Why do Catholics pray through saints?

Answer 1

The reason is because saints are closer to God than us. We ask them to intercede (Pray for us/ask God something for us)

We can just pray to God but prayers of saints are stronger than our prayers.

Catholics do not pray to saints they ask saints to pray for them. Hence, Mary, Mother of God pray for us. It is the equivalent of asking a friend to pray for you, but better because the saints are already in Heaven and are closer to God.

It is just like asking someone on earth to pray for you except that the saints are in heaven. They love Jesus and they love to pray to Him for others. Many miracles have been performed through the intercession of saints.

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Catholic AnswerTo understand asking for the intercession of the saints, one must first understand the Communion of Saints.

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from Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

Communion of Saints.

The unity and co-operation of the members of the Church on earth with those in heaven and in purgatory. They are united as being one Mystical Body of Christ. The faithful on earth are in communion with each other by professing the same faith, obeying the same authority, and assisting each other with their prayers and good works. They are in communion with the saints in heaven by honoring them as glorified members of the Church, invoking their prayers and aid, and striving to imitate their virtues. They are in communion with the souls in purgatory by helping them with their prayers and good works.

So the Communion of Saints involved all people in the Church, what used to be called the Church Militant (those on earth), the Church Suffering (those in purgatory), and the Church Triumphant (those in heaven). Those in heaven are known as saints, as St. Paul says, they have run the race and gotten the prize, they are with God now. They are perfect and are very much interested in their younger brothers and sisters on earth (us). They can help us immeasurably with their prayers and supplications for us. So, just as we would ask a friend to pray for us, these friends of ours in heaven can pray much better, and we ask for their prayers, as well. As this is part of revealed Christianity, and we have been doing it from the beginning, it is baffling why protestants have rejected the Communion of Saints, which is right in the Creed!

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This is a difficult question for Catholics to deal with because they do not understand why someone wouldn't pray to saints. After all, it is all through The Bible, and has been part of Christianity since the very beginning. The saints are very much alive, in heaven, and they love us, as Catholic theologian Ludwig Ott wrote: The angels and the saints lay the prayers of the holy on earth at the feet of God, that is, they support them with their intercession as also might be expected from the permanency of charity (1 Cor. 13:8). the propriety of invoking them logically follows from the fact of their intercession (Ott, 318).

For the intercession of the saints and their connection with the earth, please consult the following Bible verses:

Rev 5:8; 6:9-10; 8:3-4; Matthew 17:1-3, Matthew 27:52-53. For a complete discussion of this, please get The Catholic Versesby Dave Armstrong and read chapter Ten on the Communion of Saints. (link below)

Answer 2

Catholics believe that saints are closer to God and can intercede on their behalf. By asking saints to pray for them, Catholics seek their guidance and support in their own prayers to God. This practice is rooted in the belief in the communion of saints within the Church.