The Communion of Saints

When I was a child I learned our faith as a child would, in very simplistic terms. I learned Jesus loves me; I memorized prayers, the 7 Sacraments and the Beatitudes. In 8th grade I was confirmed and like all Catholic teenagers, I felt “graduated” in the Faith. How wrong I was! I didn’t realize then that Confirmation was really the beginning of an adult faith. The Holy Spirit has now come into my life and guides me towards an adult understanding of faith.

Over the past year and a half I have been exploring the concept of the Communion of Saints. As a child, I was taught all about the lives of the Saints, now in heaven, and how they help guide us in our daily lives. But my definition of a saint was someone who was really good and holy and perhaps martyred for the faith. It never occurred to me that you and I, when we pass on and go to heaven, that we too enter into the Communion of Saints.

A little over a year and half ago my beloved father passed away. There came an emptiness that can never be filled. I turned to my faith to bring me answers about suffering and death. As I prayed with Jesus and I delved into Church teachings and talked with persons more knowledgeable than I, I discovered that my Dad was up there in the Communion of Saints. I learned that he too, along with St. Peter, St. Paul, etc…, was still looking out for his little girl and now he has help from St. Peter and all of angels to keep me safe.

Every so often I feel my father’s presence on one side of me and Jesus on the other side of me and behind us my deceased grandparents, and the army of Saints ready to help where needed. Ask yourself today “Who do I know in the Communion of Saints?” and then feel their loving presence. While our loved ones may pass from this life, they are always present in our lives.

—God Bless all our Saints in Heaven and Earth, Holly Clark