Why do Catholics think Mary & the Saints will hear their prayers more easily than Jesus Christ & High Priest?

Question

Can they feel her presence? Is her presence on an image?

As a Christian, I pray to Father God in the Name of Jesus my Lord. I also pray to Jesus Christ. And I have never sensed Mary. I praise God in Spirit during praise & worship. Though I know Mary's soul/spirit is in heaven with the Lord. And does do intercession like all the Saints in heaven do. As well as Saints on earth.

The question is how does Mary hear your prayers easier than Jesus does? Do you sense her more than God?

rukidding. I have prayed with others in faith. I have interceded in prayer. But we pray to Father God or Jesus Christ in the Spirit of unity. We agree together. We don't pray together to Mary or other heavenly Saints to pray for us. Though I know we have loved ones who have gone before us who may hear & agree with us. Especially if it is for an unsaved loved one.

Answer 1

If you asked me, a Saint, to pray for you, you have to tell me that request, via E-mail or telephone or snail mail.

Otherwise I can't hear it.

If you ask someone who has died to pray for you, how do they hear you?

With one Billion Catholics, there must be at least a million of them praying each minute of the day, how could Mary hear and keep track of all that unless they believe that Mary is God?

Is this why Jesus told us to pray to His Father? And not to his mother?

Pastor Art

Answer 2

You do know that this is one of the most over-asked questions we get right? We answer this question several times a day and if I see it more than three times a day, I don't answer because what's the use? No one seems to see that little icon that pops up and says "Wait! We might already have the answer you're looking for!" I'm not uncomfortable about this teaching at all. We're not worshipping the Saints or Mary. We're simply asking them to intercede our prayers for us. It's like asking a friend to pray for you when you're going through a rough time. You're asking the friend to pray for you, not worshipping the friend. There is a distinct difference between worshipping and honoring. We believe that the Saints and Mary are in heaven, along with our loved ones. So what better people to intercede our prayers for us. About the verse that you shared, you didn't read the whole thing. The four verses preceding it says,"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and pleasing to God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." Intercessory prayers on behalf of others are "good and pleasing to God." You also misunderstand Christ being human's mediator. He is very unique because He is the only person to be both God and Man. Therefore He is the only one that bridges the two together. Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant just as Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant.

Answer 3

>>Why do Catholics think Mary & the Saints will hear their prayers more easily than Jesus Christ & High Priest?<<

We don't.

>>Though I know Mary's soul/spirit is in heaven with the Lord. And does do intercession like all the Saints in heaven do. As well as Saints on earth.<<

You believe the same as us, so what's the problem?

Answer 4

I guess I'm getting a little testy here, but all of these "Why do Catholics. . .?" questions are wearing on my last thin, quivering nerve today. How would you feel if someone said, "Why do Protestants. . .(fill in the blank)?"

To begin with, that'd be making the same assumption about ALL Protestants that you've made about ALL Catholics. Not all Catholics believe the same thing, any more than all Protestants agree about everything.

Secondly, why do you designate yourself as a "Christian," as opposed to calling yourself by the name of your particular denomination? Are you implying that Catholics are somehow not Christians? That probably wasn't your intent, but it can be taken that way.

And finally, I have no idea of where you got the idea that Catholics think Mary and the saints are somehow one up on Jesus when it comes to hearing and answering prayers. That's not what the Church teaches, and I don't know any of my fellow Catholics who believe that way.

Jesus is our Lord and Savior, and we, too, pray in His Name. We ask the Blessed Mother and the saints to intercede with God and Jesus on our behalf, just as we would ask any other believer on earth to pray for us. I have definitely felt her loving presence when I ask for her prayers, just as I have felt the presence of different saints.

I hope that answers your questions, and next time, please keep in mind that not all Catholics think or believe the same things. Thanks.

Answer 5

Good for you! I must say that I'm surprised, though, that you have never asked anyone to pray for you or that you've never prayed for anyone other than yourself. Seems strange to me.

See, we Catholics believe that both Mary and the saints, both canonized and not, are alive. They just live in heaven not here on earth, but we believe they still live. Though I can just as easily pray to Jesus who IS God, I also ask Mary and the saints to pray for me as well since we believe that there is power in prayer. I thought you Evangelicals and/or Fundamentalists believed that, too. I guess I was wrong about that. Or am I?

Answer 6

Other than the fact that including the saints in our prayers is polite, the present day Christian faith was transmitted to us with their help.

If they hadn't kept the faith, and in many cases, suffered and died for the faith, Christianity might not be present in the world today.

In the case of the Blessed Virgin, if she had simply said "no" instead of "yes" ... today's world ... and eternity ... might still be a dark and very frightening place.

So, God's plan for salvation certainly included all the saints, and because they ARE saints, they honored God by cooperating with his divine will.

Why would we expect them to STOP cooperating with God's will now? And isn't it God's will to bless the faithful?

In the book of revelation, God promises to give power, privilege, and heavenly rewards to the saints ... and since charity is the most important virtue for ANY Christian ... saint or not ... why shouldn't we ask for their intercession with God, on our behalf?

Isn't our welfare and eternal salvation in everyone's best interest, including God's?

Why would we want to exclude the saints from our prayers, especially since INCLUDING them takes NOTHING away from God, and it might just lead to a genuine, heavenly, and supernatural event (miracle)?

Catholics are blessed to receive Jesus Christ in the holy eucharist, up to twice a day. We "know" Jesus as well as we know our own brothers and sisters, and maybe even better, and we have ample opportunity to spend quality time with Jesus, alone.

We often include the saints in our prayers because we have Jesus in common with them, and some times Jesus is just too awesome to keep to yourself.

You have no idea what you're missing!

Answer 7

Most Catholics ask for intercession and pray to God.

Answer 8

Don't you ask your family or friends to pray for you? Well, that's what we Catholics do when we pray to Mary and the saints. They intercede for us and who better than those who've made it to heaven?

Remember that Christ's first miracle at the wedding feast of Cana was performed because of Mary's request.

Answer 9

Why would any Christian ask any other Christian to pray for them?

Jesus taught us to pray for each other.

"Teach us how to pray," the disciples said to Jesus. (Luke 11, 1)

Jesus answered by teaching them the prayer we call the Our Father or The Lord's Prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give US this day OUR daily bread.
Forgive US OUR trespasses,
as WE forgive those who trespass against US.
And lead US not into temptation,
but deliver US from evil.

The entire second part of the Lord's prayer is intercessory prayer where we pray for ourselves and others (us, we, and our).

Christians praying for each other and the world is intercessory prayer and is accepted and practiced by all Christan denominations (that I know about).

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) living on Earth relate to the Body of Christ (saints) living 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, Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II.

As part of this family, you may ask your family and friends living here on earth to pray for you. Or, you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother living in heaven to pray for you.

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

And prayer to the saints is optional not required.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 946 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9p5.htm#946

With love in Christ.

Answer 10

Nowhere does scripture say to pray to any man or woman.Nowhere does the it say that any man or woman is to be worshipped.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Rev 18-22
Matt 24-25