Sonja: Praying to dead saints…this not necessarily clearly refuted by scripture but definitely not taught either. The only time I recall someone trying to contact the dead was when Saul tried to contact Samuel the prophet. He did it through a seer (clearly against the command of God) and Samuel seemed pretty irritated Saul had called him from his rest.
Bread From Heaven: Yes, this was clearly a sin. But it was a sin of divination. The seeking of occult knowledge from the dead. This is definitely condemned in scripture. But divination is not the same things as asking for prayer, to join you in praying. No occult knowledge is sought at all. The attempt to equate the two in order to condemn the communion of the saints is very sloppy exegesis. But, hey, I used to believe it.
Sonja: Also wouldn’t mind seeing the Hail Mary prayer since I was under the impression that it was more of a prayer to her???
Bread From Heaven:
Hail Mary full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Sonja: What do get out of the repetition with the rosemary beads?
While we say the Hail Mary ten times we meditate on an event in the Life of Christ. (there are only two about Mary) That is called a decade of the Rosary. There are five decades for five events to meditate on. Five decades is usually what people mean when they say, “I prayed the Rosary.”
Bread From Heaven:
Joyful Mysteries of Life of Christ
The Annunciation-Angel tells Mary she will have son of God
Annunciation
Visitation
Nativity
Dedication in Temple
Finding of Jesus in Temple
Sorrowful Mysteries
Agony in Garden
Beating
Crowning of Thorns
Carrying Cross
Crucifixion
Luminous Mysteries
Baptism of Jesus
Wedding at Cana
Preaching the Kingdom of Go
Transfiguration
Last Supper
Glorious Mysteries
Resurrection
Ascension
Pentecost
Mary Assumed into Heaven
Mary Queen of Heaven
The Saints in heaven are not dead and this is what many fail to realize. If they are dead then Jesus never rose and we all know He did. Jesus said in the NT that God was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was a God of the living, even though they had been dead for centuries. He is a “God of the living” because they are alive with God in heaven. God and Jesus are not the only two in heaven that are alive. The Saints in heaven are alive as well.
Repetition in our prayers: Did not Jesus go Himself in the NT and prayed three times using the same words? Is not the Lord’s Prayer a prayer of repetition? Every time we say it we use the same words. Did God not create Angels in heaven that continually say “Holy, Holy, Holy” day and night? (Revelations) Did not the Psalmist continually say “His steadfast love endures forever?” In the fiery furnace was not “Blessed be God forever” used over and over. Scripture is full of repeated prayers and we see they move God.
The Rosary: All said in the Rosary is what was said to Mary by Gabriel and Elizabeth. As far as asking for her intercession did she not do this at the wedding at Cana? She did this because in Israel the matriarch of the family planned all of these things. If she would have ran out of wine at the wedding this would have been devastating for this woman. She would have no longer been able to be the matriarch. Mary interceded for her for this reason and also Jesus stated, “His time had not yet come,” through this story.
God Bless, SR