Who Is Your Most Beloved Roman Catholic Saint To Pray To And Why??

[hermanodaniel]

Who Is Your Most Beloved Roman Catholic Saint To Pray To And Why????

Question: "Is prayer to saints / Mary biblical?"

Answer: The issue of Catholics praying to saints is one that is full of confusion. It is the official position of the Roman Catholic Church that Catholics do not pray TO saints or Mary, but rather that Catholics can ask saints or Mary to pray FOR them. The official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that asking saints for their prayers is no different than asking someone here on earth to pray for us. However, the practice of many Catholics diverges from official Roman Catholic teaching. Many Catholics do in fact pray directly to saints and/or Mary, asking them for help – instead of asking the saints and/or Mary to intercede with God for help. Whatever the case, whether a saint or Mary is being prayed to, or asked to pray, neither practice has any biblical basis.

The Bible nowhere instructs believers in Christ to pray to anyone other than God. The Bible nowhere encourages, or even mentions, believers asking individuals in heaven for their prayers. Why, then, do many Catholics pray to Mary and/or the saints, or request their prayers? Catholics view Mary and the saints as "intercessors" before God. They believe that a saint, who is glorified in Heaven, has more "direct access" to God than we do. Therefore, if a saint delivers a prayer to God, it is more effective than us praying to God directly. This concept is blatantly unbiblical. Hebrews 4:16 tells us that we, believers here on earth, can "approach the throne of grace with confidence."

First Timothy 2:5 declares, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." There is no one else that can mediate with God for us. If Jesus is the ONLY mediator, that indicates Mary and the saints cannot be mediators. They cannot mediate our prayer requests to God. Further, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ Himself is interceding for us before the Father: "Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them" (Hebrews 7:25). With Jesus Himself interceding for us, why would we need Mary or the saints to intercede for us? Whom would God listen to more closely than His Son? Romans 8:26-27 describes the Holy Spirit interceding for us. With the 2nd and 3rd members of the Trinity already interceding for us before the Father in heaven, what possible need could there be to have Mary or the saints interceding for us?

Catholics argue that praying to Mary and the saints is no different than asking someone here on earth to pray for us. Let us examine that claim. (1) The Apostle Paul asks other Christians to pray for him in Ephesians 6:19. Many Scriptures describe believers praying for one another (2 Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 1:16; Philippians 1:19; 2 Timothy 1:3). The Bible nowhere mentions anyone asking for someone in heaven to pray for him. The Bible nowhere describes anyone in heaven praying for anyone on earth. (2) The Bible gives absolutely no indication that Mary or the saints can hear our prayers. Mary and the saints are not omniscient. Even glorified in heaven, they are still finite beings with limitations. How could they possibly hear the prayers of millions of people? Whenever the Bible mentions praying to or speaking with the dead, it is in the context of sorcery, witchcraft, necromancy, and divination—activities the Bible strongly condemns (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-13). In the one instance when a "saint" is spoken to, Samuel in 1 Samuel 28:7-19, Samuel is not exactly happy to be disturbed. It is clear that praying to Mary or the saints is completely different from asking someone here on earth to pray for us. One has a strong biblical basis; the other has no biblical basis whatsoever.

God does not answer prayers based on who is praying. God answers prayers based on whether they are asked according to His will (1 John 5:14-15). There is absolutely no basis or need to pray to anyone other than God alone. There is no basis for asking those who are in heaven to pray for us. Only God can hear our prayers. Only God can answer our prayers. No one in heaven has any greater access to God's throne than we do through prayer (Hebrews 4:16).


Is prayer to saints / Mary biblical?

 

[hermanodaniel]

How does one determine truth from a lie? By testing the spirits! How does one test the spirits? By checking if they confess Jesus coming in the flesh!

In 1 John 4 it states
1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
Now I am quite sure every one here is acquainted with these verses but examine it carefully. Literally we can easily overlook and say all those that confessed Jesus coming in the flesh would certainly passed this test and all those who don't literally confess Jesus coming in the flesh are rejected such as: Islam, Hinduism, Taoism Buddhism and so forth. Now, catholics and heck even Jehovah Witnesses literally confess Jesus coming in the flesh so they pass the test right? WRONG! What does Jesus coming in the flesh mean other than literally confessing him coming in the flesh? Well Jesus we know is the Word of God and if we acknowledge and understand this in the spirit then when we read anyone who doesn’t confess him coming in the flesh is anti-christ its referring to obscuring his Deity as the Word of God. In other words, those who truly confess him coming in the flesh will glorify him for who he is THE WORD OF GOD. Those who only confess in the literal sense like catholics, jehovah witnesses etc. are obscuring his Deity by their doctrines that do not coincide with the Word of God, hence, a different Gospel and different Jesus who is not the Word of God but an impostor. (2 Corinthians 11) The body of Christ confesses Jesus coming in the flesh by exalting the Word of God above everything! Jesus Christ's supremacy John 1; Colossians 1 & 2; Psalm 138:2

Blessings

P.S BTW I have nothing against Catholics personally or anybody holding onto certain religions but since the Word of God is hidden in my heart I cannot tolerate their beliefs that are contrary to the truth! In Christ and his love I say seek Christ who is THE WORD OF GOD refined 7x!

 

[SantoSubito]

Where does that imagery stem from? Not from the Holy Spirit. The person's post is quite according to the Holy Scriptures, what you and your cohorts are posting here is nothing but catholic intellectual dribble, nothing to do with the Holy Word that is God.

I'm using the imagery Martin Luther used to describe it. In fact take out "theology" and it's pretty much a word for word quote. Basically it boils down to the age old debate of Imputed vs Infused righteousness.

 

[Dude653]

There is nothing in the Bible that even SUGGESTS that we should be praying to dead saints, or anyone other than God. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil was torn, giving us an open communication line to God. Praying to dead saints diminishes what Jesus did on the cross.

yep!!!! you are correct sir!!!!

 

[ChosenbyHim]

I have more than one that i personally pray too it is just the same as asking a christian on earth here to pray for you i see no difference except the Saints are in Heaven and we are here on Earth Theyare the Great Cloud of Witnesses spoken of in Hebrews Chap.11.

Hi OFM,

I just wanted to let you know that it is not the samething. There is a difference between praying for someone or having them pray for you and praying to someone. We are not to pray to anyone except God the Father through Jesus Christ our Mediator which is in Heaven. You must go to the Holy Bible and see what the Scriptures say about this matter. Jesus showed us how to pray to the Father in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

And we are not to pray to any of the dead saints. And by the way, according to the King James Bible, we are the saints. When you become a born again Christian, you are now a saint in Christ Jesus.

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; - Ephesians 5:3 (KJV)

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: - Ephesians 1:1 (KJV)

 

[Katy-follower]

I know when the pope visited here, over €2,000,000.00 was paid for the preparations for his visit in Valencia City alone. It was nice and clean though, on top of a bridge. Those nasty poor who had been lodging under the bridge had been "cleaned out" for his visit. Nice.

This is a vision that upsets me and then I'm reminded of Jesus.

Jesus lived a humble life. He had nowhere to lay His head (Luke 9:58) even though He was the Son of God and the king of kings. He came to serve, not to be served.

He would've chosen to eat with the homeless under that bridge and would've rebuked those who forced them to leave. As was said here in James 4:6: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." and Matthew 5:5: "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth"

 

[JaumeJ]

This is a vision that upsets me and then I'm reminded of Jesus.

Jesus lived a humble life. He had nowhere to lay His head (Luke 9:58) even though He was the Son of God and the king of kings. He came to serve, not to be served.

He would've chosen to eat with the homeless under that bridge and would've rebuked those who forced them to leave. As was said here in James 4:6: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." and Matthew 5:5: "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth"

The oddest point is most of those under the bridge were "working poor" immigrants who worked for very little pay. I suppose the reason: they fell through the cracks..........very sad, but YES Jesus would have been near if not there with them.

 

[Dude653]

The whole idea of praying to saints is based on assumption..Let's say you're praying to Saint Billy Bob...How do you know that Saint Billy Bob is even in heaven??

 

[StMichaelTheArchangel]

The whole idea of praying to saints is based on assumption..Let's say you're praying to Saint Billy Bob...How do you know that Saint Billy Bob is even in heaven??

Usually, a Saint is named a saint because of a miraculous sign which occurs either after their death or before. Sometimes miraculous healings will occur when sick people visit the relics of the Saints. This is because the relics of the Saints bear the life giving presence of the Holy Spirit and can dispense this healing to others who are near them.
This is definitely a sign that they are in heaven.


Here is a recent saint who's grace bearing body can work miracles even after death. His name is St John Maximovitch.

 

[cfultz3]

Usually, a Saint is named a saint because of a miraculous sign which occurs either after their death or before. Sometimes miraculous healings will occur when sick people visit the relics of the Saints. This is because the relics of the Saints bear the life giving presence of the Holy Spirit and can dispense this healing to others who are near them.
This is definitely a sign that they are in heaven.


Here is a recent saint who's grace bearing body can work miracles even after death. His name is St John Maximovitch.

Extremly sad dude. A dead body healing people.

 

[StMichaelTheArchangel]

Extremly sad dude. A dead body healing people.

Yes, that is the "power of His Resurrection" being shown. Its proof that Christ truly is the savior from death.
"O death where is thy sting, O grave where is thy victory?" 1 Corinthians 15:55


"When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled." (Acts 19:12)


Do you think that was only a one time event? What is the point of telling us this if only the Ancient Apostles could do it? Is not Christ "the same yesterday, today, and forever"?

 

[JaumeJ]

Usually, a Saint is named a saint because of a miraculous sign which occurs either after their death or before. Sometimes miraculous healings will occur when sick people visit the relics of the Saints. This is because the relics of the Saints bear the life giving presence of the Holy Spirit and can dispense this healing to others who are near them.
This is definitely a sign that they are in heaven.


Here is a recent saint who's grace bearing body can work miracles even after death. His name is St John Maximovitch.

Only God performs miracles, they are commonplace to Him.

 

[StMichaelTheArchangel]

Only God performs miracles, they are commonplace to Him.

Exactly, it is God who works through his holy ones, just like He did with the Apostles.

 

[SantoSubito]

Extremly sad dude. A dead body healing people.

Then I guess the man that was brought back from the dead by touching Elisha's bones is pretty sad?

2 Kings 13:21
21And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

 

[Grandpa]

Do you think it is odd that so many who don't even pray to saints have posted in this thread??

Did anyone actually list any of their most beloved RC saints?

Just wondering. I knew some people that would pray to Tony to help them find lost things. Maybe he is the patron saint of lost stuff??

There is different saints for different needs, right? The patron saint of safe travel, etc...

 

[cfultz3]

Then I guess the man that was brought back from the dead by touching Elisha's bones is pretty sad?

2 Kings 13:21
21And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

That is what it says in the Bible, and I still do not agree with how the Catholics are using objects for matters like this. There has to be more to 2Kg 12:21 than what it says on the subject. Otherwise, it would speak more often of this sort of thing in the Bible. Is there anymore verses which does speak about things like this?

 

[SantoSubito]

That is what it says in the Bible, and I still do not agree with how the Catholics are using objects for matters like this. There has to be more to 2Kg 12:21 than what it says on the subject. Otherwise, it would speak more often of this sort of thing in the Bible. Is there anymore verses which does speak about things like this?

There doesn't need to be anymore to it. The man was thrown down and he died then he touched the bones of one of God's Holy Ones, Elisha, and he was revived. That should be sufficient to demonstrate that God can and does work wonders through his Saints even after death.

 

[cfultz3]

There doesn't need to be anymore to it. The man was thrown down and he died then he touched the bones of one of God's Holy Ones, Elisha, and he was revived. That should be sufficient to demonstrate that God can and does work wonders through his Saints even after death.

Perhaps for you, it is enough. But, there has to be more to that story then you are taking from it. But to each his own.

 

[SantoSubito]

Perhaps for you, it is enough. But, there has to be more to that story then you are taking from it. But to each his own.

Such as? It looks to be a pretty clear cut story, but regardless God told us that bit for a reason.

 

[StMichaelTheArchangel]

Perhaps for you, it is enough. But, there has to be more to that story then you are taking from it. But to each his own.

In the Acts of the Apostles, there is another proof of the healing power of the Saints.The objects associated with them such as clothing or aprons, became healing vessels the Holy Spirit, and of the power of Christ.

Behold, read what it says:

"When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled." (Acts 19:12)


This is telling us that there is something special about the items, clothing, and the very bodies of the Saints. This is unusual and strange for earthly minded man to comprehend, but that is what the text is telling us. You may have doubts about this, but that is because you do not understand what St Paul meant when he said, "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Saints bodies, because of their great holiness and sanctity of life, became filled and radiated with the Holy Spirit. Anything also associated with them became filled with the Holy Spirit... That is why Acts 19:12 says that even the clothing or aprons on their backs (in that case the Apostle Paul) cured diseases, and cast out demons. This was not a one time event, it is a spiritual Truth for all ages and generations.