by PIBarrington

Created on: March 14, 2007   Last Updated: October 02, 2010

I have heard some of the most insane theories from people who have never even read any Catholic writing, nor asked a priest or a lay Catholic about this subject. I have even heard one non-Catholic say that we "worship" saints as idols and do not worship Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

I am amazed and even more dismayed at how this mis-information is accepted so readily without question.

If you believe that any of your loved ones has died in the belief in Jesus Christ's salvation and is living in heaven with Jesus, you believe exactly what Catholics believe. Let me go a little further before you close your mind.
When Catholics ask saints for a favor, we are not asking the saint to PERFORM the favor-they are not God. They are saints who are alive in heaven with Jesus Christ.

If you believe in heaven and that people after death can go there, why would you have a problem with them speaking directly to Jesus on your behalf? If you have a problem with that, I believe that is almost like saying, "well there is no REAL LIFE after death." Catholics believe that saints are LITERALLY ALIVE in heaven with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Right about now, you are probably beginning to bristle with outage. I am not in any way trying to demean or insult any other Christian denomination. Quite the opposite. I feel very hurt that other denominations sometimes actually hate Catholics.

Let me explain this in the way Catholics should have been explaining it for years. While I am no doctor of the church, I never hear priests, nuns, or any Catholic use this simple explanation that I hope and believe would keep other denominations from freaking out over this subject.
Ready? Okay.

Let us say that, oh, your mother, daughter, son, husband, father, in fact the person walking the Earth today that you love the most, has just learned he/she has the most awful type of cancer, and you asked me or your friends, neighbors, relatives, or co-workers to say prayers to Jesus for this person. You may ask for a miracle cure, you may ask that person to have strength to endure the illness, or you may ask that we pray that this person will accept Jesus before he/she dies. Moreover, you are asking us, humans, to intercede to Jesus for you or whoever it is, you love. Okay, if you can ask us, human beings who have not yet joined or not joined at all in some cases,
Jesus in heaven, then why would you have a problem asking a saint who is alive and with Jesus literally to ask or "intercede with" Jesus for your request?
Am I being clear?

If you came to me and said: "My mother has cancer. Would you pray for her?" That is exactly what we are doing with the saints. We are asking them to PRAY FOR US. We are not praying TO them although that is usually how it is described. We believe that the saints are just as alive as I am to you. The only difference is that they are alive with Jesus in heaven.

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