The Catholic Church affirms wholeheartedly that we can go straight to Jesus in prayer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, The prayer of the Church, nourished by the Word of God and the celebration of the liturgy, teaches us to pray to the Lord Jesus.
The Jesus Prayer is certainly familiar to Latin Catholics, but for Eastern Christians it's the essential staple of private prayer. The closest thing in the West would be the triptych of Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, alone or elaborated in the rosary.
We can pray to any deceased person, including our own parents, brothers and sisters and children. Even if they are in Purgatory they can intercede for us.
He wrote: "By linking our prayer through Mary to our adoration of Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament, we have been given a new and spiritually rich avenue to Christ through His Mother." Throughout the centuries Catholic writers have shown how devotion to Mary can lead us closer to Jesus.
Answer: Why Pray to Mary? Because Jesus has given us his Blessed Mother as our great spiritual mother (Rev. 12:17), a heavenly advocate who intercedes for us.
Catholics do not pray to Mary as if she were God. Prayer to Mary is memory of the great mysteries of our faith (Incarnation, Redemption through Christ in the rosary), praise to God for the wonderful things he has done in and through one of his creatures (Hail Mary) and intercession (second half of the Hail Mary).
The justification for asking Mary to intercede for us is once again found in the Bible. Revelation 5:8 depicts "the prayers of the saints" being set before the altar of God in heaven.
The earliest recorded prayer to Mary is the sub tuum praesidium (3rd or 4th century) and the earliest depictions of her are from the Priscilla catacombs in Rome (early 3rd century).
The Bible speaks about beginning a relationship with God through Jesus Christ in a variety of ways, so it may come as a surprise that nowhere does Scripture specifically refer to “praying to accept Jesus into your heart.” Instead, the Bible emphasizes trust/faith in who Jesus is and what he has done through his death ...
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.
"We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you" (Col. 1:3 NKJ). If you want your prayers answered, you should pray to God, the Father, using the name of Jesus (His good standing).
Ever wonder how the Rosary, Mary, and Jesus all connect? Although Marian in character, the Rosary in reality focuses on Mary's heavenly son, Jesus. According to St. Pope John Paul II, the Rosary “is at heart a Christocentric prayer” because “it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety”.
The Hail Mary is a Scripture-based prayer in which we meditate on words from the Gospel of Luke. In the second half of the prayer, we ask Mary to intercede for us and bring us closer to her Son, Jesus.
In praying the Hail Mary, we repeat this greeting of God as a way to honor the woman He favoured to become the mother of His Son. The second half of the Hail Mary prayer was added by the Church to invoke the prayers of the Holy Mother of God who we humbly and piously fly to for help.
Praying the Rosary allows us to encounter Mary and to enter the mysteries of Jesus Christ. From his Incarnation, to the Cross, to the Resurrection, we come to understand that God has revealed himself and saved us. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, continue to inspire us to a life of discipleship.
Broadly, Roman Catholicism differs from other Christian churches and denominations in its beliefs about the sacraments, the roles of the Bible and tradition, the importance of the Virgin Mary and the saints, and the papacy.
Q: Is there a biblical basis for the Rosary? A: As you know the bible does "not" tell us to pray the Rosary because this form of prayer originated only during the middle ages. However, important elements of the Rosary are biblical and/or belong to the common Christian beliefs.
Let's summarize: Catholics confess their sins to a priest because that is the method of forgiveness that God established. The Almighty alone has the power to forgive sins, and the Son of God granted that authority to His Apostles.
Although there are some requirements for confessions, the main reason why many Catholics receive this sacrament regularly is to experience the love and forgiveness of God. Confession can cleanse your soul, improve your relationship with God and allow you to live in His light.
the oneness of God and the Trinity. the incarnation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. the meaning of the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Talking to God or the Divine has nothing to do with religion, and it does not have to be tethered to any particular belief. Praying doesn't have to mean bowing down over a Bible or kneeling in front of an altar. Prayer can be just talking to God in your head, or out loud — anytime, any place.
Jesus explicitly and implicitly describes himself as the Son of God and he is also described as the Son of God by various individuals who appear in the New Testament.