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Praying to Saints
All my life I have been told that Catholics were wrong in praying to saints, and to be quite honest in my earlier years of entering back into the faith, I did not believe in praying to saints myself. However, through personal study and prayer directly to God I eventually saw the beauty and wonderful experience that surrounds praying directly to saints. This essay will attempt to explain some of the teachings of the church in hopes that whether you are a protestant seeking more truthful information about this subject, or a Catholic that is looking for more information will end this essay with a better understanding of what the Catholic church teaches about prayers to the people who have departed from this earth.
Before we dive right into the topic, we need to take a look at what prayer really is. Prayer for many people becomes a personal definition. Prayer to different people can mean simply thinking about God in our daily lives, or it can mean loudly praying to God in tongues, or it can take on just about everything in between. Prayer in its most basic definition is simply "communication," and can take the forms of vocally speaking or internally meditating. So what is the difference between communication to God or to another brother or sister in faith?
The Catholic Church teaches that we are all one body of Christ. This means that all members are part of the Holy body of Christ with Jesus as the head. This does not declude members that God has called to heaven. If anything those members that have departed this physical earth are more part of the body of Christ than we are ourselves. Those members are in heaven with God. They have the ability to offer prayers to God just as we do. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing can separate us from the body of Christ unless we deny him. Therefore those members are still part of the body of Christ in heaven just as we are here on this earth. The Church teaches this through the Catechism when it says:
"956 The intercession of the saints. "Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness.... They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus.... So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped." (Eph. 4:16) Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life. I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth. (Tim. 2:5)"
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Here we see the direct teaching of the Catholic Church. When we pass from this lifetime to the next, we are not cut off from God's love. In fact if we die in a state of grace then we are closer to God than we were here on earth. Our usefulness does not end when we pass from this earth. We still can intercede for our brothers and sisters in Christ here on this earth.
Have you ever asked someone to pray for you? Why did you do that? If you truly believe that we are the only ones who can go directly to God with any of our own requests, then asking someone else to pray for us is useless, but if we believe that the person we make the request to will request to God on our behalf, then why is it so impossible that a fellow member of the body of Christ who has departed from this earth can not do the same?! Why are they not more in tune with God's will? They are after all in heaven. Can they not also request on our behalf something that we request of God? Scripture tells us the same thing:
"Hallelujah! Praise the LORD from the heavens; give praise in the heights. Praise him, all you angels; give praise, all you hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; give praise, all shining stars."
"Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones."
(Rev. 5:8)
So we see also from scripture that saints intercede, praise, and function for God just as we here on earth who follow his will do. Death shall never separate us from God. Death shall never separate us from the body of Christ. We are one body.
All the saints in heaven, pray for us.
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