Does Devotion to Catholic Saints Bring People Closer to God?
As a former Roman Catholic, I remembered that there were certain saints that my folks and I prayed to. There was St. Claire, St. Nicholas (who is seldom affectionately called Santa Claus), St. Jude, St. Bartholomew, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Benedict, St. Dominic, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and the list can go on. My childhood Pope, the late John Paul II, was later canonized during the reign of Pope Francis. John Paul II became an influential figure during his 25-year reign. Pope Pius XII was also considered for sainthood after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI declared him a "blessed" - something that's below a saint but still considered an important figure. You have other contemporaries like Theresa of Calcutta who has also become a saint. Each saint had a special purpose, like praying to a particular saint for a particular purpose. Then you've got several Catholic saints for in times of sickness, like St. Therese of the Child Jesus and St. Peregrine, to name a few of the many Catholic saints that were prayed to. Some churches even have a patron saint, like some pagan temples have a patron deity or saint.
Catholic Answers has also tried to talk about their justification in praying to the saints. The following can be found in the article "Praying to the Saints" which I've selected important parts of their justification:
Some might try to argue that in this passage the prayers being offered were not addressed to the saints in heaven, but directly to God. Yet this argument would only strengthen the fact that those in heaven can hear our prayers, for then the saints would be aware of our prayers even when they are not directed to them!
The intercession of fellow Christians—which is what the saints in heaven are—also clearly does not interfere with Christ’s unique mediatorship because in the four verses immediately preceding 1 Timothy 2:5, Paul says that Christians should intercede: “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 pleasing to God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1–4). Clearly, then, intercessory prayers offered by Christians on behalf of others is something “good and pleasing to God,” not something infringing on Christ’s role as mediator.
God thus indicates that one is not to conjure the dead for purposes of gaining information; one is to look to God’s prophets instead. Thus, one is not to hold a seance. But anyone with an ounce of common sense can discern the vast qualitative difference between holding a seance to have the dead speak through you and a son humbly saying at his mother’s grave, “Mom, please pray to Jesus for me; I’m having a real problem right now.
The answer is: “Of course one should pray directly to Jesus!” But that does not mean it is not also a good thing to ask others to pray for one as well. Ultimately, the “go-directly-to-Jesus” objection boomerangs back on the one who makes it: Why should we ask any Christian, in heaven or on earth, to pray for us when we can ask Jesus directly? If the mere fact that we can go straight to Jesus proved that we should ask no Christian in heaven to pray for us then it would also prove that we should ask no Christian on earth to pray for us.
Well, one reason why I prefer to pick up the side of Catholic Answers over The Splendor of the Church blog by Abraham Arganiosa is the degree of civility the writers have. Moving on, I would like to stress that I do have to give my objections based on these claims made by Catholic Answers:
- The claim of saying that the saints in Heaven aren't aware of the prayers is real. However, the prayers were never addressed to them. Reading Revelation 5:8 says that it was the prayers of the saints and not to the saints. There's a big difference in that.
- The claim that praying to saints is asking for intercession. However, there's a big difference between living people asking living people to help pray for them or to pray with them. 1 Timothy 2:5 means there's only one Mediator between God and man, that is Christ Jesus. True, Christians can pray for each other and with each other. The issue with a dead saint is totally different. Aren't the prayers to the saints written as such in a Catholic prayer book, such as "Prayer to Saint (Insert Name)"?
- We can indeed agree that God warns not to communicate with the dead for personal gain or for gaining information. However, it seems very impractical to ask your dead relative to pray for you in the grave when you've got living people to help pray for you and with you. Yes, I agree that Catholics aren't performing seances like those done by fortune-tellers and other practitioners of witchcraft. However, it's still necromancy to attempt to communicate with the dead even in the absence of seances.
- The final part is pretty self-defeating when they say, "Of course, one should pray directly to Jesus!" Yet, many times, prayers meant for Jesus are somewhat bypassed to His blessed earthly mother Mary, to an apostle, or to anyone who's considered a saint by the Catholic Magisterium. When Christians ask fellow Christians to pray for them (and with them), they are all directly praying to Jesus. Yet in the Catholic prayer request, a living Catholic may be praying to a certain Catholic saint for a certain Catholic instead.
Praying to saints and to Mary has become a really big obstacle for Catholics seeking to get closer to God. God encourages people to go directly to Him through His Son rather than having to go through Mary and the other saints. John 2:5 has Mary telling people to do whatever Jesus tells them to do. Yet, that passage has been used by Catholics to justify praying to Mary, therefore, making her request invalid without them knowing it. Mary was politely rebuked by Jesus by telling her not to tell Him what to do because His time hadn't come yet. Jesus never invited people over to Mary but to Himself. Mary was a godly woman, and we can't deny that. However, Mary has been so elevated beyond how the Bible describes her as that wonderful godly woman and mother to model to the point that she seems like a pagan goddess. More and more Catholic saints are added to the list, making it a hurdle to pray directly to Jesus.
Pray to God and to God alone. Pray for others to God and to God alone. Don't pray for others by praying to Catholic saints for them. Only God can directly accept the prayers of the faithful. The saints in Heaven are incapable of directly receiving these prayers. Mary herself is too busy praising God to hear requests. People in Heaven may be free of their blemishes, such as old age and physical handicap, but they don't gain God's omniscience. They still have their limit, like the angels who serve God.