The Communion of Saints
The coached gleefully shouted at his players, “What a great team! Every one of you participated in this success. Teamwork was the key to your accomplishment. You are very special.” Similarly, the senior executive of a company thundered to his employees, “Each one of you contributed to the winning of this contract, the largest in the history of the company. We would have not been celebrating the new contract without the contributions of each and every one of you. Congratulations!” Both the coach and the business executive were echoing the principle that in every type of organization or community, achievement is seldom realized without each participant making his or her individual contribution for the whole to succeed.
Catholics understand that, while it is important for each individual to develop his or her personal relationship with God, the attainment of heaven for each individual also requires a team effort. This bonding together is often referred to as the Communion of Saints. The Catholic encyclopedia defines the Communion of Saints as the “spiritual solidarity which binds together the faithful on earth, the souls in Purgatory, and the saints in heaven in an organic unity of same mystical body under Christ its head….the participants in that solidarity are called saints by reason of their destination and of their partaking of the fruits of the redemption.” The principal and necessary element in the Communion of Saints is the central role of Jesus Christ. No matter the role of each individual and of the collective whole of the community of believers, all focus must be on the person of Jesus Christ. It is only through Jesus that the ultimate reality can be realized.
During the later stages of the 20th century leading Catholic churchmen such as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI), Hans Urs Von Balthasar, and Fr. John Hardon all emphasized the collectively coming together of living Catholics around the Eucharist as an essential element in the participation within the Communion of Saints. Cardinal Ratzinger commented in “Introduction to Christianity”, “The community of saints refers to the Eucharistic community, which through the body of the Lord binds the Churches scattered all over the earth into one church.” Von Bathasar in His book “Credo” also emphasized the relationship of all Catholics to the Body of Christ, the Eucharist, and then took a step further by adding, “because Jesus died for all, no one may any longer live and die for self alone; but that in loving selflessness, as much good as anyone possesses belongs to all, which gives rise to an unending exchange and circulation of blood between all members of the ecclesiastical Body of Christ.” Fr. Hardon noted that each individual’s cooperation with the treasury of the Church was a necessary element in gaining eternal life.
In summary, the term “Communion of Saints” does not refer exclusively to the deceased saints in heaven but to all members of the mystical body of Christ, sharing in the benefits of all the members whether living or dead. Prayers and good works of each individual are shared with every member of the Church. The merits of Jesus Christ are communicated to all and the merits of each one are communicated to others. The principal requirement for each one of the members of the Church is to cooperate with the merits provided by Christ and others. .
Suggested Reading:
“Introduction to Christianity” by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger ,published by Ignatius press, pages 333, 334.
“Credo”, by Hans Urs von Bathasar, published by Ignatius Press, pages 85.86
“The Catholic Catechism” by John Hardon, Kindle edition location 4076