Catholics: Why do Catholics insist on praying to the dead?

Why do you presume that all those who have lived a life that was faithful and have loved God are simply dead? human beings are a duality of body and soul and only the mortal remains lie in the grave,Angels do not have bodies but as spirit beings they are very much alive and with God.

You are proposing that God could be so cruel as to allow the soul/spirit to be imprisoned in a grave while being fully aware that it is being deprived of union with God.

(John10:10) `I have come that they may have life and have it to the full`, could Jesus be so flippant with His words? I think not, Jesus died and rose again thus the grave has no power over those who love God,the immortal soul goes back to God and awaits the resurrection of the body on the last day,this does not mean that the immortal soul cannot function in much the same way as an Angel.

(II Maccabees 12:43-46): "And making a gathering, he [Judas] sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection, (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,) And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins."

We Catholics have no problem believing that Mary is with her glorified Son in heaven,but it sure seems that you have.

Mary is not a Goddess, nor is She a replacement for Jesus in Catholic teaching,Mary is not (the) Mediator either, She recieves Her grace to intercede for humanity directly from Christ Himself.

Jesus Christ is the one and only mediator between God and man, but Jesus can decide how he wants to employ his mediation, that is why when Paul says that Christ is the only mediator, he also appeals for mediation from others besides Christ!, we are all subordinate mediators in the one Mediator.

That is why you can pray for me and I can pray for you. The Father accepts our prayers when united to those of His Son, this is also why Paul says that he makes up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His body, the Church (Col 1:24). Were Christ's sufferings lacking? of course not, then why did Paul write this? because God accepts Paul's subordinate sufferings and mediation when united to those of His Son, this is part of the mystery of the Church and the communion of saints.

None of the early reformers believed that Mary was a sinner which proves Protestantism is theologically chaotic.

If Mary was a sinner, then Jesus would have received a "sinful" humanity from his mother. This is a blasphemy against the Incarnation.

Not in the Bible?

Rom. 3:23 - Some Protestants use this verse "all have sinned" in an attempt to prove that Mary was also with sin. But "all have sinned " only means that all are subject to original sin. Mary was spared from original sin by God, not herself. The popular analogy is God let us fall in the mud puddle, and cleaned us up afterward through baptism. In Mary's case, God did not let her enter the mud puddle.

Rom. 3:23 - "all have sinned" also refers only to those able to commit sin. This is not everyone. For example, infants, the retarded, and the senile cannot sin.

Rom. 3:23 - finally, "all have sinned," but Jesus must be an exception to this rule. This means that Mary can be an exception as well. Note that the Greek word for all is "pantes."

1 Cor. 15:22 - in Adam all ("pantes") have died, and in Christ all ("pantes") shall live. This proves that "all" does not mean "every single one." This is because not all have died (such as Enoch and Elijah who were taken up to heaven), and not all will go to heaven (because Jesus said so).

Rom. 5:12 - Paul says that death spread to all ("pantes") men. Again, this proves that "all" does not mean "every single one" because death did not spread to all men (as we have seen with Enoch and Elijah).

Rom. 5:19 - here Paul says "many (not all) were made sinners." Paul uses "polloi," not "pantes." Is Paul contradicting what he said in Rom. 3:23? Of course not. Paul means that all are subject to original sin, but not all reject God.

Rom. 3:10-11 - Protestants also use this verse to prove that all human beings are sinful and thus Mary must be sinful. But see Psalm 14 which is the basis of the verse.

Psalm 14 - this psalm does not teach that all humans are sinful. It only teaches that, among the wicked, all are sinful. The righteous continue to seek God.

Psalm 53:1-3 - "there is none that does good" expressly refers to those who have fallen away. Those who remain faithful do good, and Jesus calls such faithful people "good."

Luke 18:19 - Jesus says, "No one is good but God alone." But then in Matt. 12:35, Jesus also says "The good man out of his good treasure..." So Jesus says no one is good but God

The catholics pray to the dead because their religion is one of works and paganism. They use their teachings from the catholic church over the truths from the scriptures.

The model prayer Jesus gave us prays to God only. Nowhere in the scriptures does Jesus allow us to pray to anyone other than Him The catholics believe mary is working with God as a god helping Him because His powers are limited. They believe God does not have the power to hear everyone prayers at once and only mary has the power to hear all the prayers at once.

The catholics believe mary is more powerful than God himself because He needs mary's help.

Didnt you just ask this question?

Looks like you dont believe in Jesus and his message? You now have a serious conflict with scripture.

Mark 12:27

He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You therefore do greatly err.

John 8:52

The Jews therefore said: Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever.

The Saints are Alive.

Mark 12:27

He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You therefore do greatly err.

The bible tells us the Prayer of a Righteous person does much. Who more Righteous than the Mother of God and the Saints?

Proverbs 15:29

The Lord is far from the wicked: and he will hear the prayers of the just.

James 5:16

Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved. For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much.

Revelations 8:4 And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel.

All Catholics are Born Again Christians.

I will pray for you

<<<Devout Catholic>>>

There was a good and holy man at my church - I'll call him David.

Because I believed David to be a good and holy man, I sometimes asked him to pray for me or for others in need of prayer.

When he died, I believe that was not the end of his life, but a new beginning. He is alive and just as surely in communion with God as he was here on earth - probably more so.

I continue to ask David to pray for me and for our church. I have full confidence that he does pray for us and that his prayers are heard by God.

God bless David and God bless Jason. Keep them in your loving care and draw them close to you always!

HERE'S THE REAL ANSWER FROM A REAL CATHOLIC. My Church is eternal and so are its members. We do not pray to the dead, for they aren't dead; heir spirit are live and reside with Christ for the rest of eternity:

1 Cor. 12:12,27; Rom. 12:5; Col. 3:15; Eph. 4:4 - we are the members of the one body of Christ, supernaturally linked together by our partaking of the Eucharist.

Rom. 8:35-39 - therefore, death does not separate the family of God and the love of Christ. We are still united with each other, even beyond death.

Matt. 17:3; Mark 9:4; Luke 9:30 - Jesus converses with "deceased" Moses and Elijah. They are more alive than the saints on earth.

Matt. 22:32; Mark 12:27; Luke 20:38 - God is the God of the living not the dead. The living on earth and in heaven are one family.

1 Cor. 12:26 - when one member suffers, all suffer. When one is honored, all rejoice. We are in this together as one family.

As for the intercessors:

1 Tim 2:1-2 - because Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5), many Protestants deny the Catholic belief that the saints on earth and in heaven can mediate on our behalf. But BEFORE Paul's teaching about Jesus as the "one mediator," Paul urges supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. Paul is thus appealing for mediation from others besides Christ, the one mediator. Why?

1 Tim 2:3 - because this subordinate mediation is good and acceptable to God our Savior. Because God is our Father and we are His children, God invites us to participate in Christ's role as mediator.

1 Tim. 2:5 - therefore, although Jesus Christ is the sole mediator between God and man, there are many intercessors (subordinate mediators).

Eph. 3:14-15- we are all one family ("Catholic") in heaven and on earth, united together, as children of the Father, through Jesus Christ. Our brothers and sisters who have gone to heaven before us are not a different family. We are one and the same family. This is why, in the Apostles Creed, we profess a belief in the "communion of saints." There cannot be a "communion" if there is no union. Loving beings, whether on earth or in heaven, are concerned for other beings, and this concern is reflected spiritually through prayers for one another.

We are certain that there is life after death on the word of God.

For the Catholic who lives faithfully in Christ, physical death is not the end, but rather the beginning of new life. We are called to be with Him forever in the glory of heaven.

Catholics also believe that our relationship with other Christians does not end with death. Catholic prayer to saints is a recognition of this communion.

While we live together on earth as Christians, we are in communion, or unity, with one another. But that communion doesn’t end when one of us dies. We believe that Christians in heaven, the saints, remain in communion with those of us on earth.

The Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints are not dead.

If you reject the notion of life after death,then it seems you are afraid to live life fully.

Scripture indicates, those in heaven are aware of the prayers of those on earth.

This can be seen in Revelation 5:8, where John depicts the saints in heaven offering our prayers to God under the form of "golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints."

But if the saints in heaven are offering our prayers to God, then they must be aware of our prayers.

They are aware of our petitions and present them to God by interceding for us.

1 Timothy 2:5, Paul says that Christians should interceed: "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).

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.

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).

The twenty-four elders 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).

The saints in heaven offer to God the prayers of the saints on earth.

We pray to the saints .They are still members of the Body of Christ.

The life which Christ gives is eternal life.

Every Christian who has died in Christ is forever a member of the Body of Christ.

This is the doctrine which we call the Communion of the Saints. Everyone in Christ, whether living or dead, belongs to the Body of Christ.

Catholic doctrine absolutely rejects the worship of anyone but God and rejects all worship of statues, whether of Christ or the saints. What the Church does allow is praying to the saints in order to ask for their intercession with the one true God. The Church also allows one to make statues to remind a person of Christ or the saint:

To be born again implies a radical change in a person, an event as life-altering as the "first birth" out of your mother's womb. When you are born again, the Holy Spirit makes a change in your soul, cleanses you from sin, and gives you a new nature, planting supernatural love in your heart. Just as you were once born into an earthly family, when you are born again you become part of a spiritual family, with God as the head and all his people, on earth and in heaven, as your brothers and sisters.

If you have been baptized, you already have been saved the Bible way and in the way the first Christians understood "born again."

Every time you ask these exact same questions, Catholics are giving you very good answers. Why are you ignoring those people? Is it that you are not in fact looking for the answer to a question, but are just looking for justification from likeminded fundies? Why are you spreading hatred and looking for people to put a stamp of approval on your hatred?

Catholics ask Mary and the saints to pray for them. They don't pray TO them. And they believe they are alive in heaven, not dead, because if they were dead, what hope would there be for the rest of us?

But I'm tired of answering your questions, since you never acknowledge the answers you get. So answer mine for a change, why are you trolling this forum?

I ain't Catholic but i'll take a shot

The Saints and Mary are closer to God than normal people. So by praying to the Saints, the Saints can then relay or amplify (in a sense) the message to God.

So it basically strengthens the prayer because they have themselves and the Saints praying to God.

1 Corinthians 12:24-27