Thank you for your explanation.
~”(LDS members believe in intercessory prayer, do you not?)”~
No, we do not, at least not in the way I think you mean it. We do, as a matter of course, pray in the name of Jesus; but we always address Heavenly Father (these are, according to the unique LDS belief in the Godhead rather than the Trinity, two separate and distinct individuals).
~”No, It is the same as asking your Mom or your bishop or your best friend to pray for you.”~
That’s an interesting analogy; but why did so many Italian Catholics, in my experience, tend to -replace- Christ in their lives, to some extent, with their chosen saint? It was almost as if they felt unworthy to address God themselves, that they needed someone ‘better’ than they to speak to their Father in their behalf.
Due to my belief in a loving, caring, and very intimate God, this seems a rather strange concept to me - would not a caring Father delight to speak with His child, regardless of their own level of righteousness? I would tend to think so.
Am I accurate in my assessment? Why would a person not speak with God directly? Why the necessity of intercession?
I don’t think intercession is, strictly speaking, a necessity. It is, really, the same kind of thing as asking a friend or someone whom respect as a very “spiritual” person to pray for you. I thought of it that way LONG before I became a Catholic and before I ever asked Mary or any other saint to pray for me. In fact I could venture to guess the year. I’d say the fall of 1966.
This is an enjoyable experience because we're both listening to each other. Thank you for that. Plus, I never knew a whole lot about the LDS Church, so I appreciate the opportunity to learn.
"Why did so many Italian Catholics, in my experience, tend to -replace- Christ in their lives, to some extent, with their chosen saint? It was almost as if they felt unworthy to address God themselves, that they needed someone ‘better’ than they to speak to their Father in their behalf."
Well, since you refer to specific people you knew, you might get a better answer from them than from me. Ask them, if you are still in touch. If I may hazard a guess, I think they'd tell you that nothing could replace Christ in their lives.
I have observed that Catholics have a more robust idea of the "Body of Christ" than Protestants (and Mormons) seem to have. We experience ourselves as being in constant living contact with people who really are members (shall we say, cells, tissues, organs, systems) of one Body, who really can say with Paul, "I live; yet, not 'I', but Christ lives in me."
Do not imagine that those saints we ask to intercede for us, are "dead." They are still living members of the Body of Christ, who are in Christ and Christ is in them. We are intimate with them and with Christ. There is no sense of distance there.
"Due to my belief in a loving, caring, and very intimate God... would not a caring Father delight to speak with His child, regardless of their own level of righteousness? "
Amen to that!
"Why the necessity of intercession?"
Because we love one other.