Communion of Saints

Lord's Day 21

Q & A 54

Q. What do you believe
concerning "the holy catholic church"?

A. I believe that the Son of God

through his Spirit and Word,1
out of the entire human race,2
from the beginning of the world to its end,3

gathers, protects, and preserves for himself

a community chosen for eternal life4

and united in true faith.5

And of this community I am6 and always will be7

a living member.

1 John 10:14-16; Acts 20:28; Rom. 10:14-17; Col. 1:18
2 Gen. 26:3b-4; Rev. 5:9
3 Isa. 59:21; 1 Cor. 11:26
4 Matt. 16:18; John 10:28-30; Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:3-14
5 Acts 2:42-47; Eph. 4:1-6
6 1 John 3:14, 19-21
7 John 10:27-28; 1 Cor. 1:4-9; 1 Pet. 1:3-5

Q & A 55

Q. What do you understand by
"the communion of saints"?

A. First, that believers one and all,
as members of this community,
share in Christ
and in all his treasures and gifts.1

Second, that each member
should consider it a duty
to use these gifts

 

readily and joyfully
for the service and enrichment

of the other members.2

1 Rom. 8:32; 1 Cor. 6:17; 12:4-7, 12-13; 1 John 1:3
2 Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:20-27; 13:1-7; Phil. 2:4-8



Every November 1st is All Saints' Day, a critical moment in the life of the church. Why exactly? That should be an odd question to ask, shouldn't it? In the The Apostles' Creed we confess, 

"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints..."

Why All Saints' Day? We believe in the church and that church is catholic. In society today, death is often that termination point which severs the living from the dead. Not so in Christianity, at least classical Christianity. There is a cord of participation between the living and the dead, so that we participate in the communion of those saints before us. Listen to the Book of Common Prayer and the way it instructs us to pray on All Saints' Day:

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one

communion and fellowship in the mystical Body of your Son:

Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and

godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you

have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ

our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,

one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Did you know that a day is coming when you and I will stand side-by-side in the communion of the saints as that mystical Body and together we will gaze at the beauty of our Lord? Yes, we ask for grace now to "follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living," but that grace is for a purpose, namely, that we may participate in all of the "ineffable joys" God has in store for us. Our joy will one day be complete in the Beatific Vision



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