The word “saint” has slightly different connotations in the Catholic Church. A saint is anyone who has earned a spot in Heaven. These souls form the “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). Those who the Church recognizes as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God are given the title of “Saint”. The title denotes a person who has been formally canonized—that is, who after their earthly death, is officially and authoritatively declared a Saint, by the church as a holder of the “Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven”, and is therefore believed to be in Heaven by the grace of God. The first canonized Saint was by a pope was St. Ulrich of Augsburg. Pope John XV formally canonized him in the year 993. Prior to that, Saints were proclaimed by Bishops, based on “vox populi” the voice of the people, and the exact number of saints remains difficult to quantify, with some estimates exceeding 10,000. However, we do believe the first Saint to grace the gold gates of Heaven was St. Stephen, the first martyr of Jesus’ Church.
The completed prayer, “The Apostle’s Creed” dates back to the third century with the earliest drafts being written in 150 to 180 AD. This prayer was originally used as a verbal testimony of what the followers of Christ believed. The early church followers were a compilation of converted Jews, pagans, and various religious sects, all having their own beliefs. For about a thousand years, the Church was united under this written belief system. Today, Christianity is once again made up of various beliefs.
For the focus of this writing, we will consider the final paragraph, that speaks to the power of prayer and who can pray for us.
“I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen!”
The early Christians felt it was important to affirm certain beliefs found in the teachings of Jesus. His documented teachings were vastly different than other religions of the time; emphasizing love and forgiveness for all; thus, the word catholic, meaning universal. Before and after his teaching sessions, it is recorded that he commonly went off alone to pray.
Most of the paragraph above is comprised of messages Jesus spoke about repeatedly, however one phrase was not talked about; instead, it was lived out. Though there is no written record of Jesus mentioning the phrase “communion of Saints”, he did provide us positive proof that the Saints and Prophets who came before him are still alive and worthy of being consulted with.
Luke 9, 28 – 36
He took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.
With this revelation, we know that our loved one’s souls still live on once they died. Of course, they live on in our hearts, in the form of our memories and that during their lives they touch our life in many special ways. When this happens, we are more likely to remember them until we die, usually in very joyful and positive ways. Thanks to this Gospel passage and the “Communion of Saints”, we have proof that our souls are tethered to us for all eternity, and they live on, wherever our soul resides, be it Heaven or Hell.
Here on earth, just as we ask our earthly family and friends to pray for us, we can do the same to those who are no longer with us. We can also pray for those who died, asking the living Christ to pardon their past sins and to bring them into His heavenly home.
If this is my last post, I want all to know there was only one purpose for all that I have written; to have made a positive difference in the lives of others.
Anthony “Tony” Boquet, the author of “The Bloodline of Wisdom, The Awakening of a Modern Solutionary”
