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Since Cornelius received the Holy Spirit before he was baptized with water, he
was already saved, therefore it seems that water Baptism is not
essential for salvation.
Also, only God is to be prayed to. Mary is not to be prayed to.
Regards,
— Marc Taylor
{
Since Cornelius received the Holy Spirit before being baptized, is Baptism really necessary? }
Eric replied:
Hi Marc,
You wrote:
Since Cornelius received the Holy Spirit before he was baptized with water, he
was already saved, therefore it seems that water Baptism is not
essential for salvation.
Yeah. So?
God is free to do what He wants to do. If He wants to save someone apart
from water Baptism, that is his prerogative. Catholics have always believed
in Baptism of Desire, which means that if someone has a desire to be baptized
(for example, a catechumen), but dies without receiving water Baptism,
he is still saved. Hence you are mistaken if you think that Catholicism
teaches that Baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation.
That being said, Baptism is the normal means by which we receive salvation,
and God commands it, and Scripture says that it is through Baptism that
we participate in the Resurrection
(See Romans 6), so we have every reason
to seek Baptism.
Someone who deliberately refuses to undergo Baptism is
putting their soul at serious risk. There is no justifiable reason for
refusing Baptism.
Eric Ewanco
Mike replied:
Hi Marc,
Thanks for the questions.
You stated:
Also only God is to be prayed to. Mary is not to be prayed
to.
I have appended a list of Scripture passages that defend Catholic beliefs and
practices in this area. Though Church teaching is not solely dependent on the Sacred
Scriptures, you will be able to see Scriptural support for key Catholic
teachings here and, I believe, better understand why we pray to both God and to Mary.
We honor (we don't worship) those whom God honors and we ask for their
help and assistance. We see them as holy men and women who modeled a virtuous
life. In imitating them, (the saints) we imitate Christ, Our Lord. When others
see our Christian kindness and charity and tend to give us the credit, we
say what all the saints in Heaven and Earth would say, echoing St. Paul in Galatians:
Death cannot separate us from Christ.
So Catholics are praying to and asking for help from saints that are alive. We pray to Jesus and the saints. The Communion of Saints is not an either or issue, it is a family affair!
On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
Never get tired of staying awake to pray for all God's holy people, and pray for me to be given an opportunity to open my mouth and fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel.
I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.
Jesus is the eternal high priest. Because Our Lord is one Divine Person, His one sacrifice happened in time and eternity. Catholic priests enter into that one sacrifice of Jesus every time they celebrate Holy Mass. There is not another sacrifice. By His choice we participate in his priesthood by bringing the Gospel to those that have not heard it. By doing this we don't undermine his one mediation, but participate in it as co-mediators in Christ, just as Protestants do when they share the Gospel with others.
The angels in Heaven are always before the face of God.
We venerate angels because of their great dignity, which comes from their union with God. Saints are also in united with God. Veneration or honor is not worship.
Catholics worship [God|Jesus] alone.
You become imitators of us and of the Lord to all believers.
We believe we are called to "become imitators . . . of the Lord".
This is what Saints are for Catholics and all mankind: Examples of holiness to live by.
We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
Marc Taylor replied:
Hi Mike,
Latreuo is due to God alone. No one else should be given latreuo but
Him. One of the ways latreuo is to be rendered is by "prayers" (Luke
2:37). Therefore to pray to someone/something is to give them the latreuo that is only meant for God.
Prayer of petition is the prayer of worship (latreuo). Deesis the
Greek word used in Luke
2:37 as prayer means a supplication (which is
thus a petition as a prayer).
Proseuchemai is the more common word for pray(er). That being
the case, there is then no distinction between a prayer of petition and
a prayer of worship. Latreuo would cover both of them.
Regards
— Marc
Eric replied:
Hi Marc,
Who says that there is no distinction between a prayer of petition and
a prayer of worship?
If we do not intend to worship a saint by praying
to them, then we do not worship them. Worship is an interior
disposition; whether a prayer constitutes worship depends solely on the
disposition of the pray-er. God knows the disposition.
In Latin, the word for pray is the same as the word for ask and that's all we're doing with the saints, is asking them for their prayers.
I could decide that instead, I am going to pray to God to ask the saints
to pray for me; certainly that would be a legitimate prayer to make (the prayer might
not be granted, to be sure, but it's perfectly legitimate).
Then all I'd have to say is that praying to a saint is shorthand for asking
God to ask them to pray for me. There really isn't a difference.
Given that the saints are involved in our prayers anyway (Revelation 5:8), intercede
on our behalf (Jeremiah 15:1), and surround us (Hebrews 12:1, 12:23) there is very
little jump to ask them explicitly for their prayers.
Eric
Mike replied:
Hi Marc,
To my knowledge I've never heard latreuo rendered as prayer, though we
do make a distinction between the prayer of petition and the prayer
of worship.
The prayer of worship in the Roman Catholic Church is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
It is offered to God alone. All Catholics celebrate this on Sundays as well as during
the weekday, if they can. Though we can honor a special saint on any weekday and mention
[his/her] name at the beginning of Mass, the Holy Mass itself is worship to God alone.
The prayer of petition is a request to have a brother Christian in Heaven pray for
you and your needs.
Thanks for replying!
Mike
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