Articles
The just concluded month of November is very rich in the liturgical calendar. We celebrated the all saints day and all souls day. It is not a liturgical coincidence that these two days follow each other but rather a representation of the proximate communion that is between the triumphant Church in the glory of heaven and the suffering Church in purgatory and the pilgrim Church on earth, or rather the communion that is in the three states of the Church.
The Church then, is the assembly of the communion of saints, the body of Christ, which is composed of the living and the dead and as the body of Christ, we are part of him and we share his mediatorship. (cf CCC946). We affirm in the nicene creed our faith in the communion of saints, which is not just the unity of the glorious company of the saints in heaven but also an expression of their closeness to che pilgrim Church on earth because all the faifthful form one body and Christ is the head (cf Collosians 1:18-20).
While on his death bed, saint Dominic consoled his brothers with these words: “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”. These words of faith in the power of the intercession of the saints make us understand more vividly that the triumphant Church of the saints in the presence of God plays a pivotal role in interceeding for the pilgrim Church on earth.
The Church, is the assembly of the communion of saints, the body of Christ, which is composed of the living and the dead and as the body of Christ, we are part of him and we share his mediatorship…
This is the reason why the church invokes the intercession of the saints in different prayers and litanies. The prayer of the saints before God is of help to those who invoke them. The Catechism of the Catholic Church also affirms that “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, Jesus christ. So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped (cf CCC 954).
The communion of the saints thus exudes a collaborative unity and charity that they show towards the pilgrim church on earth. Remembering the faithful departed and cherishing their memory then becomes a devotion to the exercise of fraternal charity and the union of the church in spirit which strengthens its cohesion. In Praying for the deacesed, the pilgrim Church on earth invokes God’s mercy particulary for the souls in purgtory so that God may grant them the grace of being in his presence in heaven. On the other side, the saints in heaven interceed for the pilgrim Church on earth before God. This intercessory relation brings about a mutual dependence and need which fosters communion.
This aspect is further affirmed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church number 1371 which stipulates that our prayer for the dead is capable not only of helping them but also of making their intercession for us effective. So there is a mutuality of exhange between heaven and earth, one family of God. The invocation of the saints is then justified by this action. We the living need the intercession of the dead in the glory of heaven and the souls in purgatory need the prayers of the pilgrim church to be able to enter the glory of heaven.
By Fr. Nicholas Onyait MCCJ
