A 12th Sunday after Pentecost Thought to Start the Week Off Right
A couple of Sundays ago, we considered the problems the world brings to us these days. Among other issues, we noted the strife and division buffeting our society. Today we look at a kinder gentler reality: the Communion of Saints. Here's the description we find in the entry for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost in The Inner Life of the Soul:
"The true conception of the Catholic idea concerning that article in the creed, 'The Communion of Saints,' is singularly beautiful as well as instructive and helpful. It reminds us that the Catholic Church is one great family, one united household, although part are in heaven, and part on earth, and part in the realm of the waiting souls in their place of purgation and patient peace. Everywhere is one love of the Heart of Jesus; everywhere one Divine Spirit, animating all; everywhere one heavenly Father, Whose tender care is all-embracing and unforgetting. The Church triumphant, the Church militant, the Church in purgatory - what are all these but one Church, bound by a common tie to a common head?"
Consider these words and the reality they describe. Yes, the reality. The Communion of Saints is not merely some intellectual concept. The saints in Heaven are real people; we who populate the earth now are, of course, real people; the souls in Purgatory are real. And our relationship with each other is real. Amidst the ever-changing world that surrounds us, this Communion of Saints has always been a permanent bulwark against all that would drag us down into the depths of hell.
Regarding our world, if you live long enough, you'll witness and experience periods of calm and peace, as well as those of anxiety and strife. When strife comes to the world around us, through no fault of our own, there's little we can do about it. What will be will be.
Yes, we should prepare ourselves prudently if we witness social unraveling or expect economic downturns. We take our personal responsibilities to our families and our communities seriously.
We can't allow ourselves or our families to suffocate under the heavy mantle to those whose entire purpose in life is to gain and aggrandize their personal power at the expense of the common good - the unfortunate, but all-too-real goal of most of our politicians.
But even as we do all we can to struggle against the evils of day, we must not allow disturbance from without or anxiety from within to overcome us. We trust in God, beg His mercy, appeal to His Infinite Love for us. We cling to Our Blessed Mother and seek her solicitude on our behalf. And we keep the reality of Communion of the Saints firmly entrenched in our minds
The reality of the Communion of Saints will help us stand tall in the face of that which threatens our physical, material, and spiritual well-being amidst the dysfunction that sometimes seems to permeate every aspect of our world.
And because the Communion of Saints isn't just a kind of intellectual or pie-in-the-sky reality, it behooves us to always personally engage with it. Just as we can socially and spiritually connect to our families and friends in this world, we can with those in Heaven, as well as those in Purgatory.
Most of us already know that the saints in Heaven can intercede on our behalf. But what about those whom we knew in this life who have left us? Well, we know we can pray for the souls of the deceased. But do we pray to them as well?
While I'm not a theologian, I think it's fair to assert that not only the souls in Heaven, but those in Purgatory can pray for us. While we're likely asking for the intercession of this or that favored saint, are we asking for the prayers of those of our family and friends who may now be in Purgatory; or, praise God for His Love and Mercy, in Heaven?
Even more important, remember that those Holy Souls now suffering as they await entrance into the Divine Presence cannot pray for themselves? Recalling this, do we make an effort every day to pray for them, to offer up our own sufferings for them? Don't put this off. Just as we would respond in a heartbeat if they needed our help while they lived, shouldn't that same generous urgency propel us to do all we can to help alleviate their suffering and help them complete their journey to Heaven?
And shouldn't this be not just a formal pious practice, but also a personal, continual, and heartfelt commitment?
I think of my own Mom and Dad. How I loved and respected them while they were with us! How I appreciated all they did for me, raising me amidst relatively poor and sometimes difficult circumstance! There wasn't a moment when I felt unloved or alone while they were alive. Why should that change now that they've gone to their reward? And why wouldn't I pray for them, sacrifice for them, and, yes, love them, just as I did when they were here?
Our relationship with the Communion of Saints should permeate our lives from the time we awake until the time we retire from the day's work - every day.
One last thought: We can even develop close, personal relationships with saints whom we didn't now while they lived on this earth. Sure, our holy pictures and statues of saints remind us to seek their intercession. And that's a good thing. But sometimes pictures and statues can almost keep our favored saints at a kind of spiritual arms length from us. So why not think of them as friends, friends to whom we can talk, just as we do our friends on earth?
Having learned and understood this, I now wake up each morning and say "Good morning!" to God, to our Blessed Mother, to my Guardian Angel, and to a number of special saints with whom I am developing a closer personal relationship. It's made those first sleepy moments of the day almost instantly richer and more alive.
None of this takes away from our everyday social interactions with our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Rather, it adds a supernatural layer of mutual love and caring that can deeply enrich our relationships.
So when the world dishes us difficulties or suffering of any sort, we should remember we're not alone. The living amongst us and those whose bodies have stopped working, their souls released to their eternal reward, remain forever alive in the Eternal Mind of God, united in the Communion of Saints.
How great is that!
"The true conception of the Catholic idea concerning that article in the creed, 'The Communion of Saints,' is singularly beautiful as well as instructive and helpful. It reminds us that the Catholic Church is one great family, one united household, although part are in heaven, and part on earth, and part in the realm of the waiting souls in their place of purgation and patient peace. Everywhere is one love of the Heart of Jesus; everywhere one Divine Spirit, animating all; everywhere one heavenly Father, Whose tender care is all-embracing and unforgetting. The Church triumphant, the Church militant, the Church in purgatory - what are all these but one Church, bound by a common tie to a common head?"
Consider these words and the reality they describe. Yes, the reality. The Communion of Saints is not merely some intellectual concept. The saints in Heaven are real people; we who populate the earth now are, of course, real people; the souls in Purgatory are real. And our relationship with each other is real. Amidst the ever-changing world that surrounds us, this Communion of Saints has always been a permanent bulwark against all that would drag us down into the depths of hell.
Regarding our world, if you live long enough, you'll witness and experience periods of calm and peace, as well as those of anxiety and strife. When strife comes to the world around us, through no fault of our own, there's little we can do about it. What will be will be.
Yes, we should prepare ourselves prudently if we witness social unraveling or expect economic downturns. We take our personal responsibilities to our families and our communities seriously.
We can't allow ourselves or our families to suffocate under the heavy mantle to those whose entire purpose in life is to gain and aggrandize their personal power at the expense of the common good - the unfortunate, but all-too-real goal of most of our politicians.
But even as we do all we can to struggle against the evils of day, we must not allow disturbance from without or anxiety from within to overcome us. We trust in God, beg His mercy, appeal to His Infinite Love for us. We cling to Our Blessed Mother and seek her solicitude on our behalf. And we keep the reality of Communion of the Saints firmly entrenched in our minds
The reality of the Communion of Saints will help us stand tall in the face of that which threatens our physical, material, and spiritual well-being amidst the dysfunction that sometimes seems to permeate every aspect of our world.
And because the Communion of Saints isn't just a kind of intellectual or pie-in-the-sky reality, it behooves us to always personally engage with it. Just as we can socially and spiritually connect to our families and friends in this world, we can with those in Heaven, as well as those in Purgatory.
Most of us already know that the saints in Heaven can intercede on our behalf. But what about those whom we knew in this life who have left us? Well, we know we can pray for the souls of the deceased. But do we pray to them as well?
While I'm not a theologian, I think it's fair to assert that not only the souls in Heaven, but those in Purgatory can pray for us. While we're likely asking for the intercession of this or that favored saint, are we asking for the prayers of those of our family and friends who may now be in Purgatory; or, praise God for His Love and Mercy, in Heaven?
Even more important, remember that those Holy Souls now suffering as they await entrance into the Divine Presence cannot pray for themselves? Recalling this, do we make an effort every day to pray for them, to offer up our own sufferings for them? Don't put this off. Just as we would respond in a heartbeat if they needed our help while they lived, shouldn't that same generous urgency propel us to do all we can to help alleviate their suffering and help them complete their journey to Heaven?
And shouldn't this be not just a formal pious practice, but also a personal, continual, and heartfelt commitment?
I think of my own Mom and Dad. How I loved and respected them while they were with us! How I appreciated all they did for me, raising me amidst relatively poor and sometimes difficult circumstance! There wasn't a moment when I felt unloved or alone while they were alive. Why should that change now that they've gone to their reward? And why wouldn't I pray for them, sacrifice for them, and, yes, love them, just as I did when they were here?
Our relationship with the Communion of Saints should permeate our lives from the time we awake until the time we retire from the day's work - every day.
One last thought: We can even develop close, personal relationships with saints whom we didn't now while they lived on this earth. Sure, our holy pictures and statues of saints remind us to seek their intercession. And that's a good thing. But sometimes pictures and statues can almost keep our favored saints at a kind of spiritual arms length from us. So why not think of them as friends, friends to whom we can talk, just as we do our friends on earth?
Having learned and understood this, I now wake up each morning and say "Good morning!" to God, to our Blessed Mother, to my Guardian Angel, and to a number of special saints with whom I am developing a closer personal relationship. It's made those first sleepy moments of the day almost instantly richer and more alive.
None of this takes away from our everyday social interactions with our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Rather, it adds a supernatural layer of mutual love and caring that can deeply enrich our relationships.
So when the world dishes us difficulties or suffering of any sort, we should remember we're not alone. The living amongst us and those whose bodies have stopped working, their souls released to their eternal reward, remain forever alive in the Eternal Mind of God, united in the Communion of Saints.
How great is that!
Happy Sunday!
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