1. Jesus tells us that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of the living, not of the dead (Mk 12:27). From the earliest statements in the Letter to the Hebrews that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses (Heb 12:1) to the Nicene Creed, Catholics have constantly held to the belief that our Church isn't restricted to those alive in body alone but includes the "Church Triumphant" in heaven. The communion of saints is not merely an optional "flavor" to Christianity, but tells us something important about our own final destiny - true life is found in Christ and love of neighbor does not end with bodily death.
2. To quote the Baltimore Catechism, we have one end in life: "God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this life so as to be happy with Him forever in the next." Sainthood isn't the destiny of the few, but our common - our ordinary - destiny as Catholics. The saints in heaven are, as the new Mass translation puts it, "co-heirs to eternal life" - co-heirs with us.
3. As we celebrate Saint Patrick's Day with a special celebration at Tuesday Mass and Soup on March 20, we see a shining example of love of God and neighbor in Patrick, but also someone who can pray for us so that we too can be saints with him. Worthiness of God's grace is not a concern when we have such great friends in heaven who can bring us to that day when, as St. Patrick says, "...we shall rise again in the brightness of the sun, that is, in the glory of Christ Jesus our Redeemer, as children of the living God and co-heirs of Christ, made in his image; for we shall reign through him and for him and in him." Saint Patrick is just one of those holding a place for you in heaven - are you going to RSVP?
Written by Br. James Rooney, OP
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