The Communion of Saints 

There are three groups of saints:

1.)        The saints of the Church Militant: Those who are on earth seeking to do God’s will, seeking a relationship with God, and appealing to God for mercy through the sacraments.

2.)        The saints of the Church Suffering: These are those souls in Purgatory.

3.)        The saints of the Church Triumphant: These are those who have entered into God’s glory in Heaven.

The Communion of Saints

The communion of saints includes all the saints of the church, from the Church Militant , The Church suffering and the Church Triumphant. The communion of saints is used to define the bond of unity amongst all believers[1] who are either living or deceased which comes through Christ’s Love.[2] These as true believers are committed to the mission of Jesus Christ, following God’s will, and therefore are equally considered committed followers of Jesus Christ.

Therefore all who are united in Christ are made part of God’s household (Family).[3] Those baptized into full communion with the Church become joint heirs[4] with Christ and become partakers of the divine nature.[5]

The Mystical Body of Christ

All saints of the church, those here on earth, those in purgatory, and those in heaven, are joined in communion as family into what is known to Catholics as the Mystical Body of Christ. It is through baptism where all are made a member of the mystical Body of Christ.

The person who willfully in their actions follows the will of God for the love of God remains in union with Christ.[6] Salvation depends on membership into the mystical body of Christ, and to the fullest degree is dependent on doing God’s will.[7] “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother. (Mark 3:35).”

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[1] Acts 4:43a - The community of believers was of one heart and mind,…

[2] Romans 8:38-39 -  38  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, 39  nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[3] 1 Tim 3:15  But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.

 Also: Eph 2:19 -  So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God,

[4] Romans 8:17 - if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

[5] 2 Peter 1:4 - to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you

[6] This Tremendous Lover – M. Eugene Boylan, OCR, Christian Classics, 1987. Chapter 4 Page 40

[7] ibid

Such unity in to this body is intended by God. It is through being united to Christ where the fullness of Christianity is realized. In John’s Gospel chapter 15 Jesus provides the metaphorical image of the grape vine. Here Jesus says “I am the vine you are the branches” (John 15:5b). United together in Christ are all the members of His church and there is no exclusion of those who have died and gone to heaven. It is in this unity where the Christian bears fruit. Without Christ or outside of him, nothing can be achieved.[1] Anyone not remaining in this unity/communion with Christ is thrown into the fires of Gehenna.[2]

This supernatural unity as the (mystical) body of Christ is something the Apostles preached and taught. Ephesians 1:20-23,[3] Saint Paul provides one of the image of the church as Body of Christ. Saint Paul even refers to the families on earth and in heaven [4] By such a reference, implicitly there is the idea, those in heaven are alive and not dead. Within the context of what Saint Paul is saying in Ephesians 2:6 he is referring to all are “members of the same body.” Saint Paul further emphasizes the communion in Christ’s Mystical Body in 1 Cor 12:12-27:

12  As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.

13  For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

14  Now the body is not a single part, but many.

15  If a foot should say, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.

16  Or if an ear should say, “Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.

17  If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

18  But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended.

19  If they were all one part, where would the body be?

20  But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

21  The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.”

22  Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary,

23  and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety,

24  whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it,

25  so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another.

26  If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

27  Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.

1 Cor 12:12-27

And also in Romans 12:4-16:

4  For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function,

5  so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.

6  Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith;

7  if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching;

8  if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others,  with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

9  Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good;

10  love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor.

11  Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

12  Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.

13  Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality.

14  Bless those who persecute [you], bless and do not curse them.

15  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Romans 12:4-16

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[1] John 15:5b - Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.

[2] John 15:6 - Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.

[3] Ephesians 1:20-23.- 20   which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,   21  far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.   22  And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,   23  which is his body,  the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

[4] Ephesians 2:14-17 -  14  For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15  from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,    16  that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self,   17  and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love,

The Role of the Saints in our Catholic Faith

Mutual Love

When speaking of the role of the saints, it includes those not only those in Heaven but also the saints within God’s church here on Earth. This is important because those things taught by Jesus and the Apostles are given forward to teach the saints in His Church. Therefore many things of the faith practiced as a saint while on Earth, do not necessarily cease once an earthly saint ends up in God’s Heavenly realm

As an example, there is the love of God and love of one another. In Matthews Gospel Jesus says the first greatest commandment is to love God. This love of and for God is to be exhibited with all aspects of the human person.[1] Jesus continues about love for ones ‘neighbor.’[2] Jesus says multiple times to love one another.[3] Elsewhere Jesus says “there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”[4]  Therefore contained in this example is aspect of what Saints continually do. Saints love God and saints love each other whether in heaven or on Earth.

Because the church triumphant in heaven and the church militant on earth remain as part of the body of Christ. In both instances the saints bound in that unity to convey that love. The only difference is those saints in heaven do it more perfectly. Above the listed passage in Romans 12:4-16, Saint Paul says in verses 9 & 10:

9  Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good;

10  love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor.

While the church triumphant in heaven and the church militant are mentioned, the question arises, what about the church suffering? Or in other words what happens to the saints who are in purgatory awaiting their time for final perfection from God’s grace filled mercy? The church suffering waits in hope. What hope do they wait for besides the completion of God’s sanctification on their souls? They wait in hope for the payers of the church triumphant in heaven and the church militant.

Prayer

In addition to, and as presented in the example presented about love, it is also for the saints to pray. There are many parts in the Gospel’s where Jesus speaks of prayer. The practice prayer is mentioned many times in the Old Testament and  in the epistles written by the Apostles.

Our Lord Jesus Christ intimates where prayer is needed. In Mark Chapter 9 a boy possessed by a demon which threw him into convulsions and the demon was unable to be removed until Jesus arrives. Jesus removed the demon and tells His disciples, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”[5]  When asked how to pray, Jesus provides for them the ‘Our Father.’[6]

Prayer becomes an integral part of a saint’s life. This includes all the forms of prayer, from worship, praise, thanksgiving, supplication, and intercessory prayer.

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[1] Matthew 22:37-38 - 37  He said to him,  “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  38  This is the greatest and the first commandment.

[2] Matthew 22:39b –“…… You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

[3] John 15:12 & 15:17 - This I command you: love one another. See also John 13:34 and John’s epistles - 1 John 3:23, 1 John 4:21,

[4] John 15:13

[5] Mark 9:29 -   The Gospel of Matthew contains the same story in Chapter 17. A variant of the story in Matthew contains the verse 21: “This kind can only come out through fasting and prayer.”

[6] Luke 11:2-4

Intercessory Prayer

Intercessory prayer in simple terms is the act of one saint praying for the needs of another saint. Saints on Earth do this constantly. One saint asks another “Can you pray for me, I have this need?” Based on what we know about the mutual love which exists within the body of Christ, such as in Romans 12:4-16, therefore all within the Mystical body of Christ are bound in mutual love.[1] In order to make the accent within the totality of the mystical body of Christ, saints are obliged to pray for one another.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 [2] St. Paul expounds on forms of prayer. He first says to rejoice and does not necessarily exclude this as a form of prayer because he goes on to say “pray without ceasing.[3]” Finally he says to give thanks because this is the “will of God.” St. Paul continues in verse 25[4] where he very clearly asks them to “Pray for us.”

The epistle of James 5:13-16[5] speaks of different kinds of prayers. There are prayers of supplications for those in need. Here James speaks of “Praying over” others for healing.  This provides a clear picture of types of prayer. James provides this as an instruction to saints to pray for one another. Within the context of such prayers of supplication and intercession he adds in verse 16 “The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.” Some translation has “The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effect.” The righteous on earth do not lose their righteousness once they attain eternal glory with God in heaven.

All become members of Christ’s Mystical Body at Baptism and are united in His divine life. The unity remains while on Earth as long as God’s will is followed. The union to Christ continues after death once the soul reaches heaven. The mutual love and concern for one another does not cease once someone goes to heaven and as a family joined together each seeks for the benefit of another’s welfare and salvation. This allows the saints on earth to prayerfully seek intercession from those who have gone before them into heaven.

[1] Romans 12:10 - love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. ; 1 Thessalonians 5:11 - Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do. ; Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.

[2] 1 Thess 5:16-18 -  16 Rejoice always.

17  Pray without ceasing. 18 In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

[3] Some text say; “Pray constantly.”

[4] 1 Thess 5:25 -  25 Pray for us.

[5] James 5:13-16  ::13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint [him] with oil in the name of the Lord, 15 and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.