If You Lose Something...Don't Panic!

A report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.  This week’s item is from the Night Rider News Service, with a headline:  “If you lose something, don’t panic, maybe you can find it with a little prayer.”  Six saints are listed as Patron Saints of Lost Articles on the online patron saints index, www.catholic-forum.com/saint/indexsnt.htm, including Anthony of Padua and Vincent DePaul.  Another, Saint Zita is specifically devoted against losing keys.  If prayer doesn’t help, Michael Solomon suggests the three “Cs”, comfort, calmness, and confidence.  Solomon is the author of How to Find Lost Objects, which lays out twelve principles that he said will help you to track down stuff that goes missing.  One of the first steps, according to Solomon, is to get comfortable, empty your mind of unsettling thoughts, and tell yourself you will find those keys.  Published by Penguin Books, Solomon’s principles are also outlined on his website www.professorsolomon.com.

Tom:

Dave, this is a brief article, I think people may be picking it up, reading it and saying, that’s kind of interesting, and yeah look, there is prayer involved, and there’s also a little technique and so on, but there are a lot of problems with this.  As a former Catholic, you know, I know these Saints, that is, I didn’t know them personally, but I prayed to them.  We have Anthony of Padua, saying “Saint Anthony, please come around, there is something that is lost and can’t be found.” That was a prayer I prayed and what I didn’t know, didn’t understand, is something very simple.  These were individuals who lived and then they died, then I was communicating with them.  The Bible calls that necromancy.

Dave:

You thought you were communicating, you were trying.

Tom:

Right, but simply, communicating with the dead, that is what I was trying to do.

Dave:

Absolutely forbidden in the scripture, Deuteronomy 18.  Tom, I don’t want to make fun of these so-called saints.  First of all, every Christian is a saint.  The New Testament is written to the saints at Corinth, the saints at Ephesus, and so forth.  Never, ever, do you get the idea from the Bible that 300 years after your death or in some cases—Padre Pio, the Pope is doing it to him very quickly.  That you can be canonized, elevated, voted in and finally the church declares that you are a saint.  What does that mean—a saint?  The Bible is written to saints.  Now, there is no other category of saints, is this some higher order of saints?  The Bible doesn’t mention it.  So, first of all, it’s not biblical.  Secondly, as you said, these are people who, maybe they were wise in this life, maybe they weren’t, I don’t know.  Maybe they are in heaven and maybe they are not.  It’s like Aunt Jane, you know, you go to a séance and Aunt Jane was not too bright in this life, but now that she is on the other side, as they would say, you can consult Aunt Jane and she knows all kinds of things.  Who says that these guys have any ability in finding anything?  Who came up with that idea?  How did they develop this talent and furthermore, who says they can hear people praying?  The same we would have to ask of Mary.  The Catholics are praying to Mary in maybe, several thousand languages, certainly several hundred languages, simultaneously.  Millions of people may be praying to Mary in all kinds of different languages all at once and she hears them? Sorts out all of these languages—

Tom:

Sounds like an attribute of God here.

Dave:

It certainly does.In fact, why pray to Mary at all?  Never on this earth did anyone pray to Mary, they went to Jesus.  In fact, Jesus instructs us to go to the Father.  Whatever we ask of the Father in his name, he will give it, so why must I go to some other saint?  What is the point?  Tom, it casts a reflection upon God; it casts a reflection upon Jesus Christ.  I’ve had Catholics say to me, well if you want something from a man, you go to his mother, get her to put in a good word, and I say, wait a minute!  You are my friend, you want to ask me something, and instead of coming to me directly you go to my mother to get her to put in a good word for me?  What does that say about our relationship and about your confidence in me?  So it’s not biblical, it doesn’t make sense, there is no way you can explain this except that people like to go to someone other than God.  We don’t want to go right to Jesus, that’s a bit frightening.  Maybe, we can get someone to put in a good word for us.

Tom:

Now Dave, going back to the point I made earlier about necromancy, trying, attempting to communicate with the dead. The Bible condemns that very clearly and the reason being is that, you’re not going to get—there may be some communication, we know through many occult devices and techniques and so on that people do contact spirits.

Dave:

Demonic spirits that are willing to pose as Jesus or Mary or extraterrestrial or whatever you want.

Tom:

This article that you just read looks like a simple thing—oh, here’s a technique for finding my keys.  Dave, I lose my keys all the time, but this seemingly innocent presentation could actually get me involved with contact with spirits that I can’t get rid of anymore.

Dave:

Right.  Number one, it could definitely do that.  You begin to get answers from the other side from what you think is from St. Anthony or whoever it is, and furthermore Tom, the bottom line is it turns the person away from confidence in God, confidence in Jesus Christ, confidence in the Holy Spirit.  Is not God all powerful?  Doesn’t he love us?  Then why go to someone else?  And you know, in Isaiah:8:19And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
See All..., “Why do the living consult the dead…” let’s consult the Lord and let’s go to him and ask him for his help and blessing