{"id":15237,"date":"2012-11-03T12:00:38","date_gmt":"2012-11-03T19:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/?p=15237"},"modified":"2015-02-02T15:12:07","modified_gmt":"2015-02-02T22:12:07","slug":"calling-up-the-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/2012\/11\/03\/calling-up-the-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"Calling Up The Dead"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A while ago I promised a friend that I would do an in-depth treatment of the Catholic Church’s teaching on the Communion of Saints. I’m still planning on doing that more detailed examination at some point in the future, but today I’d like to do another brief post following on from\u00a0yesterday’s posts<\/a>\u00a0about All Saints Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’ve mentioned Jay<\/a>\u00a0before, a Protestant with whom I\u00a0dialogued\u00a0for several months. During our discussions he brought up the subject of the Saints. It wasn’t really\u00a0pertinent\u00a0to the subject at hand so I didn’t dwell on it for long, but here was what I wrote to him:<\/p>\n

“The Saints” was another issue you raised, but again, in an effort to stay on-topic, I\u2019ll try to be brief.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We don\u2019t worship Saints \u2013 we honour them.\u00a0 Worship is for God\u00a0alone.\u00a0<\/em>If you catch any<\/span>\u00a0Catholic worshiping a Saint, let me know and I\u2019ll make sure that both their Priest and Bishop find out. I will ensure that they are kept behind after Mass for extra catechism classes while the other\u00a0parishioners enjoy coffee and donuts \ud83d\ude09<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I can pretty much guarantee that all of your disagreements stem from how you view the Church.\u00a0 The Catholic view is that the Body Of Christ is simply one, composed of:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

1. …those here on earth (\u201cChurch Militant\u201d)
\n2. …those in purgatory (\u201cChurch Expectant\u201d)
\n3. …and those in heaven (\u201cChurch Triumphant\u201d).\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Although we may be physically separated by the barrier of death, we nonetheless remain united to each other.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve asked people to pray for you before \u2013 it\u2019s a very natural thing to do and I\u2019m guessing you would find no conflict here with\u00a0<\/em><\/span>1 Timothy 2:5<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(to which you allude).\u00a0 Moses, Abraham and Job were all mediators and intercessors.\u00a0 In fact, as you rightly point out, interceding for others is a living out of our universal priestly calling.\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I would also suggest that the people you ask to pray for you are often those whose faith is the strongest, as you hope in the power of their intercession (James 5:17<\/a>).\u00a0 The Catholic response to this is a hearty \u201cAmen!\u201d\u00a0 But how much more powerful will the prayer be of one who has been completely sanctified<\/span> and is\u00a0standing before the throne of God<\/span>?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s loads more I could say about this, but I\u2019ll simply say that this is why we ask Saints for their intercession and why the Vatican teaches \u201cfilial reverence\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s simply because these are people who are part of the Church \u2013 it\u2019s just that this part that is in heaven.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n