I was raised in a Roman Catholic family, and I always thought I was a Christian by virtue of going to church every Sunday, living by Christian morals, and doing the sacraments, which are seen as a means to gain God's grace.
Around the latter two years of high school, I began asking questions about why we did certain religious traditions as Roman Catholics and where in the Bible the traditions came from. I don't recall receiving any answers beyond the fact that the traditions were instituted by the Vatican and are how we worship God.
I felt very confused when Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005, was canonised in 2014. This means he was officially declared to be a Saint in heaven who can intercede for Catholics in prayer to God the Father.
I wondered, how can we be sure our prayers are heard if we pray through a recently deceased person rather than to God the Father or to Jesus Christ, his Son, directly?
