aul the Apostle recommended himself to the prayers of the
faithful (_Rom._ xv. 30), and God Himself commanded the friends of Job
to ask Him for His intercession that their sin might not be imputed to
them (_Job_ xlii. 8). How, then, can it be wrong or superfluous to
invoke the intercession of the saints in heaven? The saints are
_willing_ to invoke God's bounty in our favor, for they love us. They
are _able_ to obtain it for us, because God always accepts their prayer
with complacency. That they really hear our prayer and intercede with
God for us is clearly shown by many examples in Holy Scripture. And if,
according to the testimony of St. James (v. 16), the prayer of the just
man here on earth availeth much with God, how much more powerful, then,
must be the prayer of the saints, who are united with God in heaven in
perfect love and are, so to say, partakers of His infinite goodness and
omnipotence?

A most striking proof of the efficacy of the prayers of the saints is
the numerous miracles wrought and the many favors obtained at all times
through their intercession. Among these miracles are a great number
whose authenticity was declared by the Church after the most scrupulous
and strict investigation, as the acts of canonization prove.

That the invocation of the saints was a practice of the early Church is
proved by the numerous inscriptions on the tombs of the Roman catacombs
preserved to this day. We read there, for instance, on the tomb of
Sabbatius, a martyr, "Sabbatius, O pious soul, pray and intercede for
your brethren and associates!" On another tomb is inscribed, "Allicius,
thy spirit is blessed; pray for thy parents!" And again, "Jovianus, live
in God, and pray for us!"

We have also the testimony of one of the greatest thinkers and
Protestant philosophers, Leibnitz, for the claim that the veneration and
invocation of the saints is founded in reason, on Holy Scripture, and on
the tradition of the Church. He writes: "Because we justly expect great
advantage by uniting our prayers with those of our brethren here on
earth, I can not understand how it can be called a crime if a person
invokes the intercession of a glorified soul, or an angel. If it be
really idolatry or a detestable cult to invoke the saints and the angels
to intercede for us with God, I do not comprehend how Basil, Gregory
Nazianzen, Ambrose, and others, who were hitherto considered saints, can
be absolved from idolatry or superstition. To c