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To: dhs12345

Saints are those in Heaven with Christ. So I expect some of my ancestors are in Heaven with God and they are saints including my mother and grandparents. There are canonized saints that have gone through a process that the Catholic Church declares them a saint . Such as ST. Pope John Paul II, ST. John XXIII, ST Christopher, etc.

Just as a mother prays to God on behalf of her children or herself, we pray to the Blessed Mother and the saints to listen to us and also pray to God for us.

As Scripture indicates, those in heaven are aware of the prayers of those on earth. This can be seen, for example, in Revelation 5:8, where John depicts the saints in heaven offering our prayers to God under the form of “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” But if the saints in heaven are offering our prayers to God, then they must be aware of our prayers. They are aware of our petitions and present them to God by interceding for us.
But asking one person to pray for you in no way violates Christ’s mediatorship, as can be seen from considering the way in which Christ is a mediator. First, Christ is a unique mediator between man and God because he is the only person who is both God and man. He is the only bridge between the two, the only God-man. But that role as mediator is not compromised in the least by the fact that others intercede for us. Furthermore, Christ is a unique mediator between God and man because he is the Mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 9:15, 12:24), just as Moses was the mediator (Greek mesitas) of the Old Covenant (Gal. 3:19–20).

Why not pray directly to Jesus?” they ask.
The answer is: “Of course one should pray directly to Jesus!” But that does not mean it is not also a good thing to ask others to pray for one as well.

Catholics do not worship anyone but God.

http://www.catholic.com/tracts/praying-to-the-saints

All pardon for sins ultimately comes from Christ’s finished work on Calvary, but how is this pardon received by individuals? Did Christ leave us any means within the Church to take away sin? The Bible says he gave us two means.

Baptism was given to take away the sin inherited from Adam (original sin) and any sins we personally committed before baptism—sins we personally commit are called actual sins, because they come from our own acts.

For sins committed after baptism, a different sacrament is needed. It has been called penance, confession, and reconciliation, each word emphasizing one of its.aspects. During his life, Christ forgave sins, as in the case of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11) and the woman who anointed his feet (Luke 7:48). He exercised this power in his human capacity as the Messiah or Son of man, telling us, “the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Matt. 9:6), which is why the Gospel writer himself explains that God “had given such authority to men” (Matt. 9:8).

Since he would not always be with the Church visibly, Christ gave this power to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time (Matt. 28:20), would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave his power to the apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors and agents, since the apostles wouldn’t always be on earth either, but people would still be sinning.

God had sent Jesus to forgive sins, but after his resurrection Jesus told the apostles, “‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (John 20:21–23). (This is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man, the other being in Genesis 2:7, when he made man a living soul. It emphasizes how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was.)

http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-forgiveness-of-sins

Jesus delegated the authority to forgive sins to Bishops and Priests. Yes, we gain salvation and eternal life with God through the sacrifice on the cross by Jesus.


273 posted on 06/20/2015 5:55:07 PM PDT by ADSUM
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To: ADSUM

But I don’t pray to my mother, my grandmother, my grandfather. I only pray to God.

I do not need an intermediary nor would I believe that God would want me to talk to Him through some person dead or still living. A person that was deemed worthy only by some earthly bound person or persons.

Mathew 6:9-13. Jesus says “This then is how you should pray: Our Father in Heaven,...” He doesn’t say Saint Paul or Saint Christopher or Mary.... I pray to Thee, please put in a good word for me with God.

From your quote — Math 28:20. So lets back it up to Math 28:18. Then Jesus came to them and said, “all authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me.” He is saying go teach. He is NOT saying that he is giving the authority to absolve sins! This is completely wrong.

It is as if the Catholic hierarchy and Church are claiming that they are EQUAL TO Christ. Oh my gosh!


294 posted on 06/20/2015 9:30:48 PM PDT by dhs12345
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To: ADSUM; dhs12345
>>in Revelation 5:8, where John depicts the saints in heaven offering our prayers to God under the form of “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”<<

Then they can't be your prayers can they. You just said only those in heaven are saints. Then you make the gigantic leap of assuming those are prayers from people on earth who the Catholic Church does not consider saints.

>>For sins committed after baptism, a different sacrament is needed.<<

Prove that from scripture please.

>>Jesus delegated the authority to forgive sins to Bishops and Priests.<<

There is no office of priest in the New Testament ekklesia other than the High Priest Jesus Christ and the priesthood of all true born again believers.

302 posted on 06/21/2015 4:23:08 AM PDT by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus)
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To: ADSUM
Saints are those in Heaven with Christ.

Teaches Catholicism.

The bible is SILENT on this subject.

366 posted on 06/21/2015 1:23:38 PM PDT by Elsie ( Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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