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Why do we commemorate the saints in the Liturgy? How do the saints intercede for us? Isn’t Jesus our only intercessor? Once we are in heaven, will not praising God be our ONLY job?

Our Lord Jesus Christ commanded the commemoration of the saints when He told His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her" (Mt 26:13). Also in the Holy Book of Hebrews 13:7 we read; "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith." That is why all the ancient liturgies mention the departed saints. St. Cyril of Jerusalem wrote in his Mystagogical Catechesis 'Next, we call to mind also those who have fallen asleep, first of all, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, that God, through their intercessory prayers may accept our supplication.'

"For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" (1 Tim 2:5-6). According to this verse, there is a great difference between the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ and the intercession of the saints; the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ is expiatory. He intercedes for the remission of our sins, being Himself the atonement who paid the wages of sin on our behalf, as if in His intercession He is saying to the Father "Do not count for them their iniquity for I have laid on Me their iniquity" (Isa 53:6). Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Mediator, even the only Mediator between God and man. He gave the Father His right fulfilling the Divine Justice and gave people forgiveness dying for them as atonement for their sins. "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:1,2). The expiatory mediation is clearly intercession for the sinner, 'if anyone sins'. The sins are in need for this expiation and the only One who offered it is the Lord Christ. He mediates and intercedes as a Redeemer who sacrificed Himself and paid the wages of our sins.

The intercession of saints for humans has nothing to do with atonement or redemption. It is intercession for us with our Lord Jesus Christ. Intercessions are prayers on behalf of others. The intercession of the saints for us is just a prayer for us. It is a pleading not expiatory intercession like that of our Lord Christ. The request for prayer is countless in the Holy Bible. St. Paul tells his disciple St. Timothy "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men" (1 Tim 2:1). St. James teaches us "Pray for one another" (James 5:16). St. Paul asked the Thessalonians "Pray for us" (2 Thess 3:1). Since saints ask us to pray for them shall we not rather ask them to pray for us? If we do ask the prayers of living humans who are still struggling with a "nature like ours' would it not be better to seek the prayers of the saints who have perfected their struggle and departed to Paradise to live with the Lord Christ?
For further reading, I recommend His Holiness Pope Shenouda's book "Comparative Theology."
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