Saints | Ask Fr Francis

As christians we believe that we are made for eternal life, and our being is an “embodied” spiritual reality. Death therefore is not an obliteration of our reality, but a temporary separation from our corporeal reality, our corruptible body.

They are the same. The only difference is that the canonized saints were more known here on earth and have been proven saints by the Church.

First of all, Catholics actually do spend a lot of time praying directly to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We do not have to look too far, just a casual peruse of the text of the Mass is evidence enough that the whole celebration is centered on worshiping God the Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.

As to why Catholics “pray to” the saints, more precisely, we…

If by saying praying to the saints you mean worshipping them, then absolutely the Catholic Church rejects such practice. It would be idolatry and is offensive to the Lord.

First of all, the holy people who passed on are not dead to God. Their bodies lie dead, but their souls are alive before God. We know this because at least three times Jesus either spoke of it or alluded to it:

This is a really good question. I’m glad that you brought this up. First of all, yes, the saints are all in heaven, and they remain limited as a creature. So no, they cannot be in multiple places, or can they hear all our prayers individually per se.

Ask Fr Francis

Tag: Saints

I read about your answer about prayers to saints. Who are the saints and why they can answers prayers?

It is now my understanding that this “saint” which Jesus had asked all of us to strive for differs from the “Saint” that I was confused with whom are “Canonized” through Church.

I was challenged by a Protestant group that why Roman Catholic pray to saints and Mary and not directly to Jesus and God. Do we Catholic deviate from what the Bible is telling us? I was a bit bothered by that question. Please help me understand why we practice such way.

Why do Catholics pray to Mary and the saints when in the Ten Commandments it says, “Thou shall have no other gods before me”? Isn’t praying to them idolatry? And same thing with the craved images of Mary and the saints, “Thou shall not make unto thee graven images”

Where in the Bible does it tell us it’s ok to pray to dead saints or the dead mother of Jesus? I only see where we can pray to God through Jesus and nobody else.