We received the following e-mail:

It is plainly evident that God recognizes no other mediator or intercessor than Jesus Christ, for this is what the Bible teaches:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5).

Besides, they are not even necessary (thank God I HAVE NEVER NEEDED INTERCESSORS); I can approach the Lord with complete confidence and without fear of not being heard. God lovingly always listens to us, and the argument that God is too busy to deal with everyone has no value, for God is God, not a man.

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:14).

It does not say, “approach my delegates and tell them to insist a lot so I can see whether I can attend to you.”

What do Catholics say about these verses? (Because they are a stone in the shoe for those who defend the multitude of unnecessary intercessors.)

Our answer:

Those verses are not a stone in the shoe. They simply need to be understood correctly in the light of the Bible itself.

Certainly, “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5). But we are all mediators IN HIM.

1- Let us remember that the New Testament was written in Greek. The word used for “one” is “HEIS”, which means “one” but in a NON-EXCLUSIVE sense. If St. Paul had wanted to be exclusive, he would have used the word “MONOS”.

2- Let us read the four preceding verses to put things in context:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable before God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

So, brothers, in that very same chapter, St. Paul RECOMMENDS that we pray for one another. Supplications and prayers are acts of mediation. Numerous biblical passages confirm this teaching on intercession, including the intercession of the saints in heaven. See: Mediator

St. Paul, as a good teacher, put things in order. He teaches us the importance of praying for one another and immediately teaches us that this prayer is effective only because we are united to the one mediator: Christ.

Jesus is the one mediator, but we must all mediate IN (united to) HIS mediation.

The Blessed Virgin and the saints are NOT another path of mediation; they are NOT another alternative. We say that their mediation is possible because they are IN CHRIST, because they are ONE with HIM. This teaching is biblical and belongs to Apostolic Tradition. God is pleased that his children, out of love, cooperate in HIS work of salvation. This is precisely to participate in the mediation of Jesus. That cooperation continues in heaven. Thus the Virgin, the saints and the angels in heaven help us.

We are one Body: the Body of Christ

Some say: If I go directly to Christ, why do I need the saints? That dichotomy is false. Mary and the saints are one with Jesus because they are members of His Mystical Body. Union with the saints does not hinder our direct union with Christ; on the contrary, it fosters it. The mediation of the saints IN CHRIST is understood only when we grasp the profound unity that exists in HIS MYSTICAL BODY.

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” would that make it any less a part of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 1 Cor. 12:13-20

God has created a communion of persons, and each one has his place in the great communion that is the Church. It pleases God that we help one another, that we be brothers and sisters; indeed, He commands it.

The teaching on the unity of the Body is very important for understanding our Christian vocation, in which each one must serve the others because we are one. God has willed to make us one in Him and to call us to participate in his redemptive work. God as Father is pleased with our cooperation.

To understand this, let us think of a family. If brothers help one another, does that offend the authority of the father? We must understand that EVERYTHING comes from God, even the grace necessary to pray for others.

In the Mystical Body all are united to Christ and, with His power, help one another.

St. Paul teaches us the radical unity between Christ and the Christian:

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20)

When St. Paul or another saint preaches, heals, or works miracles, it can only be through the one mediation of Christ who lives in HIM.

Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God! (2 Corinthians 5:20)

As the Mystical Body, we participate in the life and work of Christ: it is true that Christ is the only judge, the only shepherd, the only king, the only mediator; but Christians are all of these IN HIM:

1- Jesus Christ is the one supreme judge, and Christians will be judges in heaven (Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30; 1 Cor. 6:2-3).

2- Jesus is the one Shepherd (John 10:16) and establishes shepherds (John 21:15-17; Eph 4:11).

3- Jesus is the one King and we shall reign with HIM (Revelation 4:4, 10).

Jesus teaches that his own are mediators so that others may believe and be one:

“I do not pray for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I in you, may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory which you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one: I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:20-23)

We repeat: this is not another mediation, but the one mediation of Jesus manifested in the saints thanks to the fact that they are one with Him and form His Mystical Body.

Why not go directly to Jesus Christ?

We also pray directly to Jesus Christ, but united, helping one another. The most perfect prayer is the Holy Mass, in which we are united directly to the one sacrifice of Christ. In Christ, we are also united with the saints.

Christ can do all things by Himself, but He has willed to make use of his saints to continue his teaching and his work. Is there competition between the teaching of St. Paul and the other saints and the teaching of Jesus? Of course not.

“He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” Luke 10:16 

What if St. Paul had said: “I do not pray for the brethren because Jesus already prays for them.” Did St. Paul do wrong by commending himself to the prayers of the communities? What if he had said: “I do not proclaim the Gospel, because God can do it Himself”…. Yes. But God willed that we should cooperate. This has always been the faith of the Church.

Jesus says:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:12-13) 

The communion of the faithful is not limited to this earth. In heaven, too, the saints intercede for us:

The communion of brothers and sisters does not cease upon reaching heaven; on the contrary, it increases, because in heaven there is no selfishness but only love. In heaven the Church is triumphant in Christ. All who are in heaven are saints, but some are very well known on earth because the Church has pointed them out for their extraordinary holiness, above all the Blessed Virgin, who is the Mother of God and our mother.

St. Paul makes us aware that we are in communion with the saints:

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:22-24)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1)

Also:

“And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God” Rev 8:3-4 (See also Rev 5:8)

The saints pray for men on earth, that justice may be done: (Cf. Rev. 6:9; 18:18-20)

James 5:16 teaches: “ Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.” If we accept that the saints in heaven are righteous—and they are more righteous than we are—then this passage also applies to them.

There is no contradiction between approaching Jesus and approaching his saints. We are God’s family IN CHRIST. The prayers of the saints that are received upon the altar are possible because the saints participate in the one mediation of Christ.

The intercession of the saints does NOT replace or compete with direct prayer to God; rather, it gives it greater strength. Likewise, our relationship with God becomes love and service toward our brothers and sisters. It is a matter of putting things in their proper place, as St. Paul teaches: Jesus Christ is the one mediator; all the saints belong to Christ and, united to HIM, cooperate in his mediation to extend his kingdom.

Author: Fr. Jordi Rivero

Source: Corazones.org