The Communion of Saints, the unfamiliar treasure

Imagine an immense love bank, the most profitable of all! A bank where anyone could freely borrow (no charge) and deposit assets which all could take advantage of, the main investor being Christ Himself! The communion of saints is a vast solidarity of love that connect Heaven, earth and the deceased in purgatory. It is a far too unfamiliar treasure as well as the key for a more fruitful daily life; it is also an unlimited source of hope!

The communion of saints, an immense love bank

For most for us, the communion of saints represents a relationship of prayer and love with Heaven’s canonized saints. It is like so, but not only, for it would be slightly restrictive. The communion of saints is much more! It’s like a social network of love which disseminates throughout the body of the Church. It connects the earth to the Church in Heaven and thus, to all our brothers and sisters who have passed away, and who resolutely chose love, but whom are still in a state of purification on their way to God.

The Church in Heaven, the Church on earth, and Purgatory are not sealed for a permanent flow of love circulates back and forth, from one to another, since love remains alive, even after death.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states (N°947) that: “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. (…) ” The Good per say in this ‘communion of goods” is Christ Himself, with all the merits of the whole of His Life offered for all in the mysteries of His Passion, death and resurrection, and which we celebrate in the Eucharistic sacrament. Consequently we can say that the living heart of this communion of love is Christ’s Eucharistic Heart.

Christ seeks to get us partake in one another’s salvation

What is amazing is that, by offering our love stock, we support one another towards the joy of the Kingdom. Hence, we can help our deceased brothers and sisters, and they too can help us.

This was the very intuition of Fr. Buguet, who had this shrine of prayer for the deceased, and especially for the most forsaken among them, built here in Montligeon . To invest in this love bank is to associate oneself in the mystery of the communion of saints and in a service of love for our brothers and sisters.

Such a communion of love is also experienced here on earth. All the love I can offer will benefit in an invisible manner to a brother or a sister I know not, maybe on the other side of the world, who might be in much suffering. Through my gift of love, he/she will gain a relief that he/she might become aware of only once in Heaven.

Saint Therese of Lisieux knew this too well. She used to say: “Once in Heaven, we shall find that we all owe something to one another”. For example, a theologian might owe a great insight to the hidden offering of a young shepherd. Hence the communion of saints unfolds wide scopes.

The communion of saints is an unlimited source of hope!

The communion of saints covers two realities: communion in holy things (sancta)” and “among holy persons (sancti).” (cf. the Catechism of the Catholic Church N°948). In the latter, comes first and foremost Christ Himself, then the Blessed Virgin Mary, the saints and every one of us. The holy things are the love we deposit in this love bank. It may be, for example, having a Mass celebrated for a deceased person. It is the utmost we can offer, for Mass is the re-actualization of Christ’s sacrifice, and the utter gift of love. We may also offer the prayer of the Rosary or a chaplet, or a time of adoration, or a simple spontaneous move of the heart…

Or that of our activities, not only our suffering and our miseries, but our joys, charisma, talents, faith, etc. All of which get to increase the tremendous treasure of the communion of saints.

Faith in the communion of saints brings a supplement of meaning to our daily life, for nothing offered out of love gets ever overlooked.

Sister Cecilia, SNA.