Saints?

Are there Saints in Heaven?

“Why do Catholics pray to anyone but Jesus?”  Short answer – Jesus is not alone in Heaven.

Remember that the Catholic Faith is the Fullness of Divine Faith.  We’ve got it all.  If you’re not Catholic, you just don’t know what you are missing!  I’ll pray for you.  oh, no wait.  You don’t seem to believe in that.  LOL.  We are always asking for prayers and praying for each other.  What makes us better or even more righteous than our very Holy brothers and sisters who are now in Heaven?

Excerpt from – “The Catholic Church Has the Answer” by Paul Whitcomb. (answers to dozens of questions)

Why do Catholics pray to Mary and the saints when Sacred Scripture states that there is one Mediator between God and man—Christ Jesus? (1 Tim. 2:5).

When Catholics pray to Mary and the other saints in Heaven they are not bypassing Christ, whom they acknowledge as the sole Mediator between God and man. They are going to Christ through Mary and the other saints. They are asking Mary and other saints to intercede for them before the throne of Christ in Heaven. “For the continual prayer of a just man avail much.” (James 5:16). How much more availing is the unceasing prayer of the sinless Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ! St. Paul asked his fellow Christians to intercede for him: “Brethren, pray for us.” (2 Thess. 3:1). And again: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the charity of the Holy Ghost, that you help me in your prayers for me to God…” (Rom. 15:30). Christ must particularly approve of our going to Him through Mary, His Blessed Mother, because He chose to come to us through her. And at Cana, He performed His first miracle after a word from His Mother. (John 2:2-11).

It is clear in Sacred Scripture that the saints in Heaven will intercede for us before the throne of Christ if they are petitioned in prayer (Apoc. Or Rev. 8:3-4), and it is clear in the records of primitive Christianity that the first Christians eagerly sought their intercession. Wrote St. John Chrysostom in the fourth century: “When thou perceives that God is chastening thee, fly not to His enemies, but to His friends, the martyrs the saints, and those who were pleasing to Him, and who have great power.” If the saints have such power with God, how much more His own Mother.

Excerpt below from – “Praying to Mary and the Saints” c/o EWTN.com

“Not only do those in heaven pray with us, they also pray for us. In Revelation, John sees that “the twenty-four elders [the leaders of the people of God in heaven] fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (Rev. 5:8). Thus the saints in heaven offer to God the prayers of the saints on earth.

Angels do the same thing: “[An] angel came and stood at the altar [in heaven] with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God” (Rev. 8:3-4).

Jesus himself warned us not to mess with small children because their guardian angels have guaranteed intercessory access to the Father: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 18:10).

Because he is the only God-man, Jesus is the only Mediator between man and God (1 Tim. 2:5), but this in no way means we cannot or should not ask our fellow Christians to pray with us and for us (1 Tim. 2:1-4), including those Christians in heaven, who have already had their sanctification completed, for “[t]he prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects” (Jas. 5:16).

8 thoughts on “Saints?

  1. When I pray the Rosary when I am done with the; mystery and praying the Hail holy Queen I pray for peace in the world. The conversion of sinners and pray for the souls in purgatory for them to be granted in to the Kingdom of Heaven with our Lord Jesus an Mary Mother and as them to pray for us that we may receive Gods Grace to Heaven also. Amen We thank God for his beloved son our Lord and savior Jesus Christ for ever and ever.

  2. All believers are considered Saints, according g to Paul! Nowhere in the Bible does it say we are to pray to anyone other than God/Jesus. Jesus IS our intercessor and there is no other! Yes, we should ask for prayers with our brothers and sisters in Christ, but you are deceiving people when you tell them to pray to anyone other than God/Jesus! That is why we pray in Jesus’ name, according to the Will of the Father. Jesus is our High Priest and we can go directly toHim. Another fallacy of the Catholic Church. It breaks my heart that you mislead people and Jesus and Paul spoke strongly against false prophesies, which you seem to foremost of all religions. But one day you will stand before Almighty God and give an account of your deception!

    1. Linda, I’m glad you are praying! Keep it up. This nation needs it. I’ll pray that you continue on your spiritual journey and learn as much as you can. Countless miracles have been attested to (by doctors) that came about through the intersession of countless saints. Here’s something to keep in mind, Jesus started the Church through the apostles, right? They formed many churches and we can see exactly how those apostles set things up. It looks remarkably like our Catholic and Orthodox masses (church services) of today. Don’t take my word for it. Dig deep and look into it.
      Peace be with you, Kevin.

  3. I’m a theologically conservative Lutheran. Pray for my Christian brothers and sisters /saints, in need every day. Only pray to Jesus. I find the roman catholic understanding of praying to the saints in heaven for their intercession to be confusing. How can any of us still on earth possibly know if the “Saint” to whom we are directing our petition is truly in heaven? I know the church has what I understand to be a process of canonization where deceased individuals are given sainthood. While I would never question that these dead Christian brothers and sisters led exemplary lives setting a wonderful example for us still in this life. How can anyone still on this side of eternity truly know the fate of those who have passed from this earth. What happens if the Saints in question are still experiencing purgatory? Love Catholic answers by the way. Blessings, Jay.

    1. “What you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; what you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”, Jesus Christ. He didn’t say that as if it were a supposition or an ongoing contemplation. Jesus told us that as a well thought out part of a plan that was set in place due to the mind being made up and that it was so.
      I understand your hairball here, we have it too, but, Jesus did say it, He presented it as a command and both on us as well as in heaven. In the absence of any other instruction in making provision for declaring sainthood, this is enough. He conferred it unto His Church and those who would be the human administrators of the embryonic Church He called, “My Church”. If He had not done that I don’t think we would do it. Jesus did a lot while He walked among us and none of it was written by Him… …He intended us to believe and do as He tells us to do.

      1. I’m not sure if I’m reading this correctly, but my only comment is that yes, you don’t need the Catholic Church to anoint you or anyone else a saint. But if an individual is officially recognized as a saint, you can be sure that he or she is indeed a saint and in Heaven with Jesus.

  4. Jay,
    Keep moving on your wonderful journey. Keep asking questions. Canonized saints have multiple miracles documented and passed through a rigorous verification process. Imagine what life would be like if there were no miracles. You don’t hear about any documented miracles performed by Buddha or other mainstream religions. That’s the beauty of our Christian religion. We’re inundated with miracles. Also, remember that the apostles performed miracles too. Take a deeper look into the Catholic Church. Jesus left us a Church that continued from the Apostles. We have ALL that information. We have the fullness of faith. Growing up as a Protestant, I quit going to church because all I needed was my Bible. While the Bible is VERY powerful and packed with GOD’s plan, there’s more to the story. The Catholic Church gave us the Bible, and they also passed on much more. Take a look for yourself. Keep truckin’ on that journey. It’s the most important thing in life.

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