946
After confessing "the holy catholic Church," the Apostles' Creed adds
"the communion of saints." In a certain sense, this article is a
further explanation of the preceding: "What is the Church if not the
assembly of all the saints?"477 (Nicetas, Expl. Symb., 10: PL 52:871B.) The communion of saints is the Church.
947
"Since all the faithful form one body, the good of each is communicated to
the others.... We must, therefore, believe that there exists a communion of goods
in the Church. But the most important member is Christ since he is the
head... Therefore, the riches of Christ are communicated to all the members,
through the sacraments."478 (St. Thomas Aquinas, Symb., 10.) "As this Church is governed by one and
the same Spirit, all the goods she has received necessarily become a common
fund."479
948
The term "communion of saints" therefore has two closely linked
meanings: communion in holy things (sancta)" and "among holy persons
(sancti).
"Sancta
sancti's! ("God's holy gifts for God's holy people") is proclaimed by
the celebrant in most Eastern liturgies during the elevation of the holy Gifts
before the distribution of communion. the faithful (sancta) are fed by Christ's
holy body and blood (sancta) to grow in the communion of the Holy Spirit
(koinonia) and to communicate it to the world.
I.
COMMUNION IN SPIRITUAL GOODS
949
In the primitive community of Jerusalem, the disciples "devoted themselves
to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the
prayers."480
950
Communion of the sacraments. "The fruit of all the sacraments belongs to
all the faithful. All the sacraments are sacred links uniting the faithful with
one another and binding them to Jesus Christ, and above all Baptism, the gate
by which we enter into the Church. the communion of saints must be understood
as the communion of the sacraments.... the name 'communion' can be applied to
all of them, for they unite us to God... But this name is better suited to the
Eucharist than to any other because it is primarily the Eucharist that brings
this communion about."481
951
Communion of charisms. Within the communion of the Church, the Holy Spirit
"distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank" for the
building up of the Church.482 (LG 12 # 2.) Now, "to each is given the manifestation of
the Spirit for the common good."483
952
"They had everything in common."484 (Acts 4:32.)"Everything the true
Christian has is to be regarded as a good possessed in common with everyone
else. All Christians should be ready and eager to come to the help of the needy
. . . and of their neighbors in want."485 (Roman Catechism 1, 10, 27.) A Christian is a steward of the
Lord's goods.486 (Cf. ⇒ Lk 16:1, 3. )
953
Communion in charity. In the sanctorum communio, "None of us lives to
himself, and none of us dies to himself."487 (Rom 14:7. ) "If one member suffers,
all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you
are the body of Christ and individually members of it."488 (1 Cor 12:26-27.) "Charity
does not insist on its own way."489 (1 Cor 13:5; cf. ⇒ 10:24.) In this solidarity with all men,
living or dead, which is founded on the communion of saints, the least of our
acts done in charity redounds to the profit of all. Every sin harms this
communion.
II.
THE COMMUNION OF THE CHURCH OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
954
The three states of the Church. "When the Lord comes in glory, and all his
angels with him, death will be no more and all things will be subject to him.
But at the present time some of his disciples are pilgrims on the earth. Others
have died and are being purified, while still others are in glory,
contemplating 'in full light, God himself triune and one, exactly as he
is"':490
All
of us, however, in varying degrees and in different ways share in the same
charity towards God and our neighbors, and we all sing the one hymn of glory
to our God. All, indeed, who are of Christ and who have his Spirit form one
Church and in Christ cleave together.491
955
"So it is that the union of the wayfarers with the brethren who sleep in
the peace of Christ is in no way interrupted, but on the contrary, according to
the constant faith of the Church, this union is reinforced by an exchange of
spiritual goods." 492
956
The intercession of the saints. "Being more closely united to Christ,
those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness.... They
do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits
which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men,
Christ Jesus.... So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly
helped."493
Do
not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you
then more effectively than during my life.494
I
want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth.495
957
Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that
we cherish the memory of those in heaven; we seek, rather, that by this
devotion to the exercise of fraternal charity the union of the whole Church in
the Spirit may be strengthened. Exactly as Christian communion among our fellow
pilgrims bring us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us
to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the
life of the People of God itself"496 (LG 50; cf. ⇒ Eph 4:1-6.) :
We
worship Christ as God's Son; we love the martyrs as the Lord's disciples and
imitators, and rightly so because of their matchless devotion towards their
king and master. May we also be their companions and fellow disciples! 497
958
Communion with the dead. "In full consciousness of this communion of the
whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from
the very earliest days of the Christian religion has honored with great
respect the memory of the dead; and 'because it is a holy and a wholesome
thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins' she
offers her suffrages for them."498 (LG 50; cf. ⇒ 2 Macc 12:45.) Our prayer for them is capable not only
of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.
959
In the one family of God. "For if we continue to love one another and to
join in praising the Most Holy Trinity - all of us who are sons of God and form
one family in Christ - we will be faithful to the deepest vocation of the
Church."499
IN
BRIEF
960
The Church is a "communion of saints": this expression refers first
to the "holy things" (sancta), above all the Eucharist, by which
"the unity of believers, who form one body in Christ, is both represented
and brought about" (LG 3).
961
The term "communion of saints" refers also to the communion of
"holy persons" (sancti) in Christ who "died for all," so
that what each one does or suffers in and for Christ bears fruit for all.
962
"We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are
pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven,
all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the
merciful love of God and his saints is always [attentive] to our prayers"
(Paul VI, CPG # 30).
GO TO:
ARTICLE 9
PARAGRAPH 1 THE CHURCH IN GOD'S PLAN
PARAGRAPH 2.THE CHURCH - PEOPLE OF GOD, BODY OF CHRIST, TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
PARAGRAPH 3.THE CHURCH IS ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, AND APOSTOLIC
PARAGRAPH 6.MARY - MOTHER OF CHRIST, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
SECTION TWO: CREEDS
CHAPTER THREE:
CHAPTER THREE:
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