Catholic Bulletin: Praying to the dead

When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, They have no wine. (And) Jesus said to her, Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servers, Do whatever he tells you. Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, Fill the jars with water. So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter. So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now. Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him. -The 2nd Luminous Mystery

Praying to the dead

Question from Isabel on 1/26/2008:

I was recently speaking to a non-Catholic. I told her that I pray to the Blessed Mother. She told me that the Bible specifically forbids us to pray to anyone who has died. I am expecting that she will eventually give me some passages that she feels will prove her point.

I know that the Bible forbids us to contact the dead in a séance, but could you tell me how to explain in very simple terms and using passages from the Bible why we believe it's not only okay but important to look for the intercession of the saints?

If you wouldn't mind, please explain the passages that you use since I often have difficulty interpreting the Bible.

Answer by Catholic Answers on 1/28/2008:

Isabel--

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