Reposted from January ’09
Who needs the saints, what’s the point? A nicely done video by Fr. Jim Martin, author of My Life With the Saints, which has been endlessly plugged around here, and with good reason. It’s a good way to spend 3 1/2 minutes.
I’ve written before about the Communion of Saints and what it is like to pray with the cloud of witnesses St. Paul tells us are always around us. Christians profess the Communion of Saints in the Apostles Creed, but aside from the Catholics and Orthodox, we don’t actually talk about engaging them in prayer – asking them to pray with and for us. Anglicans recognise the saints, too, but are – I think – a little less pally with them, and the Evangelicals don’t think about them at all. That’s partly because, although there is growing friendship and understanding between Catholics and Evangelicals, there is a tremendous disconnect between them on this issue. Some Evangelicals swear we “worship” the saints instead of God and engage in idolatry, and we Catholics and Orthodox don’t do a very good job of explaining that our engagements with the saints are the farthest things from “worship” but are in fact, fast friendships wherein we pray together.
Also, Evangelicals and many Protestants insist that the canon of saints is unnecessary because “we’re all saints.” Well…okay, but if we believe in eternal life, then it seems sensible to me that those who went before us – now in heaven – are still capable of praying with us and for us, just like anyone else.
The supernatural is the supernatural. I’ve never understood how people can believe that God can Incarnate via a Virgin and rise from the dead, yet not believe that the same God can feed us with his own body and blood – just like He says in John, Chapter 6 – or that once eternal life is entered into, the dead can be alive in heaven but dead to us.
A friend sent me an email today asking for prayers for her dying father, who is a resolute atheist and a man with a rather impoverished spirit. She wrote:
He is one of the stubbornest men alive who has turned his life into a personal Calcutta, a personal hell, from which he will not cooperate one bit to emerge. Of course I pray for his return to health, but I pray more for a crack in that stubborn facade so that he can see God is reaching out, just wanting him to grasp the slightest bit at Love Himself.
The idea of his having created his own personal Calcutta came to me last night and made me begin turning to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) for intercession. If every anyone understood the utter poverty of being unloved, even if it by one’s own choice, it is she.
And this is where the ancient and traditional understanding of the Communion of Saints is brought into dynamic play in our lives. My friend was perfectly right – and likely inspired by the Holy Spirit – to consider that Bl. Teresa of Calcutta, who ministered to “the poorest of the poor” (and who warned the West that the meanest streets in Bombay did not compare with our spiritual poverty and emptiness) would be a powerful ally in prayer.
This is what we do every time we say to another, “please pray for me…” – we engage in the Communion of Saints. And when we ask those who are dead to the world but yet alive to pray for us, for our loved ones, we do it again. When we invite the saints to pray with us, our prayer becomes infused with the wisdom and insight, stout-hearted faith and absolute certainty of knowledge which they bring to it, because they are praying in the light of heaven.
When I pray the rosary at night, I invite my little “prayer group” to pray it with me. The Gang includes St Michael, Cardinal John O’ Connor, Mother Teresa, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Maximillian Kolbe and Richard Neuhaus (he’s new). Others come and go, depending on who or what I am offering the Rosary for. When praying for a friend who is a deacon, I invite in St. Lawrence or St. Stephen (both martyrs); when offering Thanksgiving, I ask Pope John Paul II, St. Philip Neri and St. Therese of Lisieux to pray along. When I am aware that I am failing in love, I ask Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity to pray the rosary with me and for me, because her writings on love have astonished me. When I pray for my nation, I invite Sts. Thomas More and Thomas Becket and all of the North American beatas, saints and others (everyone from Bl. Kateri Teckakwitha to St. Katharine Drexel, to Frs. Solanus Casey and Juniepero Serra, to past presidents and soldiers to pray with me.) Lately, with people worrying about their jobs, St. Joseph – patron saint of workers – is getting a lot of invites, and he never lets me down!
Praying the rosary with The Gang, btw, has created within me a love for the rosary which I could not manage – in 50 years of trying – to cultivate on my own.
Does it sound crazy? Well, alright, then, I’m crazy, but these people pray with me – I can feel them with me and we are together in prayer. Communion and community go hand-in-hand, and prayer is a serious and solid force that can do amazing things.
Tonight, when you’re saying your prayers – try inviting a saint you know to pray along. You don’t have to be Catholic, and the saint doesn’t have to be part of the Canon. You can ask your sweet granny who loved you to pray with you. I am certain she will.
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The Communion of Saints is so much easier to understand when viewed in the context of the Church Militant (us), the Church Suffering (those in Purgatory), and the Church Triumphant (those in Heaven).
If we can successfully convey this to non-Catholics, it is a little easier for them to take in – this business of asking for saintly intercession.
When death can be seen as less a separation of the bodies and more of a joining of the souls it makes more sense. Yes?
when i read your title, my first thought was, “oh, memememe!!!” i need them so much. thank you for suggesting some time ago to invite particular saints to pray along. i totally agree that it has aided in ways i could not have imagined. up until i read that older post, i had only asked my guardian angel to finish the rosary for me if in fell asleep. buona festa di ognissanti a te!!
We found that we were praying to so many saints for their intercession such as St Monica for the return of children to the church, St Patrick to keep Ireland free of abortion, St Francis and Clare because we are professed Franciscans, our patron saints because they are, etc; that we created our own litany of the saints.
This may not be the right place to post my outrage but I wanted Catholics to know about a pic posted on the ABC website that shows Nadya Suleman (Octomom) dressed up for Halloween as a hugely pregnant nun pushing her “devil” children in 2 strollers.
Are Catholics still an acceptable target for this kind of outrage? One can only imagine the leftist outrage if a similar offensive parody of Islam were posted.
Can you get the word out to have your readers flood the ABC website with complaints?
You can view the pic here
Thank you
[Edited to include link. This woman is mad for attention; most people will be repelled, not convinced by her -admin]
I downloaded one of your rosary recordings last April when I began to pray the rosary daily. You mentioned inviting a saint to pray along. That was the first time I had ever heard that and I chuckled a little to myself. But I tried it and now I too have my own “prayer group” and those who come and go depending on my intentions.
It got me started reading about the Saint of the Day because I didn’t know much about them or who to ask to pray with me. I have found their stories to be a roadmap to life although I take a lot of detours. I often think about our supernatural brothers and sisters now and find it so comforting to know they are near and eager to help us. St. Therese said it best when she vowed to spend her heaven doing good on earth.
I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am for that comment. It was transforming for me. I am constantly in awe at how the Holy Spirit can use opportunities like that to change a soul.
Bless you.
My daughters, 3 1/2 and 18 months, love to be sung to sleep to a sort of improvised Litany of the Saints. I start with their patron saints and move on to the patrons of other members of the family and then go on to start naming all the saints I can think of. It can take fifteen or twenty minutes sometimes and I sometimes end up repeating names. I also add all the titles of Our Lady that I can think of.
I, as a so-called protestatant (I have never protested being called a Christian), agree with what has been posted here.
I wonder what “past presidents and soldiers” you invite to pray with you for the nation?
Being from Illinois I’m partial to Abe Lincoln… sometimes I suspect he was the president who came closest to being a saint, even though he was also the only president who never formally joined any church!
Washington and John Adams were very virtuous men also, and Jefferson, even though his attitude toward religion was a bit questionable, seems to have been a sincere seeker after the truth, despite his faults.
I regret to say that I have a very hard time thinking of our only Catholic president, JFK, as being saintly. If anything the precedent he set for Catholic politicians of separating their faith from their actions has done enormous damage to the Church and to the nation in general.
As for famous military figures who might be saints, I’d have to put both Grant and Lee near the top of the list. Their mutual respect and willingness to fully reconcile after the Civil War did a lot to prevent the U.S. from descending into the never-ending spiral of guerilla warfare that we see in places like Bosnia, Chechnya, and Rwanda today.
[Usually I call on Washington and Adams -admin]
Oooh, oooh – you mean I’m not the only one? COOL! I sometimes pray a brief litany to heroes who have gone on before us: “Rocky Versace [layman, POW in Vietnam, MoH winner], bless the Lord! Sr. Thea Bowman [nun and scholar], bless the Lord! Fr. Seamus G.[beloved high-school principal], bless the Lord! Mother Teresa [needs no introduction], bless the Lord! Pope John XXIII [ditto], bless the Lord! Fr. Thomas [beloved parish priest, murdered by an intruder], bless the Lord! Loretta M. [nurse and mother of many], bless the Lord! Sr. M. Annella [tough little nun who faced down a generation of first graders - Baby Boomers, 60 or more of us in one classroom some years, all the schoolday long (no aide!) in a full woolen habit - and had us all reading and adding by June], bless the Lord!…” You get the idea. Cloud of witnesses – rah!
Elizabeth first of all thanks for giving so much attention to the saints. All saints and all souls are two of my most favorite days of the church. I hope somehow, it will be possible for me to have the Litany of the Saints at my funeral, like JPII. I think EVERY Catholic should be so lucky to have it. I wish we did it at all Catholic funerals.
As for the father of your dying friend, please let her know that I am praying to Saint Margret Mary Alacoque for intercession. One of the promises of the Sacred Heart, i.e, First Friday Devotion, is that even the most hardened heart will be softened by a holy Sacred Heart Priest.
I am praying that St. MMA sends a holy “First Friday” type priest to her father’s bedside. For anyone who has ever listened to Bishop Fulton Sheen’s catechism, he tells of this exact experience. If I remember correctly the “grumpy old man” threw him out of the hospital room day after day, but sure enough, he died “converted.” It’s a really beautiful story, especially told by Sheen, but I don’t remember which tape it is (Sheen’s catechism is now free on line.).
Anyway, I just wanted to suggest for anyone else to pray for your friend’s father also with the intercession of St. MMA; a very powerful saint, and of course, a great saint of the Sacred Heart. In fact, next Friday will be “First Friday”, and I will be sure to offer up my mass for him.
Ah, so I am not the only person who loves to pray with the “gang.” It must be an ingrained Catholic thing, because I have been doing this as long as I can remember. Right now I pray with St. Luke, St. Michael, Our Lady of Hope, St. Monica, and St. Simon Peter. They are engaging companions and rarely fail to lead me to pray with humility and joy!
Don’t forget that there’s a Plenary Indulgence on the First Thursday in this year for Priests.
Pray for Priests.
I’m another protestant that agrees with the need for the saints. I love the idea that death does not stop the relationship we have with our brothers and sisters who have gone before us.
What are your thoughts on the Eastern (as in Asia, not Orthodox) practice of venerating ancestors and praying to deceased relatives for help? I think there are some differences, but also correlations, to the practice of praying to the saints.
Tomorrow is All Souls’ Day, please pray for the Church Suffering. You can offer indulgences, sufferings prayers, works, and joys for their sake, as well as ask all the angels and saints to intercede on their behalf, as well as offer the Holy Mass, the Precious Blood, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus for their sake. And remember what they call Mary: Star of the Sea. Oh how she consoles them within the flames!
This message is making the rounds of various blogs. It is not spam but a friendly reminder to remember the Holy Souls. “Whatsoever you do unto the least of My brethern, you do unto Me.” Let us console Our Lord, Jesus Christ, who certainly bore the suffering of the Holy Souls on the Cross as the New Adam!
Okay, firstly, the issue is already framed up there, but “praying to St X” is a major no-no for most Protestants. The reason being; you pray TO the Father THROUGH the Son BY the Holy Spirit. No real mention of others getting in the way.
The other issue, of course, is even when we are one with Christ in Heaven, we are not Gods ourselves. Chances are, we will continue to have limited understanding and attention span. God is the only Being with unlimited multitasking abilities, so to speak. The question arises; since Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father, and since He is the perfect Intercessor, and since we have perfect and unhindered access to the Father through Him, why waste time going through other intermediaries? we are assured that Jesus will listen to us just as much as He listens to the late Pope John Paul II, right?
And another niggle some (not all, but some) might have is the notion that you’re quite happy to commune with dead people but not with live Christians brethren who just happen not to be RCs. Um. Not quite sure how that works, really.
teachergirl: You do not want to go down that path. I’m Chinese in Malaysia, so I should know whereof I speak; it’s ancestor worship plain and simple. You have little altars, you offer food and burnt offerings (money, usually, but you can also burn Mercedes Benzes, computers, robots and the like), you burn incense, and you ask for their blessings and protection. I did this nonsense as a tradition /once/, and you bet I asked God not to take it the wrong way.
Which, incidentally, is why I really don’t hold with the asking the Saints to intercede stuff. It’s really too close to ancestor worship down here, and really, why stumble my weaker brethren?
Dear me. I’ve asked my Protestant friends to pray for me, so why not ask the saints? (BTW, thanks guys for all the help in the past). I figure I need all the prayers I can get, so why not ask.