We Are All In This Together
On Nov. 2, feast of the Commemoration of All Souls, two of my sisters stopped by my house to drop off some things for a family gathering I was hosting that weekend. As we shared our crazy, busy schedules and how we were not quite sure how we were going to accomplish all we felt we needed to do by the end of the da – not to mention the days to come – I told them that since it was All Souls Day I had family members who were no longer with us here on earth on my mind. I had intended to visit the cemetery, but realized I was not going to have the time to do that. As I smiled and asked them to please not think I had lost my mind, I shared that, instead of literally visiting the cemetery, I did a “virtual tour” of the cemetery in my mind. Of course they laughed at the thought of my “virtual tour,” but at the same time acknowledged that our departed family members were on their minds as well in a very special way on this feast day.
The Solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of All Souls, feast days celebrated back to back, should remind us of our connection with all the faithful departed. While they have left their earthly homes, they are still very much a part of the Church of which we are members, called the communion of saints – all of us here on earth (the Church Militant), the souls in purgatory (the Church Suffering) and the saints in heaven (the Church Triumphant). In reality, the communion of saints is the Church itself.
The Church teaches that the communion of saints holds everything in common, meaning that we are all willing to come to one another’s aid and do whatever we can to imitate the communal life of the early Christians. We see this in Acts 2:42:
“They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need.”
What a comforting thought; that while the entire Catholic population spread throughout the world, in heaven and in purgatory cannot share everything physically in common, we do share everything spiritually in common through prayer. While my “virtual tour” may have seemed a little silly to my sisters, it is important that we do not forget our connection to those who have left this earthly life; and a good place to start is with remembering our own relatives and friends who have gone before us. If you are like me, you need to be reminded that when we need intercessory prayer we can especially call upon all the saints, those named (canonized saints) and unnamed who have reached the heavenly kingdom of God and even the souls in purgatory who are enduring their time of purification before entering heaven.
While it is common to ask our relatives and friends here on earth to pray for us and no one gives that a second thought, when we turn to the saints in heaven and yes, even the souls in purgatory to pray for us rather than praying directly to God, many times, as Catholics, we are criticized for this practice. As we can and do pray directly to God ourselves, we ask others here on earth to pray for us, the saints in heaven to pray for us and even the souls in purgatory to pray for us. In turn, we pray for the souls in purgatory and for all those still living the earthly life who need our prayers. What a beautiful and comforting thought to know we are not alone; we are all in this together.
During this month of November when we remember in a very special way all the faithful departed, especially those still suffering in purgatory, let’s not just remember them in thought, but let’s engage with them in prayer, not just during this special time, but every day of the year. We should not just call upon our earthy friends, (the Church Militant) but also the Church Suffering and the Church Triumphant and truly live in communion with them. It is surely pleasing to God to have his children helping one another. With God as our Father, we are all in this together, living as the communion of saints.
Brenda Hopf is a member of Divine Mercy Parish in Dubois County and also contributes to the “Sharing the Load” column in The Message.
