WHY DO WE PRAY TO SAINTS?

This is the most frequent question asked by our Protestant brethren. Yes, true we must pray directly to God because He alone can grant us our heart's desires. Catholics should also ask the brethren. "Will you pray for me if I ask you?" or "Will you help me pray for my personal intention?", if the brethren answers "Yes" then we can say to them "that's the function of the Saints, they pray for us, they help us in our prayers. They intercede for us, molding our prayers before offering it to God."


My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there are a lot of texts in the Bible that affirms this doctrine of the Holy Catholic Church, for example in the book of Revelations: "angel offers prayers of the holy ones to God" (Rev. 5:8). Here, St. John the Evangelist perceived the destiny of man at the end of times and he saw that all of the angels pray for God's holy people, they intercede for us. The Saints are those who lived a holy life while they were alive here on Earth, they have been exalted by God at the hour of their death and rewarding them with life everlasting. They are now in the hand of God (Wisdom 3:1-6), the Saints are alive in the Kingdom of God in heaven along with the angels, they intercede for us like angels as stated in Revelation. The Saints does not grant us the prayer that we ask for, as I've said a while ago, only God can grant us our prayer, because God knows our necessities and He will give it to us as long as it is for our own good. The Saint on the other hand helps us pray, we ask for their INTERCESSION, interceding for us to God.


The Saints also act as our models of holiness here on earth because they too are sinners like us but they lived a holy life, following God's will, dodged their sinful life and lived according to God's will. A good example of a sinful man but turned into a great Saint is our Holy Father St. Augustine, he lived a very sinful life but found God and converted by the help of the prayer of her mother, St. Monica. When we are alive we are intercessors as well, but we continue to intercede even after death because we are alive, born again to Eternal Life in the presence of God as the book of Wisdom had said. 


My dear brothers and sisters, this is our call to be intercessors of our brethren to God, intercessors during life and after death. We are called to pray for one another, praying for others is a great expression of love. As the Lord Jesus said: "Love one another as you love yourself' (Mt. 22:39). Like the Saints, may we also be a blessing to others by our constant prayers. God Bless.


"May God our Father give you grace and peace. We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in our prayers for you because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you bear toward all the saints." (Col.. 1:4)

                                    All you Holy men and women. Pray for us.