Is it Biblical to Pray to Dead Saints?

Roman Catholics pray to saints and to my belief this is not correct. The reason for this is because God the Father is a jealous God. He, and He alone, is our one and only true God and Father. He, and He alone, is the only One who has the full supernatural power to answer any specific prayer request we may have.

I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols (Isaiah 42:8)

Jesus specifically told us that we are to pray direct to God the Father if we have any specific needs that must be met. There is not one verse in the Bible that tells us to pray directly to dead saints. If God the Father wanted this possibility as an option, then Jesus would have specifically told us so in the New Testament - but He did not!

God has ordered us not to be a part of those people who call upon mediums or the calling up of the dead. Here is what the guideline that God has put up for us:

"When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you." (Deuteronomy 18:9)

"Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:31)

"And the person who turns after mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people." (Leviticus 20:6)

"So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance." (1 Chronicles 10:13)

Notice the words "calls up the dead," and the statement that God makes that this practice is an abomination in His eyes! When you are attempting to call up the dead, you are attempting to try and directly communicate with them.

King Saul got into big trouble with God when he asked a witch to call up the prophet Samuel who had already died. He literally incurred the wrath of God when he did this, and this eventually led to his downfall and early death. Notice the verse says that the reason Saul was trying to call up Samuel was for guidance.

Instead of going direct to God the Father for the guidance that he was needing - he tries to go contact one of God’s dead saints. Samuel was a great man and a great prophet of God, but God was wanting Saul to come directly to Him for any guidance that he was needing - not to a dead saint!

This story is a perfect example showing that we are to go directly to God the Father if we need any help with anything - not to any dead saints who are living up in heaven.

The short answer is "No". In addition to the verses quoted above there is another in Isaiah 8:19 that reveals the Lord's mind about praying to those who have died.

"When they say to you, 'Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,' should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?" (NASU)

It seems clear that the Lord would have us consult (pray to) Him, not the dead.

What may not be so clear to some Christians is that the dead are sometimes consulted by them anyway without the aid of mediums or spiritists. Satan is crafty and for those whose eyes have been opened to not consult or pray to dead saints by these means, he uses a more subtle voice.

What I mean is this. Not all who call themselves Christians, not all who preach, not all who teach, have a living relationship with the Lord Jesus. In other words they are not really Christians; they have not experienced the new birth and are those still "dead in [their] trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1 NASU). Spiritually speaking they are dead. Yet, these false Christians, preachers, and teachers can be quite convincing in their words, deceiving many as they tickle the ears of those who chose to listen to lies rather than the truth of God's Word.

How many churches, how many denominations in the world today are led by the "Spiritually Dead", but have followings of multiple thousands? They teach and preach that which is contrary to biblical truth because the Truth often offends us, brings conviction, and requires a personal accountability to the Living God that results in dying to self. Instead the "Spiritually Dead" are sought out so they can continue in their trespasses and sins without a sense of guilt. The "Spiritually Dead" are sought out by those who wish to believe they can be saved in their sins rather than from their sins.

The Lord knew His people would be tempted to consult the dead when He remained silent or when they didn't like the answer He gave. Thus, He clearly prohibited them from seeking out mediums and spiritists. What we need to remember today is that not all mediums and spiritists use crystal balls or tarot cards or ouija boards. Some use a pulpit or hymns or even the Bible. We need to recall Jesus's words to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27 when we are seeking God's will.


"You are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness." (NASU)

This is so true and I feel sorry for one of my cousin's who still believes in RCC faith. She prays at different times to many saints and thinks that her prayers are more answered than us as she prays to saints who pray to God on her behalf as they are close to Jesus.

The only information is so good that I will surely make her read this article. We must believe what God has spoken to us through Bible and not through any Pope, Father, Bishop or Evangelist. There are followers of satan in the disguise of Christian leaders. May God save all of us from these false preacher.

In Christ

I am a Roman Catholic and I practice of asking saints and angels to pray for me. Bible also directs us to invoke those in heaven and ask them to pray with us.[quote]"Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who
do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his
ministers that do his will!" (Psalm 103:20-21)

"Praise
the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his
angels, praise him, all his host!" (Ps. 148:1-2)

Now in In Revelation, John
sees that "the twenty-four elders [the leaders of the people of God in heaven] fell
down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which
are the prayers of the saints" (Rev. 5:8).

Therefore, the saints in heaven offer to God the
prayers of the saints on earth.

Jesus himself warned us about the treatment of small children because their guardian angels
have guaranteed intercessory access to the Father:

"See that you do not despise one
of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my
Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 18:10).

Jesus is the only Mediator between man and God (1 Tim.
2:5), but this in no way means we cannot or should not ask our fellow Christians to pray
with us and for us (1 Tim. 2:1-4), including those Christians in heaven, who have already
had their sanctification completed, for "[t]he prayer of a righteous man has great
power in its effects" (Jas. 5:16).

I believe that you all guys will be interested in what RCC people read when they pray rosary. Here are the words of rosary prayer.

Holy Mary, Pray for us.
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Savior,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honor,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of Gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of Heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of angels,
Queen of patriarchs,
Queen of prophets,
Queen of Apostles,
Queen of martyrs,
Queen of confessors,
Queen of virgins,
Queen of all saints.
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen of the most holy Rosary,
Queen assumed into Heaven,
Queen of peace.

Memorare:
Remember, 0 most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection. implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto you, 0 Virgin of Virgins, my mother. To you I come; before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Rest you decide!

Like Fatime I do not find it wrong to pray to saints. The most problematic line for non-Catholics is usually the last: "pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." Many non-Catholics think such a request denies the teaching of 1 Timothy 2:5: "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." But in the preceding four verses (1 Tim. 2:1-4), Paul instructs Christians to pray for each other, meaning it cannot interfere with Christ’s mediatorship: "I urge that prayers, supplications, petitions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone. . . . This is good, and pleasing to God our Savior."

We know this exhortation to pray for others applies to the saints in heaven who, as Revelation 5:8 reveals, intercede for us by offering our prayers to God: "The twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life--this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us--we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
(1 Jn 1:1-3)

The living Word of the living God is the heart of that marvelous prayer known to generations of Christians as the Rosary of Our Lady. An enduring prayer of great beauty, "marvelous in its simplicity and depth," the Rosary opens a doorway to the world of Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word. What matters in the Rosary is what mattered most to Mary: her son, Jesus. When we pray its mysteries, we see the events of his life through her eyes, and linger in the company of the mother who "kept all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Lk 2:19).

"The Holy Rosary," said John Paul II, "introduces us into the very heart of faith." (1) Its sequence and order reflect, as Paul VI commented, "the very way in which the Word of God, mercifully entering into human affairs, brought about the Redemption." Its Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries set forth "the mystery of Christ in the very way in which it is seen by Saint Paul in the celebrated 'hymn' of the Letter to the Philippians--kenosis, death and exaltation (2:6-11)." (2)

The prayers of the Rosary are drawn from scripture. The words "become an arch in the sacred room of revelation, in which the truth of the living God is made known to us."(3) We enter the holy setting of each mystery repeating the prayer Jesus taught his disciples: "When you pray, say, 'Our Father who art in heaven...'." Within the sacred room, the decade, of the mystery we repeat the "Hail, Mary." The words draw one directly into the mystery of the Incarnation. The first phrase echoes Gabriel's greeting to the Virgin of Nazareth. The next repeats the praise Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried when she heard Mary's greeting. In the concluding words we plead that the Mother of God, will be with each of us in the essential moments of life, now and the hour of our death.Each decade closes with praise of the Triune God who has revealed his love for us in this mystery of Jesus' life: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Rosary incorporates the succession of these holy words and the telling of beads with moments of silence to form a background against which the fifteen mysteries of salvation unfold within the mind and heart. Far from being mere repetition of phrases, counting of prayers, or multiplication of words, the Rosary is the Christian expression of an almost universal contemplative prayer tradition. People of widely varying religious heritage have used beads or counters to guide and sustain their prayer for centuries. Madeleine L'Engle wrote, "To use beads with a prayer, Indian or Moslem or Christian, is to enflesh the words, make thought tangible. Unless misused, it is not in the realm of superstition but is an affirmation of creation, of all matter, of ousia [being]." (4) Father William Johnston calls the Rosary "finger prayer," a prayer that engages the body as well as the mind and heart. Praying the Rosary involves the whole person.

In every religion concerned with mystery one finds words and phrases repeated over and over in prayer. As they echo over and over in the mind, these words descend gradually to deeper levels of consciousness. In Christian spirituality the sacred word of centering prayer, the Jesus prayer, the chaste simplicity of Gregorian chant, short phrases from scripture or Liturgy, are all intended to draw the one praying into a more profound awareness of God's presence. At these deeper levels the repetition of holy words becomes rhythmic, like waves upon a shore or the beat of one's heart. In time, the prayer becomes natural, a part of one's life, as essential as breathing out and breathing in. Rhythmic repetition is "the basic cadence that allows us to walk with Jesus and Mary without watching our feet." It liberates us, sets us "free to wander, to explore, to contemplate the mysteries that are the heartbeat of our lives." (5)

Indeed, the mysteries of the Rosary embrace life itself. They are the rhythms of salvation, the songs of God's communion with his people. They lead one to spiritual awareness, mindfulness, and enlightenment, to knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, to union with God. Praying the Rosary means entering into contemplative prayer centered in the mystery of the Incarnation. We meet the God who reveals himself as love in the life, passion, death, resurrection and exaltation of his Son, and who longs to draw us into communion with him.

Basically the Rosary is a Gospel prayer. But, while its content comes from the good news of Mark and Matthew, Luke and John; its fifteen mysteries form a continuum with the whole of salvation history. All of scripture, the entire record of God's dealings with his people, contributes to one's understanding of Christ's life among us, and thus may lead one to explore new spiritual paths in praying the Rosary.

The Book of Acts, which describes the struggles and triumphs of the apostolic Church, weaves a richly colorful, vivid tapestry of Christian life among the earliest believers. The experience of these sisters and brothers from a distant time and place provides a wonderful source for reflection and contemplation as we strive to live as Christians in our own day. The letters written by Paul, Peter, James, and other first-century believers to guide the churches they established contain some of the earliest treasures of our spiritual heritage. The wisdom and experience of these apostles and leaders still informs the life of the Church and guides twentieth-century disciples in understanding the words and deeds of our Lord. The Hebrew scriptures record the earliest treasures of salvation history: God's relationship with his people Israel, the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings or Wisdom. Both Old and New Testaments, inspired by the Spirit, enhance our realization of life transformed in Christ Jesus our Savior.

The rich biblical content of the Rosary together with its focus on the world of Jesus and Mary make it a superb teaching prayer. The orderly sequence of the mysteries helps one remember the events of Christ's life interwoven with the responsive love and trust of his Mother who is the model for all Christians. Praying the Rosary within the family, a prayer group, or a parish can become a rich learning experience for the individual believer and for the community. We enter the continuing prayer of the Church when we pray together the "common office of the people," as some one described the Rosary.

The universal nature of the Rosary appealed particularly to St. Dominic, Founder of the Order of Preachers. The simplicity of the prayer, the gospel content of the mysteries, the possibilities for silent meditation and deep reflection, the teaching and preaching potential, convinced Dominic that this was a prayer not only for him and for his nuns and friars, but also one beautifully suited to the people, the little ones to whom his Order would proclaim the gospel. Dominicans have prayed, taught, and preached the Rosary, encouraging its spread among believers, ever since their founding in the thirteenth century.

As a prayer grounded in the Word of God, the Rosary fosters spiritual growth by drawing us into the life of our Lord. Its holy words alternating with silent reflection inform Christian life by enriching communion with God. To little ones of every age, whom Jesus loved and to whom it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, the sacred words of the Rosary become seeds sown in the rich, fertile soil of loving hearts. Just as the farmer casting seed into the earth looks forward to the harvest, so God's word "shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it" (Is 55:11). Any one whose life is transformed by an encounter with the living Word of the living God becomes fertile soil in which the seed of the Word takes root and begins to grow fruit for the final harvest. Prayer, communion with the Word, shelters, protects, and waters the growth of life in God. The Rosary mysteries nourish faith, love, and hope in the deepest truths of our Christian heritage.

The person who prays discovers he or she cannot remain a mere student or spectator of Christian life. God's Word, alive and active, calls us to become part of the mystery, disciples of Christ, children of his Father, in brief, to become Christians, members of the believing community in whom God's Spirit dwells. God too looks toward the harvest and expects his people to bear the fruit of his gifts in the fullness of life. Each of us grows and shares the fruits of our communion with God by the way we live. As one's experience of God deepens, his presence within becomes more apparent and more compelling.

The memory of Jesus' life and of all that God has done for his people enriches our lives and overflows to enrich the lives of others. Prayerful meditation on the Rosary mysteries sustains the communication of ourselves to others as graced, Spirit-filled friends of our Lord. Prayer marks the Church as a people united in communion with God and with one another.

In a very real sense, those who pray the Rosary hold the world and all it contains within the loving, life-giving presence of Christ. They walk with the compassionate Lord who went among his people doing good. In his company the disciple becomes alert and hears the cry of the poor. The presence of the Lord urges him to heed the cry, to go out to help those in need. One who prays the Rosary casts a lifeline of hope around the sick, suffering, anxious people of this harsh and struggling world.

Pondering the Rosary mysteries with Mary, one also brings all that lies within one's own heart before God. As Jesus was the center of Mary's life, so also his concerns, his struggles and celebrations, his joys and griefs were hers. The people Jesus cared for were important to his Mother. The possibilities and ramifications here are endless, for Christ's love embraces the universe. No one stands beyond the outstretched arms of the crucified Lord; no one exists outside his mother's love for the daughters and sons he gave to her care.

In the Rosary we undertake a universal apostolate of prayer. Within that sacred arch of holy words we bring everything that concerns our life in this world. We praise and adore God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We offer reparation for our sins and the sins of the world. We pray for the needs of others, for the cares and troubles of our time. We return thanks for all he has done for us.

The Rosary celebrates God's abundant blessings and gifts, calling everyone to recognize the loving kindness of our God who sent his Son to share our earthly existence that we might share eternal life with him. It celebrates our faith and our heritage as Christ's people and urges us, "Rejoice in the Lord always" (Phi 4:4).

Mary's response to the good news of the Incarnate Word and to the demands Jesus' coming would make of her was an unequivocal yes. Praying the Rosary helps us to respond as she did: to follow the way and truth and life of Christ; to enter into the loving communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and to receive the gift of salvation.

In the rhythm and song of the Rosary, in joy, sorrow, and the hope of glory, we hear the word of God as heartbeat and life breath. When, like Mary, we keep it, we too are blessed.

Article Source: The Rosary...a Marvelous Prayer - John Paul II

The answer is given in the Bible

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John 14:13)

Jesus never asked us at any point of the history of the Bible to use dead (whether prophets or saints) to be our mediators or co-redemptors. We must not pray to God using saints or prophets whether it is Mary or anyone else. Hail Mary is totally wrong and blasphemous. Can she be Queen of Heavens? Come on this makes Mary what? Who is the King of Heavens? We must think what we speak and how we pray.

Jesus gave us a model of prayer in the form of Lord's Prayer and it must be followed. Other than this there is no prayer.

I do not want to comment on Hail Mary, but you can open the Bible and see it for yourself.

Mirror of justice

Is she a god that she has become just? The whole Hail Mary is denial of God and the personality of God as we know Him through Bible.

This is what the LORD says, "...that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight." declares the LORD (Jer 9:23-24)

God bless you and your family

I am no scholar but this I know that our Jesus is ALIVE then why should we pray to dead who are also waiting for the second coming of Christ?

I did some research on the internet on the topic and found this article at http://zostrianos.blogspot.com/2008/05/lords-prayer-hail-mary_01.html that says the following:[quote]Within the Catechism’s discussion about “Christian Prayer”, the ‘Hail Mary’ and the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ are outlined and explained. Concerning the urgings of the Holy Spirit, the Catechism teaches us that the exaltation of the Lordship of Jesus is espoused in both the ‘Hail Mary’ and the ‘Lord’s Prayer’. (Cat. 2681) Concerning ‘filial’ nature of our prayer, the Catechism asserts that the Church is drawn into communion with the ‘Mother of God’, and ‘Our Father’ in and through the ‘Hail Mary’, and the ‘Lord’s Prayer’. (Cat. 2672) With straightforward simplicity, the Catechism teaches how both the ‘Hail Mary’ and the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ serve as examples, invocations, and petitions unto God’s Mercy.

As the ‘hodigitria’, Mary “shows the way”, and is herself “the Sign” of the way. (Cat. 2674) Furthermore, the Catechism teaches that the prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope. (Cat. 2679) Beginning with Mary’s unique cooperation with the working of the Holy Spirit, the Churches developed their prayer to the holy Mother of God, centering it on the person of Christ manifested in his mysteries. (Cat. 2675) Thus, the Catechisms recognition of the Ave Maria illustrates Mary’s singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit in magnifying with her the great things the Lord has done for her, and to entrust supplications and praises to her, the Church loves to pray in communion with the Virgin Mary. (Cat. 2682)

Concerning the Lord’s Prayer, the Catechism states that the Lord’s Prayer is the “summary of the whole Gospel”. (Cat. 2761) In response to his disciples’ request “Lord, teach us to pray” Jesus entrusted them with the ‘Our Father’. (Lk. 11:1) Furthermore, as Jesus is both the Master and Model of our Prayers, the Catechism teaches that the Spirit of the Lord gives new form to our desires; “those inner movements that animate our lives”. (Cat. 2764) On one hand, in the words of this prayer the only Son gives us the words the Father gave him. (Cat. 2775) On the other hand, as Word incarnate, he knows in his human heart the needs of his human brothers and sisters and reveals them to us. (Cat. 2765)

Divided into seven petitions, the Catechism outlines the Lord’s Prayer in such a way: Glory of the Father; Sanctification of his name; the coming of the kingdom; the fulfillment of his will; nourishment of our lives; healed of sin; and made victorious in the struggle of good over evil. (Cat. 2857) However, Jesus does not only give us a formula to mechanically repeat, rather Jesus gives us the Spirit by whom these words become in us ‘spirit and life’. (Cat. 2766) Thus, the seven petitions express the groanings of the present age, in which we cry ‘Abba! Father!’. (Cat. 2766, 2771)

As the ‘Hail Mary’ honors a submission of faith from ‘now, until the hour of our death’ (Cat. 2674), the eschatological character of the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ is quintessential in its petition and hoping for the Lord. (Cat. 2776) Wholly, the prayers of the ‘Hail Mary’ and the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ shine light upon the mission of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Cat. 2766) As ‘Amen’ concludes each prayer: ‘So be it’, or ‘Let it be’ expresses the concluding mystery of salvation already accomplished, once for all, in Christ crucified and risen. (Cat. 2771)[quote]Article Source: zostrianos[/a]

This is a nice discussion going on and I found the Council of Trent that states the following:

The Council of Trent was the 19th Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. Considered one of the Church's most important councils, it convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods. Council fathers met for the first through eighth sessions in Trent (1545-1547), for the ninth through eleventh sessions in Bologna (1547) during the pontificate of Pope Paul III. Under Pope Julius III, the council met in Trent (1551-1552) for the twelfth through sixteenth sessions. Under Pope Pius IV the seventeenth through twenty-fifth sessions took place in Trent (1559-1563).

The council issued condemnations on what it defined as Protestant heresies and defined Church teachings in the areas of scripture and Tradition, Original Sin, Justification, Sacraments, the Eucharist in Holy Mass and the veneration of saints. It issued numerous reform decrees. By specifying Catholic doctrine on salvation, the sacraments, and the Biblical canon, the Council was answering Protestant disputes. The Council entrusted to the Pope the implementation of its work, as a result of which Pope Pius V issued in 1566 the Roman Catechism, in 1568 a revised Roman Breviary, and in 1570 a revised Roman Missal, thus initiating what since the twentieth century has been called the Tridentine Mass (from the city's Latin name Tridentum), and Pope Clement VIII issued in 1592 a revised edition of the Vulgate.

The Council of Trent, delayed and interrupted several times because of political or religious disagreements, was a major reform council and the most impressive embodiment of the ideals of the Counter-Reformation. It would be over 300 years until the next Ecumenical Council. Its teachings continue until today. Pope John XXIII stated that when announing Vatican II. Pope Paul VI said the same.

Objects and general results
The main object of the council was twofold, although there were other issues that were also discussed:

1. To condemn the principles and doctrines of Protestantism and to define the doctrines of the Catholic Church on all disputed points. It is true that the emperor intended it to be a strictly general or truly ecumenical council, at which the Protestants should have a fair hearing. He secured, during the council's second period, 1551-53, an invitation, twice given, to the Protestants to be present and the council issued a letter of safe conduct (thirteenth session) and offered them the right of discussion, but denied them a vote. Melanchthon and Johannes Brenz, with some other German Lutherans, actually started in 1552 on the journey to Trent. Brenz offered a confession and Melanchthon, who got no farther than Nuremberg, took with him the ironic statement known as the Confessio Saxonica. But the refusal to give to the Protestants the right to vote and the consternation produced by the success of Bornfeld in his campaign against Charles V in 1552 effectually put an end to Protestant cooperation.

2. To effect a reformation in discipline or administration. This object had been one of the causes calling forth the reformatory councils and had been lightly touched upon by the Fifth Council of the Lateran under Pope Julius II and Pope Leo X. The perceived corruption in the administration of the Church was one of the numerous causes of the Reformation. Twenty-five public sessions were held, but nearly half of them were spent in solemn formalities. The chief work was done in committees or congregations. The entire management was in the hands of the papal legate. The liberal elements lost out in the debates and voting. The council abolished some of the most notorious abuses and introduced or recommended disciplinary reforms affecting the sale of indulgences, the morals of convents, the education of the clergy, the non-residence of bishops (also bishops having plurality of benefices, which was fairly common), and the careless fulmination of censures and forbade dueling. Although evangelical sentiments were uttered by some of the members in favor of the supreme authority of the scriptures and justification by faith, no concession whatever was made to Protestantism.

3. The church's interpretation of the Bible was final. Any Christian who substituted his or her own interpretation was a heretic. Also, the Bible and Church Tradition (not mere customs but the ancient Tradition that made up part of the Catholic faith) were equally authoritative.

4. The relationship of faith and works in salvation was defined, following controversy over Martin Luther's doctrine of "justification by faith alone".

5. Other Catholic practices that drew the ire of reformers within the Church, such as Indulgences, pilgrimages, the veneration of saints and relics, and the veneration of the Virgin Mary were strongly reaffirmed. Decrees concerning sacred music and religious art, though inexplicit, were subsequently amplified by theologians and writers to condemn many types of Renaissance and medieval styles and iconographies, impacting heavily on ther development of these art forms.

The doctrinal decisions of the council are divided into decrees (decreta), which contain the positive statement of the conciliar dogmas, and into short canons (canones), which condemn the dissenting Protestant views with the concluding "anathema sit" ("let him be anathema").

To conclude, it is suffice to say that Hail Mary is not Biblical but a work of Council of Trent to enforce Catechism and to denounce Protestants.

God bless

Article Source: Council of Trent