The Black Madonna

You don't worry, Chris. God doesn't grade prayers. As long as you pray respectfully He knows the intent of your heart. I like the style of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. Speaking only as a fellow Catholic I know that when I pray to Saints that I am asking the Saints to pray with me and for me. Its like, if you knew me, and you had a problem, you might intimate it to me and we would pray together. And I am a sinful man maybe worse than you. The Saints we know are pure and friends of God. And God honors this. There is Biblical precedent. In the book of Job, God admonishes the detractors of Job. 8Take unto you therefore seven oxen, and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer for yourselves a holocaust : and my servant Job shall pray for you : his face I will accept, that folly be not imputed to you : for you have not spoken right things before me, as my servant Job hath.
9So Eliphaz the Themanite, and Baldad the Suhite, and Sophar the Naamathite went, and did as the Lord had spoken to them, and the Lord accepted the face of Job.
10The Lord also was turned at the penance of Job, when he prayed for his friends
I don't give that Saint any power that God did not give him. This is always been true in the church that this is the great cloud of witnesses mentioned in St Pauls letter (Heb 12:1). We call them the Communion of Saints and believe (Its in the Credo)that every one who was alive is still alive and many have found favor (grace)with God. Also in Revelations 8:4 we see that, “the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel it mentions the baskets of jewels poured out before the throne which are the prayers of the Saints. We pray in this way to individual saints, that we know for sure our saints because that saint has a connection to similar circumstances for what we are praying. St Agnes was a prospering young woman who was martyred for the Faith. So she is a good pick. I join you in this prayer for Laura Ingram.
+ St Agnes, for Laura who is a young woman full of promise as you were when you were martyred, pray for us to the Lord Our God that she may be healed and continue in the work that you have placed her on earth to do. Amen.+

Opps…sorry…I went on and on.

Looking back on my post, I can see that I may have spoken in a bit of shorthand, referencing issues where my context might not be understood.

I'm close to several fundamentalist friends who not only don't understand the concept of praying to saints, but who find it downright scandalous. I first became interested in apologetics by trying to explain Catholic theology to them. At the same time, they returned the favor, explaining their own faith to me.

Since then, it seems like I'm constantly running into people who need me to continue that extended conversation. Maybe it's just that I have a problem ignoring questions, and have a compulsion to engage people when I hear conversations lead in that direction. I find apologetics fascinating and stimulating, but constantly stressful, as I contemplate, debate, and process what I've learned, and reformulate new arguments in defense of the Faith.

As a result, sometimes I yearn to be surrounded by the innocence a child has when he's properly raised Catholic, believing simply because that's the way it is.

Anyway, my point wasn't that I don't understand my own faith, but that when talking about the Faith I feel pressured to couch my meaning in terms that leave the least doubt exactly what we believe. It was just easier when "Pray to Saint Jude" was clearly understood for what it was.

I guess I'm just complaining that Peter Pan had to grow up, huh? :-)

So, are your friends going to dislike you if you say where you stand as a Catholic. Just spit it out tactfully and politely but don't worry 'bout them. They have some good points. My Evangelical friends drove me back to the Bible to smart up on scripture to defend my faith. And there are unfortunately all flavors of Catholics. That's why John Paul 2 and Benedict XVI are good for the Church. Think of the Alamo when COL Travis drew his line in the sand. "Who will stay with me?" I think that Pope Benedict did just that in his homily when he basically said, "Who will stand with me against the Dictatorship of Relativism?" Be of good courage and just say what you think is right and good. And remember that Peter Pan was a fairy tale. This is eternal life and death.

LOL, I must terrible at explaining myself for you to come back with some of these comments.

If my friends disliked me for being Catholic, they wouldn't hang around me anymore, and vice-versa: I'm not one to use the word "friend" lightly. I'm not talking about anyone's expectations of me, but my own expectations of myself, and my responsibility to represent the Faith properly. I agree that if John Paul and Benedict weren't so clear and definitive in their orthodoxy, I'd have a much harder time of it.

I do take exception with your last comment, however. As important and grave a matter as eternal salvation is, getting too serious clearly isn't the answer, and when I get into these situations it might even be my problem. "Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." (Mark 10:15) Reliance with faith upon the Magisterium and the Gospel should make us less obsessed with our fate, and more concerned with passionately living the life God entrusted to us, and doing His work.

We have no conflict. This blog is fresh air. I've told some lists I'm on about it and I wish for your success. Enjoyed talking to you. You're right about getting too serious. I'm right about guarding against being too apologetic about our apologetics. Keep up the fire. I followed you over hear from Black Republican which is also a good insightful blog.

You don't worry. q:)