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Dear Julian,
Thanks for writing to us; sorry it took so long to get back to you.
There are many faith issues that good-hearted Christians get confused with. Many times, words that we use, as Catholics, differ from the way Protestant Christians interpret those words.
You have to clear the deck and ask up front:
- What do you mean by Justification?
- What do you mean by grace?
- What do you mean by salvation?
- etc.
Once you do, you may find out their definition of salvation is way different than the way the Church understands the word salvation.
One of the best and quickest ways to clear up misperceptions about our faith is by searching our AskACatholic.com database.
Just type in keywords like: "praying to the saints" or "the intercession of the saints"
If you find no postings in our database that answer your question, these other helpful resources should help:
If you are searching for a Biblical defense for Catholic teachings, check out my Scripture Passages web page here:
Make sure you especially check out these sections:
You said:
I'm having a bit of a difficult time believing that intercessory prayers from those in Heaven is allowed and I would just like to know if there are any explicit Early Christian writings from the first and second century pertaining to intercessory prayers from those in Heaven that you can show me.
Although you won't find it in a Protestant Bible, check out 2 Maccabees 12:39-45. This is clear evidence that those in the Old Testament, like the Jews of today, pray for their faithful departed loved ones. (Note: They are not literally dead; the Church and others outside the Church, use the word dead in contrast to those, us, still fulfilling our vocation on Earth.)
Even if you talk to a Protestant that rejects Second Maccabees, they still can't reject the historicity of the content on these holy pages.
On the Early Church Fathers:
Although the website could have been put together better, you may find my third website on the Early Church Fathers helpful:
I also found this quote from Jerome in our database:
"You say in your book that
while we live we are able to pray
for each other, but afterward
when we have died, the prayer
of no person for another can be
heard; and this is especially
clear since the martyrs, though
they cry for vengeance for their
own blood, have never been able
to obtain their request. But if
the Apostles and martyrs while
still in the body can pray for
others, at a time when they ought
still be solicitous about themselves,
how much more will they do so
after their crowns, victories,
and triumphs?"
St. Jerome, Against Vigilantius, Number 6 (406
A.D.) |
My colleagues may have other sources that quote the Early Church Fathers on the Intercession of the Saints.
Finally, many come to our site and have some of the greatest misunderstandings of what we believe as Catholics. As I have said in the past:
- If you want to become a Baptist, you don't go to a Methodist.
- If you want to become a Lutheran, you don't go to an Assemblies of God believer.
- That said, if you are thinking about becoming a Catholic, go to a faithful, practicing Catholic (faithful in Words and Deeds!!; not a Joe Biden non-catholic.)
Find out the basics of what we believe (of what Jesus wants us to believe) and read the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist, are the holy dynamite, that will help you to see through the confusion and chaos of this world with Christian eyes.
I hope this helps,
Mike
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