COMMUNION OF SAINTS
Communion of Saints Being a member of the Church means being part of God's family. That means that we are not only connected to God, we are also connected to each other. Every baptized Christian is connected as a family. This includes even people who have died. Everyone in Heaven is a saint. These saints in Heaven are also members of our family. They are our older brothers and sisters. When God makes it obvious that a person is in Heaven, through miracles for example, the Church may canonize that person. Canonized saints are the ones you know about, such as St. Joseph, or St. Elizabeth. There are thousands of canonized saints, but every person who is in Heaven is a saint. The saints love us. They want us to go to Heaven, too. Just like other Catholics on earth can pray for us, saints in Heaven can also pray for us. Since they are so close to God, their prayers are very powerful. It is important to learn about the saints and to ask them to pray for you. Many people die a