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I know quite a few non Catholics who have prayer groups who pray for people in their church or the sick - what is the difference? If I meet someone I know and find they are in a terrible situation - I say I will pray for them - they accept that quite readily - Catholic or non-Catholic. I cannot understand how asking Mary or the saints to pray for us is so terrible. They are already in heaven.
A primer for protestants?
How about, “Some men in fancy robes way long ago made a bunch of complicated rules to keep themselves in power, and tradition matters to us more than the simplicity of God’s plan, and all the rigamarole makes us feel good, and it would be terribly upsetting to just follow scripture, so leave us alone?”
The “we’re just asking the departed to pray for us” usually gets trotted out in defense of what is unmistakably asking the dead to DO (”save us”, “protect us”, “grant us”, “give us”, etc.) things, along with words of praise and adoration - indistinguishable from outright worship violating the 1st Commandment.
Saints Intercede for us.
Once you understand this it really does not matter how it’s worded since God knows our hearts
From Scripturecatholic.com...
1 Tim 2:3 - because this subordinate mediation is good and acceptable to God our Savior. Because God is our Father and we are His children, God invites us to participate in Christ’s role as mediator.
1 Tim. 2:5 - therefore, although Jesus Christ is the sole mediator between God and man, there are many intercessors (subordinate mediators).
1 Cor. 3:9 - God invites us to participate in Christ’s work because we are God’s “fellow workers” and one family in the body of Christ. God wants His children to participate. The phrase used to describe “fellow workers” is “sunergoi,” which literally means synergists, or cooperators with God in salvific matters. Does God need fellow workers? Of course not, but this shows how much He, as Father, loves His children. God wants us to work with Him.
Mark 16:20 - this is another example of how the Lord “worked with them” (”sunergountos”). God cooperates with us. Out of His eternal love, He invites our participation.
Rom. 8:28 - God “works for good with” (the Greek is “sunergei eis agathon”) those who love Him. We work as subordinate mediators.
2 Cor. 6:1 - “working together” (the Greek is “sunergountes”) with him, don’t accept His grace in vain. God allows us to participate in His work, not because He needs our help, but because He loves us and wants to exalt us in His Son. It is like the father who lets his child join him in carrying the groceries in the house. The father does not need help, but he invites the child to assist to raise up the child in dignity and love.
Heb. 12:1 - the “cloud of witnesses” (nephos marturon) that we are surrounded by is a great amphitheatre of witnesses to the earthly race, and they actively participate and cheer us (the runners) on, in our race to salvation.
1 Peter 2:5 - we are a holy priesthood, instructed to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. We are therefore subordinate priests to the Head Priest, but we are still priests who participate in Christ’s work of redemption.