The Communion of Saints - Rebutting Protestant Websites

The Communion of Saints

I see it time and time again, "Don't pray to the saints, they can't hear you." Not only is this statement unbiblical, but it's severely harmful. God has made us as a body of believers (1 Corinthians 12:13; 27). He wants us to pray for one another and guide each other along in our spiritual journey. The idea that when a person dies, they no can no longer hear your prayers and see your actions is extremely common and wrong. Take some of the statements made by these websites for example:

https://carm.org/roman-catholicism/can-mary-hear-our-prayers/

"There is nothing in the Bible that says that Mary can simultaneously hear the prayers of people all over the world, in different languages, spoken, and thought, an attribute that God possesses. But, the Catholic Church says she can."

And ...

https://www.gotquestions.org/prayer-saints-Mary.html

"The Bible gives absolutely no indication that Mary or the saints can hear our prayers. Mary and the saints are not omniscient. Even glorified in heaven, they are still finite beings with limitations. How could they possibly hear the prayers of millions of people?"

Before I refute their false teachings with the Scriptures, it's important to note that nowhere do Catholics believe one has to pray to the saints to get into heaven or that prayer to the saints is a disregard for the Father's sufficiency as our Lord and God. On the contrary, we are called to help one another (Proverbs 27:17) and build each other up. What I will be arguing is that asking for the intercession of those in heaven is not worship in any way and doing so does not contradict the Bible.

Let's scrutinize this view starting with the book of Revelation. One thing to note, even though Revelation is often regarded as, "too subjective" for apologetics, it nevertheless is Sacred Scripture and we can still learn from it. It teaches truths and we can derive meaning from it. Those same people who say that will also use it to prove Christ's divinity or the 144,000 elect. Give me a break and let's be fair.

Those in Heaven Can Hear You - Revelation

Revelation 5:8-13

"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying:

'You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.'

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:

'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!'

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!'”

I have highlighted the important parts. So John here is receiving a revelation where he says, "I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea..." How can John, a mortal and non-omniscient man, be able to, not only hear literally hundreds of thousands of people, but understand their languages as well? Because God revealed it to him. If God can give John the ability to hear every creature on earth in every language, it disproves the notion that one needs omniscience to listen to those on earth. You don't need omniscience, you need an omniscient God to give the knowledge to you.

Staying in the book of Revelation we read,

Revelation 6:9-11

"When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, 'How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?' Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been."

Here John sees those, "under the altar" who are the martyred souls in heaven. They have proclaimed God's word, died, and been granted the heavenly reward. These souls are crying out to God asking when He will avenge their blood. What's important to note is that you have God revealing to the souls in heaven what is happening on earth and what will happen in the future. He tells them that they must wait until their brothers and sisters die a similar death.

This verse shows those in heaven interceding for those on earth. They cry out to God asking Him to avenge their blood, and God listens and tells them to wait. This is exactly how prayer intercessions work. You pray to a saint, God gives the saint the knowledge to know the prayers of those on earth, and the saint prays for you directly to God. It is similar to asking your friend on earth to pray for you.

There is more if we read on.

Revelation 19:1-2

"After this I heard what seemed to be the mighty voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying,

'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
for his judgments are true and just;
he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication,
and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.'”

This verse comes right after the destruction of Babylon in chapter 18. Those in heaven are rejoicing at seeing God's divine wrath and judgment come upon the nation. They cry out, "he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication." So those in heaven are aware of events on earth and rejoice in God's will. This is exactly what the saints in heaven were like when John was writing and it's exactly what they are like now.

Those in Heaven Can Hear You - Luke

Now we can move out of the book of Revelation and into the gospel of Luke.

Luke 15:7; 10

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
...
In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Jesus tells us that the angels and saints in heaven "rejoice" when they see a sinner repent. How can those in heaven know when a sinner repents if the saints in heaven can't hear us? Staying in Luke we read,

Luke 16:22-31

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

'But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

'He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

'Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

'No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

'He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

How did Abraham know how the rich man had lived? How did he know that the rich man had spent his life lavishly and that Lazarus had lived a life of pain and sorrow? Because those in heaven can still know the events going on in earth. Even more convincing is the fact that Abraham says, "They have Moses and the Prophets..." Moses came ~400 years after Abraham's death and the prophets came centuries after him. Even though Abraham was in heaven, he still knew these prophets existed and were leaving behind writings.

The Bible clearly teaches those in heaven hear us, they hear our cries, and they can intercede for us directly to the Father. They are the cloud of witnesses watching us "run the race" as described in Hebrews 12.

The Communion of Saints - Is it an Occult Practice?

Many Protestants will shame Catholics for praying to the saints and say it is condemned in the Bible as an occult practice. In their objection they cite multiple verses:

Deuteronomy 18:10-11

"Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead."

And ...

Isaiah 19:3

"The Egyptians will lose heart,
and I will bring their plans to nothing;
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists."

First, both of these are condemning occult practices like mediums and spiritists. Second, these are vehemently condemned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 2110, 2113, 2115, 2116, and 2117. What we have to keep in mind, is that praying to the saints in heaven is not the same as "consulting the dead" through pagan rituals like necromancy. For example in Luke 9:29-31 Jesus talks with Moses and Elijah who both had already died. Or even Revelation 7:13-14 where John talks with an elder who is in heaven. This is not an occult practice. This is just what scripture tells us.

Conclusion

Contrary to what the sheer number of Protestants affirm, those in heaven can hear our prayer and intercede for us. We need not say, "Why not pray to God directly?" for Scripture constantly affirms that we must pray for one another (Job 42:10, James 5:16, Ephesians 6:18, and Revelation 5:7-9). We are a body of believers. As the Catechism states,

CCC 956

"The intercession of the saints. 'Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness. . . . They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus . . . . So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped.'"