Do Catholics 'Pray' to the Saints? w/ Fr. Thomas Joseph White, OP

In this video, Fr. White answers the question "Do Catholic pray to the saints?"

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[josephjude]

Love the short clips. I'm a working man, so these are so useful.

[danaduckworth]

My husband is not Catholic and wanted to understand this as well. I am learning more about my Catholic faith recently then in the entire 12 years of Catholic school in the late 80’s/early 90’s.

[marountayar]

I am a father and I have three children. Now if my children loved each other and helped each other and cared for each other, will that offend me? Of course not, It will please me. Now why do protestants believe that if we, his children, should intercede and help and love and pray for each other, that this would offend God our Father? The reason why the Saints are in Heaven is not ( as the protestants falsely claim faith alone ) but because of their faith and love. Now love never ends and if love never ends, then again, why do protestants refuse the fact that our brothers and sisters in the Lord who are in heaven do love us and care for us and intercede for us. They are alive with God in Heaven, because our God who is the God of Abraham the God of Isaac the God of Jacob is NOT the God of the dead but of the living. So yes, not only it is right to ask the Saints to pray for us, but it is also necessary in God`s family, in the Church which is his mystical body, that we do love and pray for each other and help each other. GBU

[josephjude]

Love, love these videos. I wish I knew this growing up.

[jotunman]

People should check out - St. Padre Pio an Italian priest who was known for his piety and charity, as well as the gift of the stigmata, which has never been explained.

[susannagiers]

@PintsWith Aquinas As a Protestant who is on the threshold of becoming a Catholic, I believe 100% that those in heaven are more alive than we here on earth, that they offer their prayers in the presence of God, and that we *could* entreat their intercession in a purely objective sense, but the trouble I have with this concept (and it is the concept that is personally the most difficult in Catholic and Orthodox teaching) is -- how do we know that those in heaven are "aware" of our earthly lives and can hear us in such a way that we can ask them for specific things (as opposed to general knowledge of the broader plans of God)? I totally understand the idea of Tradition as a source for this, but it troubles me that we don't have Sts. Paul, Peter, John, etc. recommending this in their letters, or the author of Hebrews, when he tells that we are surrounded by such a "great cloud of witnesses, " doesn't go on to say, "so we should implore their help" ... I know there are examples in the early church fathers, but I'm struggling with this still. I'm sure Protestant "struggles" are somewhat frustrating for Catholics! Thank you for your patience!

[chubbs]

As a Protestant this cleared things up well. However I’m still stuck on the issue of us “knowing” that specific saints are in heaven. What is the catholic explanation of how we are certain as humans of this?

[kittyblaine]

Thank you for that explanation...I will definitely use his when I get attacked for praying the rosary

[Ezekiel-]

The real problem that never seems to get addressed is with the word "to" in relation to praying TO the saints.

As a Catholic who understands and predominately agrees with the protestant mindset on this, which is that we pray to God alone and yet WITH others (often) when we do so.

It really has nothing to do with tradition and Scripture like so many Catholics want to ad nauseum claim, but rather with rightly acknowledging that we pray to God and not to anyone else who is not (God).

Sure we pray WITH each other here on earth when we pray to God, but we are not praying to each other instead of praying to Him. The same can and should be said about the saints, we ask them to pray WITH us or for us to God but that practice is not a "to" that ever runs the risk of placing them in an inappropriate and/or idolatrous place before God.

That is why I tell protestants that I ask Mother Mary to pray with me to our Lord, and not to her apart from Him directly for any reason.

That is the unspoken and unduscussed difference that needs to be made clear in order to dispel any confusion or wrongful prayers being made by any of us.

God answers our prayers, no one else, even if He is using someone else as one of His instruments to do so.

In Christ, Andrew

[nasasjanitor]

Hi Matt! I am a protestant that is strongly leaning toward Catholicism. I am considering a conversion, but there are some issues I would like to resolve before doing so. My greatest struggle has been when it comes to accepting the Marian doctrines and how Catholics approach Mary. I would really like to understand more about this subject because I want to be sure about it. So, are there any books or resources that I could use in order to clear any doubts?

Thanks again and God bless!

[Christina-cfot]

I really liked that father pointed out that catholics use the older definition of the word "pray", which is "to petition". I think protestants have lost this definition because they don't have the sacrifice of the mass. Without sacrifice the only worship is prayer, and thus "pray" comes to mean "worship".

I think we get too caught up defending "praying to" because they hear "worshipping".

That distinction is important to clear up so the focus can be on the saints being more alive and still interested in us, because we're all one family. If charity is the only virtue after death, then certainly they love us more, not less.

[dariusmot]

Hi Matt. I am a protestant and here is my response:
1. Mary is not co-redemtrix or mediatrix
Only one mediator and redeemer.
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, (1 Thimothy 2:5).
2. Mary is dead=Rosary is useless
The Bible defines death as a sleep 54 times in the OT and 18 times in the NT. Martha said:
John 11:24, NIV: "Martha answered, 'I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
3. Venerating is worshiping
The Latin word Venerate means to revere, adore, worship Acording to the latin dictionary.

[jamesb]

Ok as a Protestant, I really appreciated this response.

Seriously wrestling with this. But I have a question. Wouldn’t the dead (but alive saints) need to be omni present to hear prayers?

[BillyTeaStoop]

How do you know there is a mechanism for being able to communicate with those in Heaven? Wouldn't you have to also assume they are omnipresent and if not omniscient, at least able to communicate by means that have no scriptural basis to be able to hear your prayers at any time and any place? It seems to be attributing aspects of God onto the saved without basis. Also, if saying "why would you assume they are not praying for you, " wouldn't the inverse argument be just as valid? Why do you not assume that the saved are consumed by the presence of God and worshipping him?

[logiboy]

Protestants pray FOR each other because the bible commands them to; James 5:16. But they do not pray TO each other. The good Friar is unfortunately conflating these concepts.

[stevea]

That was nonsense. He should have prepositioned with " Here are the mental gymnastics that I need to go through for it to make any sense.".
He should have ended with "waffle, waffle waffle."
Seriously, that should turn off anyone who wrestles with this idea of praying to anyone or thing other than the Father, as Christ does.
I'm struggling with this point myself and I see no firm ground there. If it isn't rock you're building your church extension on then it's dangerous ground.

[thescoobymike]

Would you ever have a knowledgeable ex-Catholic on your show?