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Q) Why do Catholics pray the rosary?
A) The rosary is a meditative prayer meant to help the one praying reflect upon Scripture and the life of Christ and his mother. The rosary’s two primary prayers — the “Our Father” and the “Hail Mary” — are both taken directly from sacred Scripture, though of course the “Hail Mary” also includes an additional line: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” The rosary has long been acknowledged by popes, nuns and faithful laity as a powerful tool for entering more deeply into truly biblical prayer and for understanding the meaning of the great mysteries of our Lord’s life.
Q) Why do Catholics pray to the saints?
A) Well, the short answer is we don’t! Strictly speaking, Catholics only pray to God, who alone has the power to save us. However, we believe in the mighty power of intercessory prayer, that is, the power and importance of praying for other people and petitioning God on their behalf. We do this in a thousand different ways and a thousand different times — whether it’s asking our beloved grandmother to pray for us, or telling our little children before bedtime to pray for their classmates, or praying ourselves for a loved one or colleague. What is more, there is something instinctual about asking obviously holy people to pray for us and our needs — think of that aforementioned grandmother or a holy nun or priest we’ve met along the way. And because we as Christians believe in life after death, and in the truth that the holy ones of God, that is, the saints, continue to care about us and love us even in heaven, we ask them to pray for us and for our needs. We sometimes might refer to this as “praying to the saints,” but we are really asking them to pray for us.
Father Erickson is pastor of Transfiguration in Oakdale.
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