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 as part of God's family, but they are not ready for Heaven yet.  These people need to be purified after they die.  They are in Purgatory, where their souls are being perfectly cleaned.  They are part of the family, too, and we should pray for them.

God wants us to be a loving family, to care for each other, and to pray for each other.  This connection between all of God's people, living and dead, is called the Communion of Saints.

All saints celebration is Nov. 1st

                         From: Catholic Brain

Exercise:

Choose a story about one of your favorite saints.  Be sure to ask, for that saint’s prayers today.

1) Everyone in Heaven is a __________. 

2) What is a canonized saint? 

3) What is something the saints in Heaven can do for us?  

4) Where are people purified after they die? 

5) What do we call the connection between all of God’s people, living and dead?