Communicating With the Dead-
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IS IT LAWFUL TO PRAY DIRECTLY TO A SAINT OR ANGEL? Bishop Brian Kennedy, O.S.B. bishopbriankennedy@hotmail.com It is God pleasing that we should join with Mary and the Saints
in giving worship to God in Christ but our prayer must be Christ
centered. We do this by praying God to unite our prayer with those of Mary and the Saints, not by
directing prayers to the deceased who cannot hear or respond to our prayer. IN VENERATING AND HONORING
THE SAINTS WE CELEBRATE THE VICTORY
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF
THE DECEASED WHO NOW LIVES WITH CHRIST
IN HEAVEN. GOD IS THE END OF ALL
PRAYER Scripture teaches us to pray to the Father, through the Son by
the action of the Holy Spirit. We pray
to the Son and through the Son to the Father. The prayer to the Holy Spirit also terminates in the Father
through the Son. Sacred Scripture in MANY, MANY places warns against praying to
Spirits directly who have left this world, even if that prayer be addressed
to spirits of the souls of the just having been made perfect and are now in
Heaven. The Catholic Encyclopedia defines "consults" as used in Scripture to mean 'pray to' and the verse quoted below shows how God has
warned us not to ‘consult’ (pray to) those who have died, even those who are
now part of the church Triumphant in Heaven.
The article from the Catholic Encyclopedia follows this quote from
Scripture. After the article from the
Catholic Encyclopedia, I explain what that means to us as Christians and what
it means to the Communion of Saints. Deuteronomy 18:9-15 Detestable Practices 9 When you enter the
land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable
ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among
you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who
practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11
or casts spells, or who is a medium OR SPIRITIST who consults (consults means to pray to) the dead. 12 Anyone who does these
things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices
the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be
blameless before the LORD your God. The Catholic Encyclopedia THE ADVENT defines
"consults" as actually praying to something or someone. In MANY places in the Scriptures we are warned against praying
to (consulting) spirits that have gone on before us, even the spirits of the
just having been perfect that now are in Heaven. See 1 Samuel 28:6 as an
example of the word ‘consult’ meaning to pray to. Catholic Encyclopedia > P > Prayer (Greek euchesthai, Latin precari, French prier, to plead, to
beg, to ask earnestly). An act of the virtue of religion which consists in asking proper
gifts or graces from God. In a more general sense it is the application of
the mind to Divine things, not merely to acquire a knowledge of them but to
make use of such knowledge as a means of union with God. This may be done by
acts of praise and thanksgiving, but petition is the principal act of prayer.
The words used to express it (prayer) in Scripture are: to call
up (Genesis 4:26); to intercede (Job 22:10); to mediate (Isaiah 53:10); TO
CONSULT (1 Samuel 28:6); to beseech (Exodus 32:11); and, very commonly, to
cry out to. The Fathers speak of it as the elevation of the mind to God with
a view to asking proper things from Him (St. John Damascene, On the Orthodox
Faith III.24); communing and conversing with God (St. Gregory of Nyssa,
"De oratione dom.", in P.G., XLIV, 1125); talking with God (St.
John Chrysostom, "Hom. xxx in Gen.", n. 5, in P.G., LIII, 280). It
is therefore the expression of our desires to God whether for ourselves or
others. This expression is not intended to instruct or direct God what to do,
but to appeal to His goodness for the things we need; and the appeal is
necessary, not because He is ignorant of our needs or sentiments, but to give
definite form to our desires, to concentrate our whole attention on what we
have to recommend to Him, to help us appreciate our close personal relation
with Him. The expression need not be external or vocal; internal or mental is
sufficient. By prayer we acknowledge God's power and goodness, our own
neediness and dependence. It is therefore an act of the virtue of religion
implying the deepest reverence for God and habituating us to look to Him for
everything, not merely because the thing asked be good in itself, or
advantageous to us, but chiefly because we wish it as a gift of God, and not
otherwise, no matter how good or desirable it may seem to us. Prayer
presupposes faith in God and hope in His goodness. By both, God, to whom we
pray, moves us to prayer. Our knowledge of God by the light of natural reason
also inspires us to look to Him for help, but such prayer lacks supernatural
inspiration, and though it may avail to keep us from losing our natural
knowledge of God and trust in Him, or, to some extent, from offending Him, it
cannot positively dispose us to receive His graces. Objects of prayer Like every act that makes for salvation, grace is required not
only to dispose us to pray, but also to aid us in determining what to pray
for. In this "the spirit helpeth our infirmity. For we know not what we
should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself asketh for us with
unspeakable groanings" (Romans 8:26). For certain objects we are always
sure we should pray, such as our salvation and the general means to it,
resistance to temptation, practice of virtue, final perseverance; but
constantly we need light and the guidance of the Spirit to know the special
means that will most help us in any particular need. That there may be no
possibility of misjudgment on our part in such an essential obligation,
Christ has taught us what we should ask for in prayer and also in what order
we should ask it. In response to the request of His disciples to teach them
how to pray, He repeated the prayer commonly spoken of as the Lord's Prayer,
from which it appears that above all we are to pray that God may be
glorified, and that for this purpose men may be worthy citizens of His
kingdom, living in conformity with His will. Indeed, this conformity is
implied in every prayer: we should ask for nothing unless it be strictly in
accordance with Divine Providence in our regard. So much for the spiritual
objects of our prayer. We are to ask also for temporal things, our daily
bread, and all that it implies, health, strength, and other worldly or
temporal goods, not material or corporal only, but mental and moral, every
accomplishment that may be a means of serving God and our fellow- men.
Finally, there are the evils which we should pray to escape, the penalty of
our sins, the dangers of temptation, and every manner of physical or spiritual
affliction, so far as these might impede us in God's service. To whom may we pray? Although God the Father is mentioned in this prayer as the one
to whom we are to pray, it is not out of place to address our prayers to the
other Divine persons. The special appeal to one does not exclude the others.
More commonly the Father is addressed in the beginning of the prayers of the
Church, though they close with the invocation, "Through Our Lord Jesus
Christ Thy Son who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy
Ghost, world without end". If the prayer be addressed to God the Son,
the conclusion is: "Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the
unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end"; or, "Who with
Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity, etc.". Prayer may be addressed to
Christ as Man, because He is a Divine Person, not however to His human nature as such, precisely because prayer
must always be addressed to a person, never to something impersonal or in the
abstract. An appeal to anything impersonal, as for instance to the Heart, the
Wounds, the Cross of Christ, must be taken figuratively as intended for
Christ Himself. (END OF QUOTE) THE CATHOLIC ENCYLOPEDIA CORRECTLY TEACHES THAT
WE CAN PRAY DIRECTLY TO CHRIST AS MAN BECAUSE HE IS
ALSO DIVINE, THE SECOND PERSON OF THE BLESSED TRINITY. THE ANGELS AND THE
SAINTS ARE NOT DIVINE PERSONS AND WE SHOULD NOT,
THEREFORE, ADDRESS PRAYER DIRECTLY TO
THEM THINKING THAT THEY HEAR US. WE
CAN JOIN OUR PRAYER WITH THEIRS BUT THEY DO
NOT HEAR THE PRAYER DIRECTLY. CHRIST HEARS THE PRAYER AND RESPONDS
ACCORDING TO HIS WILL AND FAVOR. CHRIST CAN LET THE DECEASED KNOW OF OUR
PRAYER AS HE WILLS. The New American Bible (Catholic Bible) St. Joseph Edition Published by Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York has a
footnote under Chapter 18 Of Deuteronomy explaining verse 10-11 as follows: “Three forms of superstition are listed here: Augury…. And necromancy (by one who consults ghosts and spirits or seeks
oracles from the dead.” In this same Bible Edition, the footnote for 1 Samuel 28:12 says
Human Beings cannot at will communicate with the spirits of
the deceased. This is
true. Prayers addressed to a deceased
person is an attempt at will to communicate with the spirits or the souls of
the deceased. This same Bible Edition goes on as an expansion of the footnote
to remark that (and to this we have no objection or difference in opinion)
God can at HIS will send a departed soul to communicate with the living and
even reveal something not known to the living person. It is GOD who initiates any contact with the souls of the
deceased and those still living in this world. WE PRAY WITH MARY, THE SAINTS AND ANGELS, NOT TO THEM. It is God pleasing that we should have recourse to the prayer
support of the Angels and Saints, especially Mary who is queen of all the
Saints, but not that we should try and communicate with them directly. God is glorified in the victory of the
Holy Spirit in the lives of His faithful and it returns glory to God when the
fellowship of believers in Heaven and on earth unite their prayers
together. Trying to communicate
directly opens the door to the devil
who is the Father of Lies. In the COMMUNION OF SAINTS we are one with the souls in Heaven
who still live but now live to God.
God can and has sent these spirits to minister His Will to us on earth
to the glory of His Name, but that has to be initiated by God and not by
us. We venerate them and unite with
them, but pray to the Triune God. The Saints in heaven (the Church Triumphant), the Saints on
earth (the Church Militant) and the souls of the just being made perfect (the
Church suffering) are all one in the sight of God. God is glorified by the communion of all members of the church
in prayer. However, only those on
earth can we address directly to petition their prayer support. By the work of the Holy Spirit in the Body of Believers, Christ
is glorified and through Christ glory given to our Heavenly Father. Spiritism
is the name given to the heresy that
says we have direct contact with a Saint or Angel.
The Bible in many places condemns this heresy as an
abomination before God. Trying
to communicate with a deceased person, even Mary the greatest of all Saints
and our Mother in faith opens the way for the devil to fool mankind and teach
a new doctrine not known to the Apostolic church. PRAYING DIRECTLY TO A SAINT IS AN EXERCISE IN FUTILITYAS THEY CANNOT HEAR YOU “For the living know they will die, but the dead know nothing;and
they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten and also their
love, hatred, and envy have now perished; And they have no portion forever in
all that is done under the sun.
(Ecclesiastes 9: 5-6) Saint
Augustine says (De Cura pro mortuis XIII) The
dead “even the Saints, know not what the living, even
their own children, are doing.” (GOD
CAN, AT HIS PLEASURE AND ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, LET A DECEASED PERSON KNOW WE ARE THINKING
OF THEM WITH LOVE AND ARE ASKING FOR THEIR PRAYER SUPPORT. THE DECEASED KNOW OF OUR ACTIVITY AND
REQUESTS ONLY FROM GOD, NOT FROM ANY CONTACT OR ATTEMPTED CONTACT BY US)
Origen on Prayer XX, AD 233 “And again: In neither case is a need seen to
ask the departed to pray for us – for it is assumed that they already do, or
are thought to.” Irenaeus wrote: St. Irenaeus calls praying to deceased
persons a wicked curious art and says the church addresses prayer to the Lord
directly, rather than to a deceased Saint.
Clement of Alexandria defines prayer as communication
with God. He refers to Christians "passing over the whole world" in
order to commune with God alone in prayer. He describes it as a form of
worship to God. Apparently, he had no concept of praying to the dead: "But if, by nature needing nothing, He delights to
be honored, it is not ALL
PRAYER IS TO CONFORM TO THE OUR FATHER FORMAT: Tertullian takes The Lord's Prayer to be representative
of all prayer. The Notice Tertullian refers to "the religious rite of
prayer", meaning THIS SHOWS
THAT TERTULLIAN IN THE SECOND CENTURY BELIEVED, AS DID THE CHURCH AT LARGE,
ALL TRUE PRAYER IS DIRECTED TO THE FATHER THROUGH HIS CHRIST. He explains that prayer is a sacrifice to God, which
would exclude praying to anybody else: "We are the true adorers and the true priests, who,
praying in spirit, Hippolytus comments: "And in them [the Psalms] we have 'prayer,' viz.,
supplication offered to Origen comments that Christians pray only to God: "For every prayer, and supplication, and
intercession, and thanksgiving, AGAIN SPEAKING OF THE OUR FATHER PRAYER, CYPRIAN IN THE
4TH CENTURY SAYS: Cyprian wrote a treatise on The Lord's Prayer, a treatise
that addresses HERE CYPRIAN ADDRESSED THE NATURE OF TRUE PRAYER AND
RELATED THE FORM OF PRAYER SHOULD ALWAYS BE THAT WHICH IS FOUND IN THE
"OUR FATHER" AS TAUGHT BY DIVINE INSTITUION AND COMMANDED BY SAVING PRECEPTS Later in the treatise, Cyprian explains that The
Lord's Prayer addresses "all our prayer", which implies that we're
to pray only to God, since The Lord's Prayer is addressed only to God: "What wonder is it, beloved brethren,
if such is the prayer which God taught, seeing that He condensed in His
teaching all our prayer in one saving sentence? This had already been before
foretold by Isaiah the prophet, when, being filled with the Holy Spirit, he
spoke of the majesty and loving-kindness of God, 'consummating and shortening
His word,' He says, 'in righteousness, because a shortened word will the Lord
make in the whole earth.'" (On the Lord's Prayer, 28) In other words, Cyprian considers The Lord's Prayer to be
an outline for Later, Cyprian tells us that we direct our prayers to God and to “NOTHING BUT THE LORD”, TO “GOD ALONE”: He continues "Moreover, when we stand
praying, beloved brethren, we ought to be watchful and earnest with our whole
heart, intent on our prayers. Let all carnal and worldly thoughts pass away,
nor let the soul at that time think on anything but the object only of its
prayer. For this reason also the priest, by way of preface before his prayer,
prepares the minds of the brethren by saying, 'Lift up your hearts,' that so
upon the people's Lactantius, an early church writer: "it is manifest that those who either make prayers to the dead, or venerate the earth, or make over their souls to unclean
spirits, do not act as becomes men, and that they will suffer punishment for their impiety and
gult, who, rebelling against God, the Father of the
human race, have undertaken inexpiable rites, and violated every sacred law.” (The Divine Institutes, :18)
Tertullian
writes of "Paradise, the place of heavenly bliss appointed to receive
the spirits of the saints, severed from the knowledge of this
world” (The Apology, 47). The teaching seems clearly to be that
deceased believers wouldn't be able to receive our prayers. I have no doubt
the deceased do know certain things happening on earth as the Lord wills but
it is not a direct knowledge. THE COUNCIL OF LAODICEA IN PHRYGIA PACATIANA 364 A.D. CANON XXXV.
THE ABOVE CANON DOES NOT PROHIBIT REQUESTING OF GOD THAT WE SHOULD HAVE A SPECIAL SHARING IN THE FRUITS OF
THE INTERCESSION OF A SAINT OR ANGEL BUT IT DOES PROHIBIT DIRECT PRAYER TO THEM and calls direct prayer to them as COVERT IDOLATRY. FOR AN
EXAMPLE OF COVERT IDOLATRY IN THE MODERN CHURCH SEE: http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/mediatrix.html Please
pray for me a repentant sinner, worker in the vineyard of Christ and His
unworthy Priest. Bishop
+Brian J. Kennedy, O.S.B. Home
page http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/ |