To what end? Sanctification was not available on the regular basis prior to the Church age.
A vain argument. Sanctification was needed, and sought and to varying degrees obtained by men prior to the Church age, as seen by men such as Daniel, Job and Noah, David, Zechariah, etc., with the quest for such abundantly evidenced in the Psalms.
"In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. " (Psalms 138:3)
In addition, as examples of many Catholic prayers attests, PTDS is not simply for sanctification, but protection and help in temporal matters, etc. The very fact that sanctification and supernatural help was sought and obtained to varying degrees would makes prayer to angels a fitting and recorded among the approx. 100 prayers in Scripture, but there is none, and instead prayer is made directly to God.
"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved..."Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. " (Psalms 62:5-6,8)
Your conclusion simply does not follow
For people familiar with the concept of eternal life after death being like a treasure in heaven, which St. Paul longed for, it does. for someone with a tin ear for the Holy Scripture, -- I don't know.
A tin ear?! Rather it is an ear to hear what Scripture says versus Roman reading into it that which they desire it to mean!
Having life abundantly includes the afterlife,and the elect will judge angels, but the Holy Spirit also much details the "so great salvation" and abundant life for believers now
I never denied that;
Thank you for the clarification, and sorry for any misunderstanding. As you specifically used the word saints - not believers - which according to Rome (not Scripture) are only those believers in Heaven, and abundantly life as relating to the afterlife, thus it appears this is what the "abundant" aspect referred to. In any case, there is simply no evidence of them being prayed to, or even hearing and answering prayers addressed to them.
They are "prayers of the saints" so they were prayed by the saints. You are ignoring plain scripture, and repeatedly.
The angels was given the prayers as an offering to be made at the time of the trumpet judgments, not as a regular postal service that delivers prayers, which is what this text is used to support, and for praying to them and by extension, to saints.
Instead, what is taught is that believers have boldness to enter into the very holy of holies by the blood of Jesus, therewith to meet directly with God. (Heb. 10:19) You are ignoring what Scripture plainly states, and reading into it that which is not there due to a lack of any actual support for PTDS, and treat Scripture as something you can manipulate to serve Rome, and repeatedly so.
this does not support praying to them
At a minimum, it shows that saints are cognizant of our affairs, and so it becomes reasonable to also pray for they witness to Christ.
More is required for PTDS than saints simply being cognizant of our affairs, and nothing shows this except your eagerness to see Scripture as showing what it does not state, but at best may only allow for that, which still does not support praying to them.
The closest you can come to saints being cognizant of our affairs is Rv. 6:10, but which simply shows a query and cry for justice. I have no doubt they know the end is near due to the increased population in Heaven, and activity therein, but this is not the same thing as hearing and responding to prayers, much less advocating praying to them, rather than directly to the Lord, after the manner of every prayer to Heaven in Scripture and the doctrine of it.
In review:
1. In its multitudes of prayers, does Scripture provide even one prayer by believers praying to anyone in Heaven but the Lord? ? No!
2. Does Scripture provide any kind of supplication being made to anyone in Heaven but the Lord? Yes. By pagans! (Jer. 44)
3. Does Scripture teach us to pray to or call upon anyone in Heaven but the Lord? No.
"But thou, when thou prayest,...pray to thy Father..." "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. (Matthew 6:6,9)
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. " (Romans 10:13)
4. Is there any need for an Heavenly intercessor btwn God and man save for Christ? No, believers have direct access to God in the holy of holies.
5. Is there any insufficiency in Christ, from accessibility to ability to relate to man and make intercession for him, that would warrant praying to others in Heaven? No; Christ is uniquely and supremely able as the believer compassionate high priest, accessibly to all by faith.
6. Was any interaction btwn believers from Heaven and those on earth that of mental prayer to them, or a personal visitation? The latter.
7. Does Scripture actually show that the departed are given the Divine attribute close to omniscience, so they can hear and process an infinite amount of prayer? No; only the Lord is shown being able to do so.
I could go one but for time constraints. No other basic necessary practice has zero positive examples and such a lack of substantiation, and contrary to what is taught on who the direct object of prayer to Heaven is, and access thereto.
Indeed, and Christ is seen conversing with such men at His transfiguration, in the presence of Peter, John and James, teaching them and us that it is possible to have conversation with an Old Testament saint. It was not however the norm, and certainly the idea contradicts rabbinical Judaism. However, in Tobias we see Archangel Raphael interceding for Tobias and his son throughout, and Raphael said "I offered thy prayer to the Lord" in Tobias 12:12, showing that the eyes of the Jews were gradually being opened toward the reality of the coming Kingdom. Nevertheless without a firm faith in specifically the Christ, Whose sacrifice creates the multitudinous Catholic Church a prayer to either a saint or an angel could not really take shape.
an ear to hear what Scripture says
And it says: I give you life abundant, and St. Paul says "to me death is gain ... a thing far better" (Philippians 1:21-23), and treasure awaits us in heaven when we die (Mark 10:21).. You are not familiar with these parts of the Holy Scripture?
As you specifically used the word saints - not believers - which according to Rome (not Scripture) are only those believers in Heaven, and abundantly life as relating to the afterlife, thus it appears this is what the "abundant" aspect referred to
I would not use the word "believer" as a synonym for "saint" because we are not saved by faith alone. However, to call someone a living saint is entirely possible, and in fact St. Paul often called living people saints. The point is not that a life of a Catholic Christian is not abundant as he bathes in the sanctifying grace of the Church daily, but that our life takes on a different and augmented character should we die a good death.
The angels was given the prayers as an offering to be made at the time of the trumpet judgments, not as a regular postal service that delivers prayers
Note: first it was not a prayer but a "memorial"; then it became prayer but not by saints, and now it is, finally, a prayer -- you still cannot bring yourself to quote fully "of the saints", but for some Pavlovian reason that prayer is only possible after the the trumpet and not before the trumpet. And besides, the first time the "prayers of saints" are offered is immediately after the Eucharistic Jesus becomes apparent, in Rev. 5:8, as He becomes apparent at every Mass. This is getting quite comical.
still does not support praying to them.
How do you think they become cognizant?
Your first three questions do not arise if you understand what a prayer to a saint is. Of course these are instances when a saint joins me in praying with me to God. Where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20). I already commented that veneration of saints was a spontaneous development outside of the scope of the scripture. It is about as silly to ask for instances of fully developed veneration of saints in the scripture as to ask for instances of driving cars and flying airplanes in scripture.
4. Is there any need for an Heavenly intercessor btwn God and man save for Christ?
Indeed there is, "I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men" (1 Timothy 2:1), right before St. Paul speaks of Christ being One mediator. Read the Hoyl Scripture once in a while and you, too will become Catholic and will be able to explain it to others.
5. Is there any insufficiency in Christ, from accessibility to ability to relate to man and make intercession for him, that would warrant praying to others in Heaven?
While Christ is the sole source of salvation, the believer must apply his Redemption to his unique circumstance in life. See, for example, Col 1:24 where Paul speaks of such "insufficiency". An example of a saint provides instruction not found in the Scripture, because saints come from all cultures, historical periods and walks of life, same as people wishing to be saved.
6. Was any interaction btwn believers from Heaven and those on earth that of mental prayer to them, or a personal visitation?
Both: people pray to saints silently, and also in full voice, and also are visited by saints in rarer moments. Our Lady visited a whole town in Portugal once. Why is that an important distinction?
7. Does Scripture actually show that the departed are given the Divine attribute close to omniscience
What the exact mechanism of a saint hearing and answering prayer is, we don't know, but we know that somehow it is possible due to the scripture already discussed: the similarity to angels, clarity of vision, etc. With God, dear Dan, everything is possible.