The “communion of
saints”
YOUCAT Catechism +
Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 146
Ave Maria series
146 What does the “communion
of saints” mean?
The “communion of saints” is made up of all men who have
placed their hope in Christ and belong to him through Baptism, whether they
have already died or are still alive.
Because in Christ we are one Body; we live in a communion that
encompasses heaven and earth. [946-962]
St.
Elizabeth of Hungary spinning wool for the poor by Marianne Stokes (1895). …..14
The Church is larger and more alive than we think. Among her members are the living and the
deceased (whether they are still undergoing a process of purification or are
already in the glory of God), individuals known and unknown, great saints and
inconspicuous persons. We can help one
another even beyond the grave. We can
call on our patrons and favorite saints, but also our departed relatives and
friends whom we believe are already with God.
Conversely, by our intercessory prayer, we can come to the aid of our
dear departed who are still undergoing purification. Whatever the individual does or suffers in
and for Christ benefits all. On the
other hand, this unfortunately means also that every sin harms the
communion. 126
If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is
honored, all rejoice together. 1 Corinthians 12:26
“Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my
death, and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life.” St. Dominic (ca. 1170-1221, founder of the
Dominicans), to his confreres as he was dying
[946-962]
The Communion of Saints
946 After confessing "the holy catholic Church,"
the Apostles' Creed adds "the communion of saints." In a certain
sense this article is a further explanation of the preceding: "What is the
Church if not the assembly of all the saints?"(Nicetas, Expl.
Symb., 10:Patrologia Latina 52:871B)479 The communion of saints is the Church. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second
Edition
947 "Since all the faithful form one body, the good of
each is communicated to the others. . . . We must therefore believe
that there exists a communion of goods in the Church. But the most important
member is Christ, since he is the head. . . . Therefore, the riches
of Christ are communicated to all the members, through the sacraments."(St. Thomas Aquinas, Symb., 10)480 "As this Church is governed by one and the same
Spirit, all the goods she has received necessarily become a common fund."(Roman Catechism I, 10,24)481 –CCC
948 The term "communion of saints" therefore has
two closely linked meanings: communion in holy things (sancta)" and
"among holy persons (sancti)." --CCC
Sancta sanctis! ("God's
holy gifts for God's holy people") is proclaimed by the celebrant in most
Eastern liturgies during the elevation of the holy Gifts before the
distribution of communion. The faithful (sancti) are fed by Christ's
holy body and blood (sancta) to grow in the communion of the Holy Spirit
(koinonia) and to communicate it to the world.—CCC
949 In the primitive community of Jerusalem, the disciples
"devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the
breaking of the bread and the prayers."(Acts of the Apostles 2:42)482
Communion in the
faith. The faith of the faithful is the faith of the Church, received
from the apostles. Faith is a treasure of life which is enriched by being
shared.--CCC
950 Communion of the
sacraments. "The fruit of all the sacraments belongs to all the
faithful. All the sacraments are sacred links uniting the faithful with one
another and binding them to Jesus Christ, and above all Baptism, the gate by
which we enter into the Church. The communion of saints must be understood as
the communion of the sacraments. . . . The name 'communion' can be
applied to all of them, for they unite us to God. . . . But this name
is better suited to the Eucharist than to any other, because it is primarily
the Eucharist that brings this communion about."(Roman Catechism I, 10,24)483 –CCC
951 Communion of
charisms. Within the communion of the Church, the Holy Spirit
"distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank" for the
building up of the Church.(Lumen gentium 12 §
2)484
Now, "to each is given the
manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."(1 Corinthians 12:7)485 –CCC
952 "They had
everything in common." (Acts of the Apostles 4:32)486 “Everything the true Christian has is to be regarded as a good
possessed in common with everyone else. All Christians should be ready and
eager to come to the help of the needy . . . and of their neighbors
in want8."(Roman Catechism I, 10,27)487 A Christian is a steward of the Lord's
goods.(compare Luke 16:1, 3)488 –CCC
953 Communion in charity. In the sanctorum
communio, "None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to
himself."(Romans 14:7)489 "If one member suffers, all suffer
together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body
of Christ and individually members of it."(1 Corinthians 12:26-27)490 "Charity does not insist on its own
way."(1 Corinthians 13:5;
compare 1 Corinthians
10:24)491 In this solidarity with all men, living or
dead, which is founded on the communion of saints, the least of our acts done
in charity redounds to the profit of all. Every sin harms this communion.--CCC
THE COMMUNION OF THE CHURCH OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
954 The three states of
the Church. "When the Lord comes in glory, and all his angels with
him, death will be no more and all things will be subject to him. But at the
present time some of his disciples are pilgrims on earth. Others have died and
are being purified, while still others are in glory, contemplating 'in full
light, God himself triune and one, exactly as he is"'(Lumen gentium 49;
compare Matthew 25:31; 1 Corinthians
15:26-27; Council of Florence
(1439):Denzinger-Schönmetzer 1305)492 –CCC
All of us, however, in varying degrees and in different ways
share in the same charity towards God and our neighbors, and we all sing the
one hymn of glory to our God. All, indeed, who are of Christ and who have his
Spirit form one Church and in Christ cleave together.( Lumen
gentium 49;
compare Ephesians 4:16)493 –CCC
955 "So it is that the union of the wayfarers with the
brethren who sleep in the peace of Christ is in no way interrupted, but on the
contrary, according to the constant faith of the Church, this union is
reinforced by an exchange of spiritual goods."( Lumen gentium 49)494 –CCC
956 The intercession of
the saints. "Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in
heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness. . . . They do
not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which
they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus
. . . . So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly
helped."( Lumen gentium 49;
compare 1 Timothy 2:5)495 –CCC
Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death
and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life.(St. Dominic, dying, to
his brothers)496 –CCC
I want to spend my heaven in doing good on
earth.(St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The
Final Conversations, tr. John Clarke (Washington: ICS, 1977),
102)497—CCC
957 Communion with the
saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish
the memory of those in heaven; we seek, rather, that by this devotion to the
exercise of fraternal charity the union of the whole Church in the Spirit may
be strengthened. Exactly as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims
brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to
Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the life
of the People of God itself"(Lumen gentium 50;
compare Ephesians 4:1-6)498 –CCC
We worship Christ as God's Son; we love the martyrs as the
Lord's disciples and imitators, and rightly so because of their matchless
devotion towards their king and master. May we also be their companions and
fellow disciples!(Martyrium Polycarpi, 17:Apostolic Fathers II/3,396)499
–CCC
958 Communion with the
dead. "In full consciousness of this communion of the whole
Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very
earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the
memory of the dead; and 'because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray
for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins' she offers her suffrages
for them."( Lumen gentium 50;
compare 2 Maccabees 12:45)500 Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them,
but also of making their intercession for us effective.--CCC
959 In the one family of
God.
"For if we continue to love one another and to join in praising the Most
Holy Trinity - all of us who are sons of God and form one family in Christ - we
will be faithful to the deepest vocation of the Church."(Lumen gentium 51;
compare Hebrews 3:6)501 --CCC
IN BRIEF
960 The Church is a "communion of saints": this
expression refers first to the "holy things" (sancta), above
all the Eucharist, by which "the unity of believers, who form one body in
Christ, is both represented and brought about" (Lumen gentium 3). --CCC
961 The term "communion of saints" refers also to
the communion of "holy persons" (sancti) in Christ who
"died for all," so that what each one does or suffers in and for
Christ bears fruit for all. --CCC
962 "We believe in
the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth,
the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together
forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of
God and his saints is always [attentive] to our prayers" (Paul VI, Credo
of the People of God § 30).—CCC
St. Elizabeth of
Hungary
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