tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post3180563868838666882..comments2024-03-05T14:07:28.062-08:00Comments on Ask Sister Mary Martha: What's He Got That I Ain't GotSister Mary Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00580244097177195453noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-34782752963886617562007-10-26T13:56:00.000-07:002007-10-26T13:56:00.000-07:00What about children who have died? Don't they get...What about children who have died? Don't they get to go directly to Heaven if they are under the age of reason? They don't have to stop over in purgatory, do they? So we can be assured that these little ones are indeed a part of the communion of saints in heaven and we can ask for their intercession.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-77999280664965519712007-10-22T19:06:00.000-07:002007-10-22T19:06:00.000-07:00Great and to the point. However, I have a grandm...Great and to the point. However, I have a grandmother that the Pope didn't know that I feel is truly a saint, and my neighbor, "The Lady Next Door" was truly a saint as she never drove a car, lest she probably never swore! squeak, squeak, squeak!<BR/><BR/>Hugs!<BR/>Ebeth<BR/>Climbing for more canonized "no-bodies"Ebethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14090396741792229132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-25252274077453424242007-10-22T11:35:00.000-07:002007-10-22T11:35:00.000-07:00Sister,Please clarify for me.I was catechized to b...Sister,<BR/><BR/>Please clarify for me.<BR/>I was catechized to believe that:<BR/>Church Militant(us) may pray for Church Suffering (purgatory); and Church Suffering AND Church Victorious (heaven) may pray for Church Militant....I know that Church Suffering can't pray for themselves; which is why they need us...but can't they pray FOR us? And if so, then can't we "pray to" them for their intercession?<BR/><BR/>Also, I noticed one of your readers implied that you are a nun...I thought you were a Religious Sister? There is a difference, no? And you are the latter, yes?<BR/><BR/>Thanks Sister...God Bless YouAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-69374444092387057342007-10-21T09:55:00.000-07:002007-10-21T09:55:00.000-07:00Thank you for this post. when I was in the process...Thank you for this post. when I was in the process of converting from a fundamentalist, Calvinist upbringing to Catholicism, this one came up alot. A Catholic lady loaned me some Sott Hahn tapes where he addressed this question. Since he spoke in a (religious) language that I could understand I was able to "get it" and explain to others. <BR/>Not that they accepted it. But at least they couldn't say Catholics prayed to saints anymore.Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15984305420691237277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-7934120090997972802007-10-21T01:28:00.000-07:002007-10-21T01:28:00.000-07:00It seems that praying is something that we - the l...It seems that praying is something that we - the living - do in the here and now, separated from God. But when you are a saint and in the full presence of God, why do you still need to pray? Isn't there a word that implies a more direct method of communicating with the Maker that is available only to those who see Him "face-to-face?" <BR/><BR/>BTW, you are kicking rear-end in the Blogger’s Choice Awards.<BR/><BR/>TomTom in Vegashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17821971426359725229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-59648033964890238812007-10-20T11:11:00.000-07:002007-10-20T11:11:00.000-07:00I've heard that the souls in purgatory, while not ...I've heard that the souls in purgatory, while not able to pray for themselves, can still pray for us. Is this true? If this is the case, then wouldn't it be o.k. to ask Aunt Sally to pray for us? (We're praying for her--it would be nice if she could return the favor.)<BR/><BR/>Also, I just wanted to mention that many protestants feel "prayer" and "worship" mean the same thing, so I'm often able to clear the whole thing up by explaining the difference between intercessory and worship prayer.<BR/><BR/>Thanks so much for the blog!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-62404128681725670322007-10-20T08:27:00.000-07:002007-10-20T08:27:00.000-07:00I teach a course on early and medieval christianit...I teach a course on early and medieval christianity and I always emphasize that distinction. If I teach them nothing else, they're going to come out of my class knowing that catholic people pray for the intercession of the saints, not pray to them like they're a whole lot of demi-gods. I tell them even if they encounter confused catholic people, it isn't the official position.<BR/><BR/>my other favorite thing is teaching them the difference between the immaculate conception and the virgin birth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-53059319174561950812007-10-20T03:26:00.000-07:002007-10-20T03:26:00.000-07:00Dear Sister mary Martha,Thank you for undertaking ...Dear Sister mary Martha,<BR/><BR/>Thank you for undertaking the spiritual work of mercy of blogging. You write so well of the Faith and with such obvious care and love.<BR/><BR/>The teachings of the Magisterium support your gut preference to speak of "praying to" the saints. And they do so with no hedging or apology.<BR/><BR/>It is true that the <I>Catechism of the Catholic Church</I> describes prayer first, in the words of St. John Damascene, as "the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God" (<A HREF="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P8Z.HTM" REL="nofollow">n. 2559</A>) and as "a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God" (<A HREF="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P8Z.HTM" REL="nofollow">n. 2558</A>).<BR/><BR/>But we also raise our hearts and minds to the saints, we direct petitions to them, and we have a living and personal relationship with them, too.<BR/><BR/>From the Catechism: "'We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always [attentive] to our prayers'" (<A HREF="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2B.HTM" REL="nofollow">n. 962</A>). <BR/><BR/>Even more explicitly, the Catechism says of Mary: "We can pray with and to her" (<A HREF="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P9F.HTM" REL="nofollow">n. 2679</A>). It speaks of the "twofold movement of prayer to Mary" found in the "Hail Mary" (<A HREF="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P9F.HTM" REL="nofollow">n. 2676</A>) and teaches: "Because of Mary's singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray in communion with the Virgin Mary, to magnify with her the great things the Lord has done for her, and to entrust supplications and praises to her" (<A HREF="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P9G.HTM" REL="nofollow">n. 2682</A>).<BR/><BR/>Yes, when we "entrust supplications" to our Blessed Mother and the other saints, we are asking their help in gaining some favor from the One who is the source of every grace, and yes, when we direct "praises" to the saints, the honor which we express to them is essentially different from the honor we express to the life-creating Trinity. But this communication, this mystical converse, whether with God or His saints, is properly called prayer. We not only <I>pray to God</I>, we <I>pray to the saints</I>.<BR/><BR/>May our Lord, through the intercession of our Lady and all the saints, prosper your work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-13100245665302346822007-10-19T21:34:00.000-07:002007-10-19T21:34:00.000-07:00Sister, I think if you pray for Aunt Sally, and sh...Sister, I think if you pray for Aunt Sally, and she is in Heaven, she may just pray for you and help you out in a manner needed if she is in heaven. <BR/><BR/>Now, when we pray for the souls in purgatory, and then they are released and enter Heaven, can they not then remember us and pray for us?<BR/><BR/>Thank you for the writing, Sister. We need more folks like you who can defend the Faith with whit.<BR/><BR/>In our Good Lord and Most Gracious Lady,<BR/>La Bibliotecaria LauraLa Bibliotecaria Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09159679376366104715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-25766813033372789362007-10-19T20:12:00.000-07:002007-10-19T20:12:00.000-07:00Just an observation:Sometimes, I'll meet a Protest...Just an observation:<BR/>Sometimes, I'll meet a Protestant who will indignantly tell me that the Bible says not to pray to the dead. That's true; it says that, though in the sense of trying to conjure up spirits the way mediums claim to do or do some other satanic mischief.<BR/>But the Bible also says that those who die in Jesus Christ are not really dead. So we are never praying for the intercession of "dead" saints or for the salvation of the souls of "dead" Christians because they're all alive in Christ, in the cloud of witnesses. Except, sadly, for the ones in hell who may be "alive" in some sense but who didn't die in Christ. <BR/>Maybe you've already covered that in one of your posts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-78123604084455827522007-10-19T12:38:00.000-07:002007-10-19T12:38:00.000-07:00"Sister", would you mind very much pointing me in ..."Sister", would you mind very much pointing me in the direction of some Church documentation that we should not ask for the intercession of folks we know who have not been officially canonized?Thank you kindlyPilgrimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03696797039672986673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-20339809346576996152007-10-19T12:30:00.000-07:002007-10-19T12:30:00.000-07:00I wanted to say thank you, so much, for producing ...I wanted to say thank you, so much, for producing this blog. Your humor keeps me coming back, and when here, I find that my soul is fed. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-36613767770098281622007-10-19T07:44:00.000-07:002007-10-19T07:44:00.000-07:00Tell us more about Uncle Frank, he sounds like an ...Tell us more about Uncle Frank, he sounds like an interesting fellow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-29019350259386633312007-10-18T15:38:00.000-07:002007-10-18T15:38:00.000-07:00I've had the honor of explaining this whole saints...I've had the honor of explaining this whole saints/praying "to" twice. The first I did so well she's corrected other non-Catholics on it! "No, they don't pray <I>to</I> Mary..."<BR/>She told me recently that the idea that anyone (except God, of course) can "hear" us after they're dead plain never crossed their minds.<BR/><BR/>The other happened after telling someone we're a Catholic homeschooling family. "You don't pray to Mary, do you?" she said sideways. I started with, "Well, I ask her to pray for me, but she's not the one who grants the prayers," and by the end of our discussion it made sense to her.<BR/><BR/>But thanks for the clear and humorous explanation.Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01097516546958310450noreply@blogger.com