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As Catholics you do not pray to the saints but you ask them for their prayers. You are certainly not required to, but you would be foolish not to.

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Catholics pray to a priest vs pentecostal pray to God?

No Christian ( Protestant [for example, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist]) or Catholic prays to any entity except God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit--the Trinity.


Why are saints important to Catholics?

Saints are important because they make excellent roll models for us to emulate. They are also great intercessors for us before God. Here on earth, few of us really know how to pray for special favors. Saints, on the other hand, are experts at prayer and can help us to receive those requests that we might have to God. They are great allies.


Why do Roman Catholics pray 'with' a saint?

I am not Catholic, so I cannot say I am 100% sure this is correct. I myself do ask Saints to pray FOR me. Just like anyone else."Sarah will please you pray for me? I have the flu. Thanks.""Saint Sarah will you please pray for me? I have the flu. Amen."The difference is that one person was alive, and one person is alive.It would make sense to ask someone to pray for you who is very close to God. I would say that someone who is very close to God certainly knows how to pray for you. It is said somewhere in the end of Revelations that there were bowels of incense, which were the prayers of the saints. That is where the whole thing came from. Even if you choose not to ask saints to pray for you, you can certainly learn a LOT from them about your life with God. They are very loving people. Hope this helps anyone who reads.Catholics consider all those in a state of grace in the eyes of the Lord to be part of the Communion of Saints along with the saints in heaven - the Mystical Body of Christ. They are our intercessors in Heaven. They stand before the throne of God and know how to pray much better that we do here on earth. Can and do we pray directly to God? Yes we do. But, perhaps, we have a special favor to ask and we know a particular saint is a "specialist" in that area, such as St. Anthony helping to find lost items or St. Jude who is a specialist for hopeless causes. We can pray to them to "put in the good word for us" to Our Lord. It is no different that asking a close friend to pray for a special intention we might have. The only difference is we can see our friend but the saints we can not see. Sometimes it helps to pray directly to God and also to ask the help of a saint or saints..Catholic AnswerFirst of all, Roman is an epithet first commonly used in England after the protestant revolt to describe the Catholic Church. It is never used by the Catholic Church. .Secondly, Catholics believe in the "Communion of Saints", that means that everyone in the Church is connected in the Mystical Body of Christ. The Church sees itself as divided into three segments called The Church Militant (those of us still on earth), the Church Suffering (those in purgatory), and the Church Triumphant (those in heaven). Protestants have a very confused idea of what happens to a person when they die, I have hear some preachers who claim that all a person has to do is quit breathing, and they are in heaven treading the golden bricks of heaven's road. Others seem to think that the dead are in some kind of sleep until the end of the world, and Christ's return. Catholics believe that the saints are those who have died and are now in heaven with God, they are more alive and aware then you and I are who still see as through a glass darkly. They are with God, and just as we pray for others, the saints pray for those they love, so we ask for their prayers constantly.


What role do saints play in the Catholic Church?

Saints in the Catholic Church serve as role models and intercessors for believers. They are admired for their virtue, holiness, and dedication to God, and their lives are often studied and celebrated as examples to emulate. Many Catholics pray to saints for their help and guidance in specific areas of their own lives.


Why do Catholics build churches in honor of saints and worship them?

To clarify, we do not worship anyone but God himself. We, a monotheistic religion do not worship someone that is under the rule of God, it is illogical. Saints did not do good things to be worshipped, they did good things because they wanted to serve God, to bring glory to his name. Their works weren't meant to bring attention to themselves, but to God, but they can't completely keep themselves humble once they have become canonized as saints.What appears to be worshipping saints is really just asking them to intercede for us2, and asking them to pray for us*. We also venerate and honour these saints as well, praising them but not worshippnig them.It has nothing to do with worshipping saints but honouring them and praying to God through them.---- *We know that we can pray directly to God, but this is a more humble way of praying to Him. Also, they are saints, they are close to the Lord so their prayers would be more powerful than ours, since they are in heaven, they already know how to perfectly pray to God.2 Pray to God through someone else. Kind of like asking someone to tell another person something. One exapmle of this is Moses, only he could talk to God so people would ask Him to tell God.

Related Questions

Do Catholics pray to statues?

No, Catholics do not pray to statues. Catholics pray to God, Jesus, and ask Saints to pray for them.


What religions pray to saints?

The Catholics pray to Saints. They believe they are in heaven with God and pray on our behalf as well.


Can Catholics ask dead people to pray for them or do they have to be saints?

Catholic do not pray to 'dead people' unless they are saints.


Why do you honor saints in heaven?

Yes catholics honor and believe in saints. They pray to saints, build churches in their honor. Catholics believe that saints in heaven pray on their behalf to GOD.


Why do you pray to saints?

Catholics pray to saints to intercede on their behalf with God. The Reformation leader, Martin Luther, considered this akin to polytheism and therefore banned this practice from his churches, so Protestants do not pray to saints.


How does the church answer the criticism that Catholics pray to saints?

Catholics don't pray to saints they pray with saints to god with their prayers helping us. We also pray with Mary to pray for us. hence we don't say 'St.Andrew i pray to you' we say 'St.Andrew pray for us'


Why do some Catholics ask the saints for help?

Saints are believed to be divinely connected with God, like a direct line. So we pray to them to ask them to ask God to help us, or pray to God for us, we believe God can do some miracles, through the saints. For a Catholic, the Saints are very much alive and in heaven, and just as you would ask a friend to pray for you, you can ask the saints to pray for you as well. Catholics use the word "pray" in the traditional sense of the word, whereas most protestants use "pray" to be the same thing as worship. Catholics do NOT worship saints.


Who can a Catholic pray to besides the God?

Catholics pray to Mother Mary, St. Joseph - the father of Jesus Christ and they can pray to all saints. There are patron saints for almost each and everything. So in times of difficulty when you pray to these saints, these saints in-turn pray to God on your behalf and the petitions are answered soon.


What is the role of the saints in a church?

In the Catholic Church, saints are examples for Christian living. They are persons in history whose lives exalted the attributes the Church most wishes to promote: charity, dedication, faith, etc. Catholics also believe that the dead are able to pray to God from where they are in the afterlife. Therefor, Catholics will often petition these saints to include them in their prayers. It should be noted that Catholics are not required to pray to saints; they are free to pray only to God/Jesus/Holy Spirit if that is the practice which makes them the most comfortable.Answer:In the Bible, all believers are called Saints. If you believe, you are a saint. Therefore the question is actually what role do Christians play.


What is the role of a saints in a church?

In the Catholic Church, saints are examples for Christian living. They are persons in history whose lives exalted the attributes the Church most wishes to promote: charity, dedication, faith, etc. Catholics also believe that the dead are able to pray to God from where they are in the afterlife. Therefor, Catholics will often petition these saints to include them in their prayers. It should be noted that Catholics are not required to pray to saints; they are free to pray only to God/Jesus/Holy Spirit if that is the practice which makes them the most comfortable.Answer:In The Bible, all believers are called Saints. If you believe, you are a saint. Therefore the question is actually what role do Christians play.


The use of stautes in Catholic and protestant?

In the Catholic church, statues of saints are used as articles of devotion. Catholics regular kneel before statues and pray for the intercession of the saints they depict. Protestants do not pray to saints and do not kneel to statues.


What is the role of a saint in the church?

In the Catholic Church, saints are examples for Christian living. They are persons in history whose lives exalted the attributes the Church most wishes to promote: charity, dedication, faith, etc. Catholics also believe that the dead are able to pray to God from where they are in the afterlife. Therefor, Catholics will often petition these saints to include them in their prayers. It should be noted that Catholics are not required to pray to saints; they are free to pray only to God/Jesus/Holy Spirit if that is the practice which makes them the most comfortable.Answer:In The Bible, all believers are called Saints. If you believe, you are a saint. Therefore the question is actually what role do Christians play.