A non-Catholic reader writes an e-mail titled "Re Your quote on Gary’s site" and says:
Greetings Mr. Akin
I was reading Gary’s quote of your words:
A: Well, aside from the fact that the Magisterium has ruled on the issue and that Apostolic Tradition teaches it (both of which are sufficient to prove the matter), the Bible also teaches it.
http://www.cin.org/users/james/questions/q040.htm
What "apostolic tradition"?
Could you refer me to the text or material you refer to?
Thanks.
May God grant your house peace
Thanks. Yours, too.
I’m not sure who Gary is, but the link you provide goes to a question I wrote some years ago (like 10 years ago, actually) on how we can be assured that those in heaven can hear our prayers.
This subject is dealt with in apostolic Tradition, which is conveyed in the writings of the Church Fathers. There is a pronounced stream from the early centuries onward showing that Christians recognized the practice of asking the saints (both human and angelic saints) for their intercession. Magisterial intervention has clarified that this is, indeed, part of the deposit of faith and thus apostolic Tradition (meaning that it was present in the deposit of faith at the time of the apostles either explicitly or implicitly).
For sample quotes from the Church Fathers and other early Christians,
There is an inscription in a cemetery near St.
Sabina’s in Rome that I find personally very moving. It dates from
about the year A.D. 300 and says:
Pray for your parents, Matronata Matrona. She
lived one year, fifty-two days.
The asking of the saints for their intercession implies an awareness on their part of our prayers. How this is accomplished is a matter of theological speculation. The most common theological speculation is that it is God who makes them aware of our requests for their intercession. They are united with him, and he knows everything, so if they could learn of them through no other means, they could learn of them through God.
Scripture, as I point out in under both of the links provided above, also depicts them being aware of our prayers.
Hope this helps!
