The Communion of Saints

Spontaneously the melody of the litany of saints entered my head and I repeated it again and again- “all you holy men and women pray for us!”

It being already halfway through November it seems a little late for this discussion but since the entire month is devoted to celebrating those who have gone before us, I figured why not?

As Catholics (or any of the other churches which accept the Apostles Creed) we profess our belief in the communion of saints, and specifically as Catholics we believe in their role as intercessors who continue to pray for us while united to God in heaven. We are able to ask any of the men and women in heaven for their prayers at any time, whether or not they have been canonized by the Church. Throughout her letters, Saint Zélie mentions begging many saints for their prayers, most especially Saint Joseph and Mother Mary. She also prayed to her departed children and later to her sister, a Visitine nun who died of tuberculosis.

I wore my grandma's prom dress (handmade by her mother!) to my senior prom

My beloved grandma, who I called mama, died of cancer the summer after I graduated from high school. She was the first person I was close to who had died, and I spent two weeks spinning through the typical grief-stricken reactions of anger, denial and sadness. Shortly after her funeral though, I had a dream which assured me that she was in heaven. After years of fighting cancer and other health issues, my young grandma had been shrunken, bent over and sallow-faced before her death. She came to me in this dream absolutely radiant- she looked young and beautiful and unearthly, and yet it was definitely her. When I would later read Dante's Paradiso in college, I would find that all of the descriptions of shining saints paled in comparison to my mama that night. We spoke about her life and her family, and about my papa who she loved so much. I have often thought of what a generous gift it is to know for sure that a loved one is in heaven, to be sure that you can pray to them for help rather than pray for their souls being cleansed in purgatory.

The communion of saints is a powerful thing. In the minutes of Josephine’s delayed birth and resuscitation, I prayed to every saint I could think of. I specifically asked Saints Joseph and Mary (her namesakes), Saint Zélie Martin, and my grandma in heaven to pray for Josephine to survive and to be healthy. Spontaneously the melody of the litany of saints entered my head and I repeated it again and again- “all you holy men and women pray for us!”

When you don’t have the words, when you are angry at God, when you are afraid to ask Him for what you need, or when you just need more prayers than you could possibly pray on your own, there is an entire community of saints available to you!

Not all are officially recognized by the church, and there are far more recognized saints than there are days in the year. On November 1st, and for the entire month of November, we honor them all and ask for their prayers. My baby girl is my little proof that those prayers are answered.

Our archbishop wrote much more eloquently on the same subject in this month's Northwest Catholic magazine- read here!