FAQ… What is the Communion of Saints?
“Communion” comes from the Greek koinonia, meaning “community.” The Church is above all a communion or fellowship of believers. God, who is our source and destination, is Trinity, communion, community too—and we are created in the image of God. This community is not broken by death, and this is why our grief when someone dies is always tempered by hope. Nor is it attenuated by distance, which is why in the Prayers of the Faithful we always pray for people around the world before praying for ourselves. “Communion of saints” is a translation of “communio sanctorum”, communion of holy persons.
In the Catholic tradition, there are five ways to think about saints.
<1. Saints as exemplars of holiness and those singled out by the Church for public commemoration: These would be the “big S” Saints, like St. Francis and St. Catherine; our devotion to the Saints is a hallmark of our Catholicism.
22. Communion of Saints as the living: The apostle Paul used to address the Christians in the churches he set up as saints; it’s how he referred to members of the Church, the community of Believers. We are saints by virtue of our baptism, which unites us to Christ and to all the rest of the baptized in one great community / communion.
33. Communion of Saints as the dead: This includes all those who lived as holy children of God and who have now entered the presence of God. When we think about all the saints of heaven, those saints can include your grandparents or anyone you loved who was a good and holy person.
Communion of Saints as the living and the dead: The communion of saints is like a great chain, linking all of us here on earth who are united by our baptism into one Church, with all who have gone before us, united by baptism into death and new life in Christ. Because we are all part of one family, one community, one communion, we look out for one another. We who are still alive pray for those who have gone before us, and those who have died intercede for us who remain behind. In the liturgy, we all join together, saints above and saints below, in worshipping God, as this story tells it:
A parish priest on a small Greek island welcomed a visitor, who asked how many people worshipped in the tiny church on Sundays. The priest replied, ten or twelve thousand. How can that be, asked the visitor—where do they come from and how can they all fit in this tiny place? The priest answered that all the people who had ever prayed in that church were still there, which is why when they said at Mass “with all the angels and saints we sing your praise: Holy holy holy” they were joining with all the holy ones who had ever worshipped in that place.
<Finally: Communion of Holy Things…or Eucharist: “Communion of Saints (holy persons)” is one translation of “communio sanctorum.” But that phrase can also be translated “Communion of holy things,” that is, the elements of the Eucharist. The Eastern Church brings these two strands together nicely in their liturgy, when the priest says right before the distribution of Communion, “Holy things for holy people.”
[Adapted from Catholic Update, “Communion of Saints: Key to the Eucharist,” by William H. Shannon.]
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Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423
