2

Praying for Jesus was closed this morning as primarily opinion-based. One of the voters stated in a comment:

There is no Scripture that I can find anywhere in any of the Bible translations in my Study program which includes both Catholic versions. So any comment regarding this would have to be someone's personal opinion even if it be the Pope.

However, this overlooks the fact that Catholicism allows for other sources of authoritative teaching than Scripture. As I stated in a comment,

It may be possible to find some mention of prayers of this sort in a Catechism, for example; or perhaps in a papal statement on prayer. Such mentions would not be "purely opinion" if they appear in documents which have any sort of teaching authority. I don't think this is primarily opinion-based.

The question as originally stated did appear to be looking from a "Truth"-based perspective (there was a statement which I subsequently edited out equating non-Catholic teaching with false teaching); but as it currently appears I don't think the question is looking for an opinion. There may be no authoritative Catholic teaching on the subject, but the absence of Scriptural references does not, in Catholicism questions, equate to the absence of authoritative teaching and the sole presence of mere opinion.

I believe this question should be re-opened (though a bit of editing might not hurt, and suggestions are welcomed); or if it is left closed, it should be left closed for some other reason than primarily opinion-based.

3
  • 1
    There was an edit and I voted to reopen just about 30 minutes ago. At best, though, I think the answers you will get are "Nope, Catholicism doesn't have anything like that."
    – fredsbend
    Aug 11, 2014 at 17:03
  • Based on what I've seen, that's the one I plan on supplying.
    – Matt Gutting
    Aug 11, 2014 at 17:13
  • Sorry, I tend to agree that it's Opinion based or pastoral advise. I think you may have your question turned around. You should consider researching for such practice and then ask questions about it. Otherwise, your question appears to be shooting in the dark.
    – The Freemason
    Aug 12, 2014 at 13:45

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

If there is any documentation somewhere of what his relatives may have prayed for him, then I suppose it wouldn't be opinion based, but if there isn't, then it calls for rampant speculation. You could perhaps improve the question by clarifying you are looking for "are there any documented prayers that those who cared about Jesus prayed for him?" rather than "what they might have sounded like?".

When Jesus asked his disciples to pray for him in the Garden prior to his arrest might be worth looking at as well.

3
  • 1
    If there isn't, then all you can say is, "No: here's where we hear about Mary and the other relatives of Jesus; they're not praying for him, and there aren't any other authoritative Catholic sources (Church fathers, etc.) that make any statement one way or the other." That's an entirely non-opinion-based answer.
    – Matt Gutting
    Aug 11, 2014 at 16:23
  • @MattGutting Gutting, right but the question asks "What would these prayers have sounded like?". That sounds like a call for speculation. If you ask specifically for documentation of actual prayers, the question should be perfectly on topic and not opinion based.
    – AJ Henderson
    Aug 11, 2014 at 16:33
  • I'm not asking the question; and you have a good point - this is why I was asking for edit suggestions :-)
    – Matt Gutting
    Aug 11, 2014 at 16:35

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .