Prayer, Mary, The Saints, Relics and Images

What is Prayer?

Prayer is asking God's help.

Is prayer necessary to salvation?

For those who have reached the use of reason prayer is necessary for salvation.

Why is prayer necessary to salvation for those who have reached the use of reason?

Prayer is necessary to salvation for those who have reached the use of reason, because God will not give them the grace to avoid evil and do good, unless they submit themselves to the influence of His grace of their own free will.

How do we pray always?

We pray always,

1) By reciting vocal prayers at stated times;

2) By renewing our good intention frequently;

3) And by keeping our minds busied with spiritual things while performing our daily work.

Why do Catholics honor and love Mary?

Catholics honor and love Mary, because:

1) God honors her above all other creatures;

2) Mary has given us Spiritual Life in the person of her divine Son.

What is the Communion of Saints?

The Communion of Saints is the union of charity and good will that unites all God's friends in heaven, on earth and in purgatory.

Why can the Saints pray for us?

The Saints can pray for us, because they have influence with God, who makes our wants known to them.

Is it lawful to honor the Saints?

It is lawful to honor the Saints because we thereby honor God whose grace has made them Saints.

Do Catholics adore Belies and Images of Saints?

Catholics adore God alone. They honor the relics and images of the Saints as precious souvenirs of the champions of the Faith and friends of God.

Is it good and useful to pray for the dead?

It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins.

....they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection in mind; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin. - II Maccabees 12:42-46>