Does anybody read these?

A little religion lesson...

In response to One4JC's questions about what Catholics believe, I thought I'd take this opportunity to educate folks on some things about my religion that people may or may not know...

1. Why do Catholics pray to Saints? How do you know who they are?

Saints can be any Christian who lives here on earth and dies and goes to Heaven. However, Church history teaches us of some exceptional believers who are more famous saints for one reason or another. The "official" canonization process is a little complicated, so if you're interested in reading all the church mumbo-jumbo on that, click here. Basically, you have to be holy and virtuous, have the backing of a church congregation and have miracles that can be attributed to your intercession. Once all of those things happen (a process that can take years, if it ever happens), then you become a recognized saint of the Church. It is a long, drawn-out, complicated process and the congregation backing you has to pay for the investigation, so not every holy person becomes a saint.

Praying to a saint is not unlike when you ask other Christians to pray for you. After all, saints are just Christians who are in heaven. Basically, when we pray to saints it's just like asking a friend to pray for you too. It's not that I am praying to St. Thomas Aquinas instead of God, I am praying to St. Thomas Aquinas in addition to God. But most importantly, you have to believe in the Saint to whom you are praying. I think I mentioned after my trip to Los Angeles, about Our Lady of Guadalupe, and I'm going to go into detail about that story now, because I truly believe that my family witnessed a miracle through the intercession of this vision of the Virgin Mary.

History tells us that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to a poor Indian boy named Juan Diego in the 1500s. The Virgin told Juan Diego to construct a Cathedral on the site of this vision and left an image of herself on his tilma. The cactus cloth fabric should've deteriorated after 20 years, but almost 500 years later shows no signs of decay.

In 1992, a replica of Juan Diego's cloak traveled across the United States. I do believe that it made a brief appearance at my high school. But for a while it was in the chapel at St. Vincent's Hospital in Toledo. This is where it entered my family's life. You see, my family was involved in a horrible car accident when we were hit by a drunken driver on our way home from my Grandpa's funeral. My youngest brother, Gary, was thrown from our truck and landed in the middle of a four-lane road. We couldn't find him for a long time, and we are very lucky that no one hit him before help arrived. However, the prognosis was grim and he was transported to St. Vincent's by Life Flight. Our parish priest was the first person to arrive, and we didn't think that he would make it. All we could do was pray.

Gary did end up making it, and until I moved back to Ohio, he and I were roommates. He does have a lot of problems because of his accident, but he is alive. A few years ago, Gary came home with a poster that he taped up on the wall of our apartment. It was Our Lady of Guadalupe. He calls her "Lupe" like they are friends and wants to get a tattoo of her somewhere on his body. He has all kinds of mementos representing her. I never asked him why, although I did think it was a little odd.

A few months ago my mom and I were talking and she told me that when Gary was in the hospital at St. Vincent's all those years ago, that traveling exhibit was in the hospital chapel and she prayed to it while she was there with Gary. I was shocked when I heard this because Gary LOVES Our Lady of Guadalupe. So I asked her if he could've known about the traveling exhibit. She told me no, that he was in a coma at the time and didn't know it was there at the hospital. There isn't much that can explain that except that it was a miracle. My brother was filled with healing power from the Holy Mother. I guess we just have to believe that saints hear our prayers and offer them up to God in order to see the miracle in that story. So faith is a big part of all of it.

I don't think that anyone who prays to saints doesn't pray to God directly, as well. Praying to saints is just like having a personal cheerleader up in heaven. It's not putting someone above God, it's just bringing in reinforcements.

While I was researching this post, I read this blog from a non-Catholic who found solace in praying to a saint and asking her Catholic friends to pray on her behalf. I thought it might be interesting to anyone who was reading this.

Catholics also believe that the Bible references praying to saints in some of the Epistles and in Revelations 5. I do realize these same passages that we use to support this notion are used by other denominations to dispute it. You also have to remember that Catholicism is based on a combination of tradition and scripture and not one or the other. That is different from some other Christian sects, who base their beliefs entirely on scripture.

2. Why do Catholics have all those statues of Mary?

Catholics have statues of Mary to honor her and remind us of her commitment to God. While we do not worship Mary, we do consider her to be greatest example of submission to the will of God next to Jesus. We believe that Mary was so full of grace that she lived without sin. We honor Mary not only as the mother of our savior but as the mother of our Church and the mother of all of us. We cling to her as any child would cling to their mother and we ask her to pray for us. We keep statues of Mary not to worship her but to honor her. Who do you know who doesn't have a reminder of their mother in their home, whether it be a picture or a treasured keepsake?

And as for the power of Mary's prayerful intercession, no one is closer to Christ than his mother. Much like we listen to our mothers' requests, Christ does the same and Mary's prayers can be very powerful to those who believe.

Does that make sense? I know it's hard for folks who haven't always been taught this to understand it, but I think that our devotion to Mary is what makes Catholicism unique, and one of the things that I truly love about my religion. I think people forget what an awesome sacrifice and role Mary had in bringing our Savior to earth. Rest assured if I were asked to put her above Christ and God, I would not do that, but instead she just has a special place in my heart.

posted by Laura at 7:09 PM