This month, we are celebrating one of the most fundamental and most consoling truths of Catholicism, the Communion of Saints. Last Friday, we celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints, the Church Triumphant, yesterday was the Commemoration of All Souls, the Church Suffering, and today should be for All of Us, the Church Militant. That would complete the Communion of Saints.
The church triumphant describes the Church in heaven - the realm in which the Holy Trinity, the angels and saints, and the abode of all those who have reached the fullness of salvation in Christ. But it will have its fullest being at the end of time, when all of creation and we hope all of us, will be conformed to Christ and all reality will be one of divine praise and glory.
The church militant refers to the Church on earth. The term “militant” can suggest an antagonistic relationship between the Church and the world. Nevertheless, it refers to an authentic reality: that the Church on earth works to overcome the imperfect and sinful dimensions of human existence and all of us are called to it. How? By preaching the Gospel and by the power of the good works we do and edifying when we give witness to what we preach.
The church suffering refers to the church in purgatory. We know that we are not perfect enough for heaven and not wicked enough for hell. So there must be a middle state of purification. According to the Catholic Catechism: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship but imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” (CCC 1030) Although Scripture has no explicit mention of purgatory, it is implicitly contained in the 2 Maccabees, Chap. 12.
What is purgatory like? It is a place where they are being prepared for heaven. They are being purified before they see God. They cannot help themselves because the time for merit ended with death and so they depend on the mercy of God and the prayers offered for them. That is why we offer mass and pray for them. We may ask how many go to purgatory. And how long do they stay. Only God knows.
But what a consolation it is for us to know that long after we are dead and forgotten, the Church will be praying for us in every Mass. And because of the twenty-four different time zones in the world, several Masses are being offered every minute of the day somewhere in the world.
When we realize all of this, we see what a wonderful gift it is to be a Catholic and to be a member of the Communion of Saints.
As a parish, we do the nine day novena mass for All Souls from November 2nd to November 10th. So even while I am away on the pilgrimage, there will be priests who will cover for me to celebrate the mass for the parish on those said dates.