. We know that angels and saints place the prayers of the holy ones at God's feet (Rev. 5:8 and Rev 8:3-4), supporting those prayers with their intercessions. The martyrs underneath the heavenly altar cry out for earthly vindication (Rev 6:9-11) showing that they are aware of, and concerned with, earthly affairs.

I hope this helps and I thank you for asking in a kind and open minded manner. There are so many who show such hatred toward the Catholic Church, which I don't understand because we all worship the same God, we just do it a little differently.

God bless,
Stanbo

Answer 2

fundamentalists believe: Catholics "worship" Mary and the Saints.

Catholics believe: In the power of the intercessory prayer of the Saints and particularly Mary, who was close to Jesus on earth and still is in Heaven. we ask them to pray for us and with us through Jesus to God our Father.

Rv 5:8; 8:3-4
1 Tim 2:5
1 Tim 2:1-4

(those are some of the passages in the Bible where you can read about intercessory prayers)

Fundamentalists believe: God alone forgives

Catholics believe: Jesus also as the "Son of Man", had the authority to forgive sins and handed this authority down to the apostles and their successors.

Jn 20:21-23
Mt 16:18.19
2 Cor 1:10

(those are some of the passages for confession)

please read some of the passages i posted here.

thank you.

Answer 3

May God Bless you!

Rom.8:1-4 clearly tell us that God sent His only Son in the likeness of sinful fleshon account of our sin: He condemned sin in the flesh!

By appointing His Apostle Peter as the head of the Church - ie. the body of Christ-, Jesus gives him authority , The Key to the Heaven -that whatever he ninds on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever he unbinds does the same. So the Church in succession to St. Peter, transfers this autority to remit all sins through the sacrament of reconciliation to the Head of the Church - Pope - until the priests. So the Body of Christ Jesus - The Catholic Church- is taking the sins of the world until Jesus comes back for final judgement. So repent my dear, and get reconciled to God the Father through His Son,- only who has been given authority over the whole creation as the Head of the Church and being a part of His body to take away the sins of the whole world and ask the Holy spirit the cousellor to help the unbelief.

God Bless!

Answer 4

I am a non-practicing Catholic. I never understood the need to tell my sins to a priest, as he is a man like any other. Worse sometimes, sorry devout Catholics. I pray directly to God and am a true believer in him and his son Jesus Christ, whose life was sacrificed for our sins. I believe in Saints, although I cannot say, I pray to them. They were people who's life was devoted to God and who's many miracles afforded them the right to be saints. The body may die, as it is just a vessel, but our souls live on...so yes, they can also hear your prayers just like God. Some people are just devoted to a certain saint and ask them to intervene for them, nothing wrong with that. I just prefer to pray and thank God directly for all the good things he has given me, and to ask for forgiveness when I am wrong.Hope this helps you somewhat.
Happy Holidays!

Answer 5

Before Jesus Christ died for our sins and opened the gates of heaven there were no saints in heaven. Therefore there are no Old Testament writings that would mention them.

Very few of the new Christians died before most of the New Testament was written. Therefore there is little in the Bible about asking saints to pray for us.

However the last book of the Bible does talk about the saints in heaven praying.

Revelation 5:8: Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones.

Revelation 8:3-4: He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel.

The Holy Spirit guided the early Church in many things not explained in the Bible including how does the Body of Christ (believers) on Earth relate to the Body of Christ (saints) in heaven. We are still one Body.

Catholics share the belief in the Communion of Saints with many other Christians, including the Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal, and Methodist 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.

Prayer to saints in heaven is simple communication, not worship.

With love in Christ.

Answer 6

The Catholic Church is called Roman Catholic Church. As you can see from its name, it was originally a Roman Religion, but after Constantine in the year 321 AD became Christian, the Romans were converted into Christianity. It was good thing in one sense, becasue persecution to the Christians ended then.
But the bad thing is that together with the Romans, the pagan practices were also brought into the church, such as the pagan traditions of Christmas celebration which was originally a birthday celebration of the Invinsible Sun God, not the Son of God.
The Passover Feast which is not the original one according to the Bible but the pagan festival called Easter. The other traditions are the worship of the dead saints, which the Bible expressedly say, the death knows nothing and cannot have anything to do with us who are alive.
Ecclesiastes 9:5,6
5For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

The pagan Romans with all other nations such as the Greeks, the Babylonians and the Egyptians had always been worhsipping Isis, the Goddess of Fertility, or also referred to as the Queen of Heaven. So it is very covenient to continue the practice by worshipping Mary as the Mother of God, and her son Jesus, which in the ancient pagan nations were worshipped as Isis and Horus. The same in the Chinese Buddhism, Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy has always been worshipped, and in Indian culture or religion, the statue of the Queen of Heaven carrying her son has always been worshipped.

Answer 7

That's need a long line of word to answer that. And to be honest, I'm not expert to answer that all. But I can asnwer one of your question about biblical support of many Catholic practice.

After Luther reformation, most church believe that Bible is the only authoritative source of Christian teaching. Everything not found in bible is consider un-biblical and deleted from the practice.

A bit different, Catholic believe Bible as well Tradition as source of the teaching. Bible is the written teaching of Jesus, while Tradition is Jesus teaching which preserve in earliest Christian community but not written in any text.

I guess, everything you asked before may derived from tradition of earliest Christian community, It's a 2000yrs old tradition... that's quite impresive... isn't it?

Answer 8

I am not Catholic
but it is clear in the Bible, repenting to others help us to be serious about our sins (as counseling) we need each other as one body.
Jam 5:16 So then, make a statement of your sins to one another, and say prayers for one another so that you may be made well. The prayer of a good man is full of power in its working.

Answer 9

You ask a good question and it deserves a good answer. Don't know if mine will be so but I'll give it a try.

When Jesus Christ sent the disciples out two by two without money or begging bag or extra clothing, he did this to test them. Jesus prayed for them and every where they went they did what Jesus asked them to do. Heal the sick and cast out demons.

On there return, they the disciples were so overjoyed by there abilities, they all wanted to tell Jesus Christ at once.

Jesus said to them. Who say they that I am? Some said John the baptist, others prophets and the like. But here is wisdom let them that have the Spirit of God take not.

Peter said that you are the Christ, the Son of God, my Lord and my God. Jesus said to Peter, no man has revealed this to you but the Holy Spirit. And upon this rock will I build my Church. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven.

This is where the Catholics get this idea from, wrong that it is. For Jesus meant that those that the Spirit of God has revealed the truth to that Jesus Christ is God this is the rock, that cannot be moved.

As for anyone that passes from this flesh life into the spiritual life can no longer help them they leave behind.><>

Answer 10

Catholics can only be forgiven for certain things, unlike Christians. If we break one of the 10 commandments, we're toast. God and Jesus are two different things and the saints represent different types of prayers... So a Catholic would pray to a certain saint for a specific issue.

Catholics go to confession so they are punished by a priest for sins against God's rules. Catholics can't just pray to God and then carry on with the daily chores. The have to repent.

God only handles the biggy issues, the Saints handle the rest.

Now you know why I'm an Atheist.. I was baptized Catholic..had enough of that.