UNIT SEVEN

The Church is a Communion of Saints

7.1 Who Are the Saints?

Saints Alive

• The hand of God is seen in the world through the actions of God’s people.

• Saints allow others to see God in them and in the world; they set examples and are inspiration for people who wish to follow Christ.

Saint

• One who has been transformed by the grace of God

• In most basic sense, refers to all Christians

• Normally used to refer to those who the Church has canonized, honored with the title “Saint”, and declared worthy of veneration

Touched by God

• In Old Testament, to call someone “holy” was to say that he or she had been “touched by God” and set apart for a special and unique purpose– Holy people recognized their own

unique purpose and accepted the particular role which God had given them

Touched by God

• New Testament Letter to the Romans addresses those who are “called to be saints”. The Greek word translated “saints” is same word in other places is translated as “holy”– Saint recognizes and accepts God’s

unique call to him or her– Live authentically

The Communion Of Saints

• Church is a body of holy persons, both on earth and in heaven, who share spiritual possessions

• By 5th century, Church understood unity between Church on earth and Church in heaven– Gifts of members of each served

other

The Communion Of Saints

• Church cannot be divided by death– Saints are fully united with Christ– Communion with those saints unites

us more completely to Christ– Communion with those who have

died and are not yet fully united to Christ

– Our prayers help those who have died, their prayers help us

Signs of Hope

• Saints help Church understand and explain the eschaton, Christian understanding of the end times

Eschatology

1. The study of the last things:

2. The second coming of Christ

3. The resurrection of the dead

4. The kingdom of God

5. Judgment, heaven, hell and purgatory

In between time

• Now, the time between the decisive in-breaking of the kingdom of God in Jesus and the perfection of history in the second coming

• Death will continue to exist until the time of Christ’s return, but death no longer has the power it once had

Second coming

• Jesus’ return in glory at the end of time

• At the second coming, the kingdom of God will be fully realized

Eschatological community

• The community of the end times

• Church even now shares in divine glory

• Seen in actions of saints while on earth, through their intercession in heaven

• Prayers of the faithful do make a difference

Jesus Works Through the Saints• Jesus is the only mediator

between God the Father and humanity

• Since Jesus’ resurrection and ascension Jesus communicates with us through other people– Saints cooperate with Jesus and

allow him to work through them

Doctor of the Church

• A title officially conferred upon a saint by the pope or by a general council declaring that person to have been particularly holy, wise, and learned, and therefore a source of sound theological teaching for the Church.

Father of the Church

• Title for writers of the early Church who had a major impact on the development of Christian theology and doctrine

• Characterized by holiness of life, orthodoxy of doctrine, approval of the Church, antiquities

• Period of the Church Fathers ended in the 7th century

Saints: The Benefits Of Virtue• Virtues are the habits and

inclinations which lead us to be true to our values even when we find this is difficult.

• The stories of the saints can help us see the power and the benefits of virtue:– Teach us the possibilities that open

when people learn virtues of faith, hope, love, temperance, fortitude, justice and prudence.

Virtue

• Habitual disposition to do good

• Attitudes and habits which lead a person to do what God desires

Value•Something believed to be particularly important

Mary: The Model Saint

• Demonstrates the “most authentic form of perfect imitation of Christ”

• Disciple “par excellence”

• Showed her complete commitment to God in the way she lived– Said “yes” to the angel’s request

that she be the mother of the Savior

Mary: The Model Saint

• Willing to place all her trust in God

• Total dependence on God remind Church of its own mission

• Open to Father’s will, even when she did not understand

• Remained faithful to Jesus to his death– Allowed herself to be emptied even

as Christ was emptied

“Self-Emptying” and Discipleship• Must be at the heart of all true

faith

• Some will be called to follow Christ to the cross in a literal sense, giving up their lives for their faith

• All are called to follow Christ to the cross as Mary did

Redemption

• Christ’s saving work which freed humanity from the power of sin and death and restored them to unity with God

Mary As A Sign Of God’s Presence• Mary is everything that the

Church strives to be– She is a sign that the Church will

eventually achieve what it is striving for

• Mary is a sacrament– Symbol and instrument of God’s

presence with humanity

Mary is nothing without Jesus• She is able to do what she does

only because she is filled with God’s grace

• Jesus’ human identity is derived from the fact that he was born of a specific woman, Mary– God chooses to work through

human beings– God calls each one of us to a

unique role

Mary: Sign of the new covenant• In the Incarnation, Christ and

Mary are indissolubly linked. – They are united by blood

• Mary prefigures the Church– Indissolubly linked to Christ through

the blood of the cross

Mary: Sign of God’s election• When Mary is chosen to be the

Mother of God, God makes an irrevocable commitment to involve human beings in all that he does

• Because Mary has been elected she is freed from every stain of original sin

Immaculate Conception

• Dogma which states that Mary was free from the stain of original sin from the moment of her conception

Assumption of Mary

• Dogma which states that the body of Mary was taken directly to heaven after her death

• Mary already shares in the resurrection of the body which is promised to all the faithful

Assumption: Sign of Church’s eschatological hope• In her, we witness the

resurrection of the body and the new creation

• Guarantee of the final resurrection of all the faithful

• Final triumph of God over evil is already accomplished

Mary Is Also a Sign of the Church • Church’s role in the world and

love for the world

• Mary, the mediatrix:– Shares in the work of Christ’s

mediation– Has a role in making God

accessible to humanity– Intercedes for faithful, offers her

assistance

Mary Is Also a Sign of the Church• We bring our concerns to Mary

because it is Christ’s will that she and all members of the Church share in the work of her Son

• Vatican II made it clear that all Mary does is because of Christ

• We honor Mary because she had done what we are still struggling to do

Mary Is The Mother Of The Church• She has a particular role and

responsibility

• She cooperates with Christ in caring for and guiding the Church

• Mary’s motherhood is a gift which Christ makes personally to the Church as a whole and to every individual

Church is Mother

• The Church follows Mary’s example

• Receives the Word of God in faith and then brings forth sons and daughters who are conceived and born of the Holy Spirit

In Conclusion

• Everyone needs someone who is a good example for virtuous living

• Church offers its saints as models who help us respond to the crises which face us, as models who can help us to live more Christian lives

• General theme of all saints is that they were faithful in everyday things

In Conclusion

• To imitate saints, we should look for God in everything we do, and in all the people we meet.

• Communion of saints offers models for our faith, guides to help us as we reach out to the Lord.

• Saints in heaven are still living members of the Church.

In Conclusion

• God gives us the grace to be holy, but accepting god’s grace is difficult to do alone.

• Saints offer us support and encouragement we need to accept grace, and to become holy.

• Among whole communion of saints, Mary is preeminent because she is the perfect model of faith.

In Conclusion

• The Magnificat expresses the faith of the true Church, the faith which clings to God and abandons all desire to be god.

• Mary is a brave woman, willing to risk everything because she trusts and loves God.

• Mary is sign of Church, which will become one with Jesus, has been called to bear God to the world.