Why do Roman Catholics ask Mary and the saints to pray for them?

Question

OK. We just heard from Lilmissykato that Roman Catholics don't worship Mary or the saints, they just the saints and Mary to pray for them. So, would anyone like to show what scriptures are used to support the idea that people who have died can pray for you and specifically that Mary can pray for you?

That's supposed to say "... they just ask the saints and Mary to pray for them."

Answer 1

Luke 20:35-38 (among other passages) "...Those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection. But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."

What we hear from Jesus is that (a) God is the god of the living, not the dead and (b) Those considered "worthy" (i.e. Christians) are "children of the resurrection" -- living children, not dead ones.

Matthew 25:46 "... the righteous [go] to eternal life."
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
(etc., etc., etc.)
Those who believe in Jesus have ETERNAL LIFE, not eternal death. So we know that the saints who have died in the flesh have crossed over from death to life and LIVE with Jesus in Heaven. They died, but they are no longer dead. They are ALIVE.

John 17: 20-23 (words of Christ again) "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

So here we know that it is the Lord's will that ALL believers be "as one." Any saint who is LIVING in Heaven with the Lord is part of this "as one" community. If the living saints in heaven were NOT part of this community of all believers, they would be in opposition to the Lord's will. And since they are heaven, made pure and totally sinless, they could not possible be doing anything in opposition to the Lord's will. The communion of saints -- living on earth and living on heaven -- is very true.

Now then -- what are the saints in heaven doing?

- Giving glory to God (Rev. 7)
- Accomplishing the work God has given them to do -- Matthew 25:21 tells us that "good and faithful servants" are "put in charge of many things.

Since the saints in heaven do not have physical bodies at this time, and since they don't have supernatural abilities what "work" could they be doing? Prayer! They are the ultimate prayer warriors.

We know that they care about what is happening to the Christians on earth and that they will actively help us when we ask, because the Bible says so. Galatians 6:2: "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Again, the saints LIVING in heaven could not possibly do anything in opposition to the law of Christ, so if the law means carrying each other's burdens, the saints in heaven are doing it.

The Bible also says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16). Are Christians on earth fully righteous? Not many of them! Most of them are pretty good but nobody is completely righteous. The only saints who are fully righteous are the ones who are already living with Jesus in heaven. So this verse obviously refers to them and it comes at the end of a passage exhorting us to seek the prayers of others.

As for Mary, she is established in Scripture as our intercessor with Christ in John 2. Jesus very clearly states that it's not yet His time. All Mary has to do is tell the servants, "Do whatever He tells you to do," and Jesus relents and out of respect for His mother, begins His public ministry. Mary did not ask for anything outside of the Lord's will, but only sought His help for the sake of others. This is what she continues to do. As we ask her to pray for us and seek Jesus' intervention on our behalf, she reminds us, "Do whatever He tells you to do," and if our need is within God's will, we can trust her to take it before her Son and ask for His intervention.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

They have no Scriptures to substantiate this. Checking out the list of doctrines and other issues of the Roman church, you find that in approximately A.D. 431 the Council of Ephesus said Mary was now to be called 'Mother of God'. The practice of praying to Mary and the saints came into the church approximately A.D. 600. The 'immaculate conception of Mary' was introduced by Pope Pius IX in 1854. The assumption of the Virgin Mary was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII in 1950. It is interesting how the Roman church has added this and that over the centuries. Some scholars have found that 75% of the rites and ceremonies in the Roman church are of pagan origin,

Answer 3

To answer lilmissykato's question:

James 5:14
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

EDIT: I'm not bashing or making fun of..in any way, but did you see Carl's answer. He blatantly said they worship Mary and the Saints. This is why so many Protestants get confused about the Catholic religion. Half of them say "we don't worship Mary", the other half say they do???

EDIT 2: yes, he deleted, but not before many had seen it. Go away from a foolish man, for you will not find words of much learning.

`

Answer 4

Let's get one thing Straight. It's not about RELIGION or DENOMINATION !
It's about a personal relaionship with Jesus Christ. Not Mary she was only highly favored among women.She wasn't without sin. Mary was a direct decendant of Adam. Jesus had disciples,not saints. There aren't any scriptures to back up the Ideas of praying to Mary or Saints. We are told to Pray In The Name Of Jesus. No one can go unto to The Father,except by Me (Jesus). The Bible does say we have a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on to run the race. We can ask other fellow believer's to pray for us...But not Mary or the saints. They were human beings just like us.Be carefull lest ye be deceived...By false teaching and doctrines of demons...We have God The Father,Jesus The Son Of God & The Holy Spirit. Not God,Mary,Jesus & The Holy Spirit. Mary Isn't part of the Godhead...

Answer 5

William.......
When you are ill, do you seek out an MD (someone qualified to treat your illness)? In your life, you need to buy a house, school and college for children, getting a bill passed, getting a product patented in your country, state, city, town you will definitely approach the concerned authority to finalize and grant permission et al. Every person has his/her dignity and authority of office to perform the required task because he's been trained and/or experienced and/or qualified for the position.
Likewise, Mary - to mention just one - has Hers as His Immaculate Virgin and Mother. All the writers/apostles / men & women of the old and new testament are proof of power thru them from God. The entire Bible speaks of it.
Eg. There was healing power in Peter's shadow (NT). From the OT, they could not look upon his (Moses) face as it was shining after seeing the face of God (just once at that!),

Weigh now the importance and compare Moses vs Mary, prophet vs. His Mother, who carried the Son of God in Her virginal womb and gave birth to Him while He maintained Her virginity as He issued forth into this world. He is God! and can do ALL things.

Also, by leaving out / excluding the heroic lives led by the Saints, implies that you do NOT believe in the "resurrection of the dead and life everlasting" .... for Rev. says that we shall reign alongside the Lamb of God. read up and educate yourself!

Christ came, showed us the way, some follow, many don't. They stand far off and critize, condescend and condemn. All fruits of Pride.
When God humbled Himself to become Man, what must we NOT do to follow Him and be like Him!

Where do you wanna be William? Do you think you can make it on your own? No man is an island...

Answer 6

There is the same practice in Pravoslavnaya Church. Saints are commonly supposed to be closer to God to help you get the message to Him quicker, and to pray for us, but it doesn't correspond with the whole sense of Gospel. Our Lord can hear our pray without help of our friends or saints. And He knows better what is good for us, so why to send him any messages? We should praise Him mostly, and thank Him, and the goal of a pray is to think about Him and His ways, to see the right way and right decision for us in our problems.
But as He is a living God, He can change His plans for us, if we want it, as we have a free choice in life, and He is in actual communication with us and DOES things we ask from Him in His name.

Answer 7

The Church has been doing so for a pretty long time. Much longer the Protestants have been around. Perhaps God told them something that He hasn't told you?
I'm not being a smart *** either. I was Catholic and if I ever (which won't happen but still) went back to Christianity I would go back to Catholicism. It has a much longer and richer history and if you LEARN about the history it explains a great deal about how it works.
You shouldn't assume that you have it right. Or that they do. It's been working for 1400 years as the RCC and its Holy See's. They must be doing SOMETHING right, huh?
And to be honest, by telling the world they "worship idols" which is FAR from the truth if you made the effort to learn about the Church, is bearing false witness about a House of God. Sorry, but I can't see God being too damn happy about that, can you?
This is the Holier then Thou attitude that people outside the churches see. You can't even accept you own?? Geez. You are SO right and they are SO wrong. One of the oldes Christian Churches of all time, out side the Greek Orthadox? Seriously. Think about it.

Answer 8

Your not going to get any scripture for this, because there is none.They refuse to listen to scripture, look at Leviticus 26:1.
This church is of the Antichrist, and whats really sad about the whole affair is that these people have had these man made doctrines ground down deep into them since birth. I see a few though that are coming out of it and receiving the truth of the Word.Praise God for that.

Answer 9

Something doesn't have to be in the scriptures to become an article of faith.

The credo is this: that the Saints are with God in Heaven. Mary is one of those Saints. It is therefore believed that they can 'speak' to God on our behalf, since if they are with God, then they must be privy to our prayers, the same as God is.

Answer 10

Show the scripture that supports asking friends to pray for you.

I do believe Mary and the saints are our friends and they do care about us. They know the glory of heaven and they want to help us get there because they know its not easy to live a Christ-like life.

Answer 11

You need to get a grip and get off that high horse your sitting on. Being Catholic is so much than being Christian(and by the way we were the first Christians). Do you know what the definition of a saint is? A sinner who keeps trying no matter how difficult it seems. And Mary is the Mother of God. Clearly you follow your bible which states this or else it wouldn't be Christian. God chose her to be the mother of His most precious Son. What's wrong with giving her a place of honor in our churches and our hearts. I'd say she more than deserves it. Wouldn't you?