We discussed that, did we not?
In the case of a saint, the Church tells us that he is hearing our prayer in heaven. In the case of someone not canonized, we pray for their intercession assuming that they are in heaven. If they are in fact not there, the prayer has no effect, that is all. Likewise, in the case of a prayer for a dead person, it is only effective if the person is in purgatory; if he is in heaven or hell, the prayer has no effect on them. It still has an effect on us, as a charitable effort, albeit fruitless.
We discussed that, did we not?
In the case of a saint, the Church tells us that he is hearing our prayer in heaven. In the case of someone not canonized, we pray for their intercession assuming that they are in heaven. If they are in fact not there, the prayer has no effect, that is all. Likewise, in the case of a prayer for a dead person, it is only effective if the person is in purgatory; if he is in heaven or hell, the prayer has no effect on them. It still has an effect on us, as a charitable effort, albeit fruitless.
Indeed we did. In fact, I was thinking of you when I wrote the question, AND, I am happy to report that your answer now is exactly as I remembered your answer back then. :) I was simply asking the same question of another Catholic, whom I do not know like I know you. :)
I certainly have no problem with prayers that turn out to be "fruitless in fact", e.g. asking the Lord to heal my friend who is sick, but then my friend dies. In that case, at least I can be certain that the Lord heard my prayer and then acted according to His will. However, I do have a "problem" with a prayer that might not even be an actual prayer to God, in that it never "gets through". Since you could take the exact same petition directly to God, I see that as a needless risk of "wasted" prayer time that otherwise rightfully belongs to the Lord.