One question which might be asked here is why does anyone need someone else to pray for them? IOW, why is it necessary for a Catholic to pray to Mary and ask her to pray to God for them? Why cannot reason that person pray directly to God?
(Serious question, not meant as any sort of wisecrack.)
I think this has been covered since you asked this, but just in case... A Catholic *can* pray directly to God, but often also takes the time to ask others (including Mary) to pray for them as well.
JDG wrote:
When Jesus comes back, the world as we know it comes to an end - and we wouldn't want that, now would we? ;-)
Ronn! replied:
Many so-called fundamentalist Christians apparently do want exactly that, and are willing to help Him hurry.
I've read somewhere that a few people considered great religious leaders were asked, "What would you do if you found out the world was going to end tomorrow?" and IIRC, the response of most/all was that they wouldn't do anything special but would continue to live as they do now, living each day as if it might be the last, not putting off things that really don't need to be put off, not waiting until some undefined "later" to apologize to people they've wronged, etc. (Sorry, I have no web site cite for this.)
One thing that has always bothered me about many fundamentalist churches is that many emphasize the end of the world, and try to get people to join their churches out of fear. To me, church should be about how to live your everyday life in a way that makes you a more spiritually complete person. I don't know or particularly care when or how the world is going to end. The ends toward which I'm working are being a better person and making the world around me a better place, and as long as I continue to work towards those, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.
Reggie Bautista
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