Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. It is a Holy Day of Obligation, so make sure and get to Mass today. I have a long standing tradition on my radio show that everyone I speak with will be referred to as Saint (Name). Try that out in your daily life today and see what kind of reaction you get. I promise you, it will make life interesting!
Today we celebrate the Communion of Saints. Some people have a real problem with Catholics praying to Saints. I always scratch my head at that one. For those who may not understand or who have a hard time explaining the Communion of Saints, I want to share with you today a chapter from my first book, A Minute in the Church, Volume I. I hope this helps!
Saint So and So, pray for us. Familiar words to Catholics. But to many non-Catholics, those words are foreign. And to some, maybe even offensive. Have you ever had someone close to you die? Maybe a parent? A family member? Or a friend? And you believe that that person is now in heaven with God. Do you think that your loved one, having become one with God, has forgotten all about you? No longer cares about your life? Your happiness? Or your well-being? Or do you think that that person cares about you even more deeply and is lifting you up in prayer before the throne of God?
If you believe that your deceased loved ones still love you and care about you and pray for you, then you believe in the Communion of Saints.
In Mark 12: 26-27, Jesus says of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who were all “dead,” that “God is not God of the dead, but of the living.” The Catholic Church teaches that Saints are not dead people but are even more alive and closer to God, than you and me. They hear our prayers through a special grace from God. Remember, they are no longer limited by our finite and fleshly senses. As it says in Hebrews 12:1 “…we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…”. The Communion of Saints. All holy men and women, pray for us.
If you would like more quick and easy explanations about what Catholics believe and why, get the entire A Minute in the Church series (five books) today at www.GusLloyd.com.
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