Dear Nina:

You ask the wrong question -- where is that in the bible? This is a question that comes from a erroneous non-biblical man-made doctrine of sola scriptura (the bible alone) that did not exist for 1500 years until people like Martin Luther decided to adopt it the idea to justify their rebellion.

No where in the Bible does the Bible teach that the Bible is the sole authority on doctrine. In fact, it teaches the very opposite. John 21:25 tells us that not everything Jesus taught is in Scriptures. (also see Acts 20:35 as an example of a saying of Jesus that was not recorded in the Gospels)

The Bible came from Oral Tradition. The Church gave us the Bible, the Bible did not give us the Church. There was no New Testament as we know it for about 300 years. The apostles did not start to write anything down for decades after Jesus. And then there were many letters getting past around the churches purporting to be Holy Script but were not. The Church finally had to decide in Council which of these letters were really Holy Scripture and which were not. The primary criteria in determining this was whether or not the letters were consistent with ORAL TEACHING of the Church? Did the letters confirm to the Church's teaching from AD 33 onward?

Before this determination Christians had nothing but the Oral Tradition of the Church to go by. The Bible, which is a subset of Sacred Tradition, is a summary of the Faith, but not the entire faith (as John 21:25 affirms).

In fact the Bible makes it clear that we are to obey Sacred Tradition. 1 Cor 11:2 tells us to "hold fast to the traditions" handed down to us. 2 Thess 2:15 tells us to hold fast to Sacred Tradition whether oral or in writing. 2 Thess 3:14 even says to shun those people who do not act according to Sacred Tradition.

The Church Fathers affirmed Sacred Tradition and not "the bible alone". See the article Apostolic Tradition.

Also see the article Scripture and Tradition.

Thus, it is not necessary for every doctrine to be in the Bible. The "where's that in the bible" is a misplaced question.

CONCERNING PRAYING TO MARY AND THE SAINTS: This concerns the Doctrine on the Communion of the Saints.

Praying to Mary is no different than asking me to pray for you. We are asking for Mary's intercessions. "Prayer" does not necessary mean "worship" -- it means "to petition", "to ask". Shakespeare used the word "prayer" to mean "to ask". In a court of law today there is a legal document called "the Prayer". This is a petition, and not a worship of the court judge. If you ask your spouse or your child to pass the salt to you at the supper table, you have just "prayed" to them (that is, you "asked" your spouse or child).

We ask Mary to help us, to intercede for us before her Son. This is no different than you asking me to pray (intercede) for you before God concerning your marriage. Sure we can ask Jesus directly, but we can also pray on behalf of others. In fact we are commanded in the Bible to pray on the behalf of others. It is called intercessory prayer. (see 1 Tim 2:1-7; Rom 15:30; Eph 4:3; 2 Thess 1:11; 2 Thess 3:1; Eph 6:18)

But Mary is dead, people will say. No, she is alive and in heaven. Those in heaven are part of the body of Christ. Is Christ's body paralyzed? If there can be no communication at all between the body in heaven and the body on earth, that means that the body is paralyzed -- one part of the body is disconnected from the rest of the body. CHRIST'S BODY IS WHOLE.

While this is part of Sacred Tradition and not Scriptures the principles of the doctrine of the Communion of the Saints is derived from Scripture.

Rom 12:5 says we are all part of Christ's body. We are called to be one body (Col 3:15). The Bible tells us that death cannot separate us from Christ (Rom 8:35-39). Eph 6:18 tells us to intercede for each other. 1 Tim 2:1-7 tells us to pray (offer petitions) for all men.

To the idea that Mary is dead, the bible says that God is the God of the living, not of the dead (Mk 12:26-27). Hebrews 12:1 says we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses.

All these verses and more, plus the analogy of Jesus that we are all part of one body (that is whole, not paralyzed) imply the Communion of the Saints.

How did the first Christians think of this? Well, the first Christians believed what the Catholic Church does today. That is to be expected since the first and only church in those times was the Catholic Church.

See what the Church Fathers thought.

Also see the article, Praying to the Saints.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary