You are just saying that God alone is not good enough, you cannot try to persuade in any other way. You pray to a saint because they are in heaven, are close to God etc. But saying that is saying praying straight to God is no good. God is God no other person is more powerful, so why pray to someone else? No I don't pray to others in my church to pray for me, for one they won't here me and for two they are no better than me. We tell each other are problems and they pray for us, you pray to someone that is dead, possibly in hell, and reject God's power. It is not the same thing, the only one that does any intercession is Jesus Christ our advisary. Mary does nothing for us she was highly favored and chosen by God nothing else. She is a sinner just like you and me Romans 3:23 "For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" Not everyone but mary has sinned. Please turn from your sinful church and come to a non-denominational church or baptist
2007-07-27 08:34:31 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
there is no point in praying 'to' anyone that is dead... once we die, we go to heaven and praise and worship. we don't pray for 8 million people back on earth.... no where in the bible does it say "and the throngs of the saints were all on their knees asking for God's help for people on earth"....
we need to form a relationship with Jesus Christ and pray thru Him alone to God the father.... just as when we confess our sins, they must be to God with true repentance in our hearts, not just words from our lips.
God wants to know each of us on a personal level.... talking to Him alone in our prayers is what He wants
2007-07-28 05:29:04 · answer #1 · answered by livinintheword † 6 · 9⤊ 1⤋
Ugh...God either does or does not use His creatures to accomplish His will. He could do it all Himself, yes...he could have personally took a pen and wrote the scriptures, but He chose to use people. He could directly heal people (and probably sometimes does) without prayer, but he usually acts through the medium of people. He could personally come down and evangelize the world, but instead he uses people--His body. Now, a Christian either does or does not remain a part of the body of Christ when they die. I believe they do, and that God is glorified when we recognize the honors of sanctity He has confered upon His servants, and we take advantage of their office as intercessors. God does not feel threatened by this!
Yes God alone is good enough. That's why He didn't have to create. But He did, in a selfless act of supreme goodness, so that people could share in His own divine life--grace.
To "pray" is to earnestly petition. We can say to a judge, "I pray thee, sir, have mercy." I understand that the word causes scandal, but really, a word is just a sound until it is paired with a meaning. It seems obvious that Catholics and Protestants have two different definitions of "prayer". For Protestants, it is always form of divine worship. I agree that it can be used as a vehicle for divine worship. But in the Catholic understanding of prayer, it is not always divine worship. It is simply a semantic disagreement. We pair a different meaning with the same sound.
2007-07-27 08:48:29 · answer #2 · answered by delsydebothom 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Catholic Church would say, in part, that they are not actually praying to the Saints (as objects of worship); they are merely soliciting their prayers to God much the way all Christians ask their fellow worshipers to pray for a particular need.
In other words, if you ask your Christian friends to pray about your upcoming job interview, a Catholic might do the same but they might also ask some of the Saints to also petition God for help with your interview.
They do not consider praying to Saints the equivalent of worship. I am not Catholic, but I have Catholic friends and they consider the idea of praying to Saints as praying to God abhorrent.
Regards,
Scalia
2007-07-27 08:42:35 · answer #3 · answered by ScaliaAlito 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Dear JV, For someone who professes to be a Christian you seem to be filled with hate for us Catholics. I thought the basis of Christianity lies in these two ideas: to love God above all others and to love thy neighbor as thy self. If I choose to ask a saint to intercede on my behalf why should that bother you or make me or my church " sinful ?''As far as Mary is concerned you say she was highly favored and chosen by God and for this reason she was born without original sin ( THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION) to be the mother of Jesus Christ and did not need to be baptized. She was never a sinner and as different from you as night is from day!
2007-07-27 09:29:54 · answer #4 · answered by kayrat48 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
We don't pray to saints. We ask them to pray for us. There is a huge difference.
Jesus himself says where two or more of us agree, it shall be granted.
Those in Heaven, being that close to God, will have direct knowledge whether or not something we desire IS good for us. So they are the best people to join us in our prayers. Or pray for that which is better for us.
I can ask my earthly friends. But they may agree to ask for something that God knows best. For instance, my brother wanted this specific job. He asked all his friends to pray for him to get this job. He got the job and he hated it. Rather than realizing the mistake he made (he should have been praying for the BEST job for him) he got angry with God. Got angry with God for giving him exactly what he asked for.
People are so silly.
It seems by and large you assume Catholics avoid God. I assure you we do not. God is my darling. My very best friend and family member. We speak often throughout the day. But that does not mean I do not turn to friends, both earthly and non earthly, for advice or comfort.
You do too. So stop accusing us Catholics of something we don't do simply because you don't understand us.
2007-07-27 08:47:07 · answer #5 · answered by Max Marie, OFS 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
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.
2007-07-27 17:18:44 · answer #6 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Why not just pray to God in Jesus' name and be done with it
2007-07-27 08:42:30 · answer #7 · answered by Big Daddy 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We ask them to pray for us. The more the merrier, prayers are good- no matter who says them.
2007-07-27 08:38:51 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
There is no point in praying to saints.
Doing that is just idolatry, just as praying to anything or anyone else is also idolatry.
2007-07-27 08:39:49 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋