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The Communion of Saints
from various sources
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Block Diagram of
the interactions between the Communion of Saints (His Church/Mystical Body) discussed
below. White lines represent the Spiritual Union (Charity, et al) which exists between the various parts of the Mystical Body of
Christ. |
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The communion of saints is the spiritual solidarity which binds together the faithful on earth, the souls
in purgatory, and
the saints in heaven in the organic
unity of the same mystical body
under Christ its Head, and in a constant
interchange of supernatural offices. The
participants in that solidarity are called saints by reason of their destination
and of their partaking of the fruits of the Redemption. The damned are thus excluded from the communion of saints. The living, even if
they do not belong to the body of the true Church,
share in it according to the measure of
their union with Christ and with the soul of the Church. St Thomas teaches that
the angels, though not redeemed, enter the communion
of saints because they
come under Christ's power and receive of His gratia capitis.
The solidarity itself implies a variety of
inter-relations: within the Church Militant,
not only the participation in the same faith,
sacraments, and government, but also a mutual exchange of examples, prayers,
merits, and satisfactions;
between the Church on
earth on the one hand, and purgatory and heaven
on the other, suffrages, invocation, intercession,
veneration. These connotations belong here
only in so far as they integrate the transcendent idea of spiritual
solidarity between all the children of
God. Thus understood, the communion
of saints is dogma
commonly taught and accepted in the Church. |
Pope Paul VI treats the doctrine of the Communion
of Saints
in an instruction dated January 1, 1967:
By the hidden and kindly
mystery of God's
will, a supernatural solidarity
reigns among men.
A consequence of this is that the sin of
one person harms
other people just as one person's holiness helps
others. In this way Christian believers help
each other to reach their supernatural destiny.
We can see evidence of this solidarity in
the fact that Adam's sin is
passed on through propagation to all men.
But the greatest and most perfect source,
foundation and example of this supernatural
solidarity is Christ
Himself. God has called us
to communion with
Him.
Indeed, Christ "committed no sin," "suffered
for us," "was wounded for our transgressions, He was
bruised for our iniquities ... and with His stripes we are healed."
Following in Christ's steps,
those who believe in Him have always tried
to help one another along the path
which leads to the heavenly Father, through prayer, the exchange of spiritual
goods and penitential expiation.
The more they have been immersed in the fervor of love,
the more they have imitated Christ in His sufferings.
They have carried their crosses to make
expiation for their own sins and the sins of others.
They were convinced that they could help their brothers to obtain salvation
from God Who is the Father
of mercies. This is the very ancient dogma called the Communion
of Saints. It means
that the life of each individual son of God is joined in Christ
and through Christ by a wonderful link to
the life of all his other Christian
brethren. Together they form
the supernatural unity of Christ's Mystical Body
so that, as it were, a single mystical person
is formed (1Corinthians 12:12-13).
All who belong to Christ and
are in possession of His Spirit, combine to
make one Church
with a cohesion that depends on Him (cf. Ephesians
4:16). The union of the living with their brethren who have fallen asleep in Christ
is not broken; the Church has rather
believed through the ages that it gains strength from the sharing of spiritual
benefits. The great intimacy of the union of those
in heaven with Christ,
gives extra steadiness in holiness
to the whole Church ... and
makes a manifold contribution to the extension of her
building (cf. 1Corinthians 12:12-27). Now that they are welcomed in their
own country and at home with the Lord
(cf. 2Corinthians 5:8), through Him, with Him and in Him they
intercede unremittingly with the Father on
our behalf, offering the merit they acquired on earth through Christ Jesus, the one and only mediator between God
and man (cf. 1Timothy 2:5),
when they were at God's
service in all things, and in their flesh were completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions
for the sake of His Body, the Church (cf. Colossians 1:24). Their brotherly care
is the greatest help to our weakness. |
The Catholic Catechism on "The Communion of
Saints"
CCC #1475: "In the communion of saints, 'a perennial link
of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those
who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth.
between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things.' In this wonderful
exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one
could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be
more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin."
CCC #1476: "We also call these spiritual goods of the
communion of saints the Church's treasury, which is 'not' the sum total of the material
goods which have accumulated during the course of the centuries. On the contrary the
'treasury of the Church' is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which
Christ's merits have before God. They were offered so that the whole of mankind could be
set free from sin and attain communion with the Father. In Christ, the Redeemer himself,
the satisfactions and merits of his Redemption exist and find their effficacy.'"
CCC #1477: "'This treasury includes as well the prayers and
good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable, and even
pristine in their value before God. In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works
of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by
his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission the Father entrusted to
them. In this way they attained their own salvation and at the same time cooperated in
saving their brothers in the unity of the Mystical Body.'"
CCC #1478: "An indulgence is obtained through the Church
who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes
in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ
and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal
punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of
these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity."
CCC #1479: "Since the faithful departed now being purified
are also members of the same communion of saints, one way we can help them is to obtain
indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted.
"
Conclusion
Every good and perfect
gift comes to us from God.
Often He uses created instruments
in giving us His gifts. For example, He created
each one of us through the ministry of our parents. He heals us when we are sick through the ministry of
doctors and nurses.
He urges us to pray
for one another, especially for our fellow members
of the Body of Christ,
the Church. He
is pleased when in humility we ask another
to pray for us. This divine economy is not interrupted
by death. We ask our Mother
Mary and our brothers and sisters, the saints in heaven, and the angels -- especially our personal
guardian angels -- to pray
for us. It is their ministry to us.
Saints who have lived exceptionally virtuous Christian lives are held up by the Church as models for our imitation. These are the canonized
and beatified saints
to whom we pay public veneration.
But we may also pray to anyone who
we hope is in heaven to intercede
for us with God.
We also pray to
God and His
Saints to shorten the pains of
purgatory for our dear departed,
that they may enter heaven
sooner.
This enduring Communion of Saints
is a great and necessary comfort and source
of strength for those who
have lost loved
ones through death.
Actually, because of this Christian truth,
no one need say that a departed loved one is gone. We are still in touch. We can
find in the Communion of Saints a powerful help in our ministry
to His people.
We need our saints. Maintaining friendship with them and the angels
unites us more closely and more quickly to Jesus
and the Trinity than ignoring them does. They
are His chosen ministers in tightening the bond of union among us all.
I recommend reading the lives of the saints.
They are attractive, and to know them is to love
them and to grow in admiration and praise for God
Who has glorified Himself
so wonderfully in them.
Additional Treatises
Thought for Veterans
The Marine Corps motto "Band of
Brothers" typifies many
of the qualities of the Church Militant's "Communion of Saints"
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