Tag Archives: prayer

Can Anybody Hear Me?

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I’ve been debating with a Protestant (we’ll call him Joe) on the issue of praying to the Mary and the Saints. He posed an interesting question that I’m not sure how to answer. Here’s the whole exchange.

Me: "…the praying to Mary bit is not worship, so it is not idolatry. It’s like asking a very holy friend to pray for you."

Joe: "I suggest you read 1 Timothy 2:5. (I don’t believe that God wants us praying to anyone besides Him.)

"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" – 1 Timothy 2:5

Me: "I suggest you read Romans 15:30, Philemon 1:4, 1 Timothy 2:1-4 and this Catholic Enclopedia article.� I’m not looking to refight the Reformation.� I just want you to know that no true Catholic gives latria (worship) to anyone but God.� Take a look at the Catechism if you won’t take my word for it. :)"

"I appeal to you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf" – Romans 15:30

"I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers" – Philemon 1:4

"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 it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." – 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Me: "The point is that nearly all Christians believe that asking fellow members of the Body to pray for you or others is not only acceptable, but laudable.� Catholics and Orthodox believe that death is not a barrier between the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant. We ask the dead (the saints, small ‘s’) to pray for us as we would the living. We generally limit our prayers (really just requests for prayers on our behalf) to those whose lives were so holy we feel assured they are in Heaven (the Saints, big ‘S’). Among these is Christ’s mother. We see Mary as the perfect example of Christian discipleship. We don’t worship her or the Saints. To do that would be heretical and a very grave sin."

Joe: "Here’s a hypothetical situation: The pope, you, and two hundred Catholics in different cities all around the world pray to Mary at the same time. Who does she hear? If you say everyone, you are saying she is omnipresent. That is essentially saying that she is God. Actually, I don’t believe that she hears anyone on this planet who prays to her."

So I ask my St. Blog’s brethren, what’s wrong with the logic behind this question (aside from the fact he probably meant omniscient, rather than omnipresent)?

I suppose, at the very least, he should read this Catholic Encyclopedia article on the Communion of Saints.

Prayer Requests

My extended family is in need of intense prayer for private intentions. Suffice
to say that no life is physically in danger, but bad decisions have led to unpleasant
consequences.

A friend of the family also needs prayers. He used to go to the church I grew up
going to. He was my Lutheran conformation sponsor. He has prostate cancer and will
soon be receiving radiation treatments five days a week for the next five weeks.

Prayer Request

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Frequent readers are familiar with Jerry Nora. Well, he and his new bride need some
prayers. Before I tell you why, here’s some background information to this story.

A little over a year ago, Jerry bought a house in a decent neighborhood surrounded
by not-so-decent neighborhoods. He put a lot of blood sweat and tears into that
house. He, with the help of slave labor his friends, he replaced the shingles
on his very steep roof. He brought plumbers in to fix two very nasty sewage problems.
As one of the people who cleaned up the back-flow, I can assure it was not a fun
experience. To fix the problem, much of the basement floor had to be ripped up and
dig into. It was not cheap and not fun for those who dwelt in the house (trust me).
The second repair job required turning the front yard into the Grand Canyon. That,
too, was expensive and stressful. Later, he and Krystia washed over a decade of
tobacco tar from, added coats of primer to, and painted the walls of several rooms
in the house. When I visited about a month after I moved out, I hardly recognized
the place. They had a nice house, lived in what they thought to be a safe neighborhood,
and were newlyweds. Life was good.

Continue reading →

Ask and You Shall Receive?

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“For the smell of new rain, for pumpkins and Snoopy, for the aroma of homemade bread, for cotton candy, for funny looking animals like giraffes and koalas and human beings, let us give thanks to the Lord. – Prayers of the Faithful: cycles A, B, and C

*shudder* This book shows some of the awful consequences of unfettered reform. One doesn’t generally think of such a think as “bad” prayer, but this stuff is atrocious. (Thanks, Waiting in Joyful Hope)