What do you see?

• Halo
• I Have Friends
• The Communion of Saints

Message:
Jesus Christ conquered death!  We believe in a risen "Christ".  We also believe, at the time we transition from this life into eternal life, that we will meet our saviour and his family...our family and friends who have gone before us...the Communion of Saints.
 

Food for thought:
Family - Communion of Saints

Imagine this very large family.  All of the kids, except the youngest one, are now grown, moved away and living bright, productive lives.  Each of them, however, had their own painful, behavior problems growing up, and eventually matured through the love, discipline and exceptional patience of their father and mother.

The adult siblings, recognizing similar problems of their youngest brother, approach dad one day, asking if there is anything they can do to help.  He just smiles and nods towards mom, as if to say, your mother has an idea.  Though the parents obviously have the wisdom and experience to deal with these problems, they’re delighted that their adult children want to help their younger brother in his difficulties.

So mom and dad take their son aside and offer him the phone numbers of his brothers and sisters. The parents remind him that, despite his less than perfect behavior at times, his older siblings really enjoy his company and love to help him out.  He realizes that his brothers and sisters truly delight in helping him work through his struggles because they experienced similar problems growing up.   He is greatly encouraged because they personally identify with him.  The father and mother understand it very well, knowing that it builds family strength and unity.

This may sound like a quaint family story, but it’s actually a profound reality in our spiritual lives.  We all have the same Father.   You could say that God, the Father, sees us each as the youngest boy or girl of His family.  He also wants us to have a spiritual mother we can turn to, so He has generously given us, Mary, the perfect Mother of His very own Son, Jesus.  After all, He placed it in our very nature to need a mother.

Our older brothers and sisters?  They are the saints!  All of those who have come before us and chose to love and serve God are with Him.  They identify with our struggles, having each struggled in various ways, themselves, in their earthly life.  They naturally unite themselves to the Father’s burning desire.  That desire is to help us find our way to heaven.  They want us to join them in the eternal family reunion!

The Catholic Church, also acts with Mary in the role of our mother.  How?  By carefully examining the lives of individuals who achieved exceptional holiness in their lives on earth.   She uses the authority given to Her by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to declare them to be saints, with Him in heaven.  In other words, we are pointed to many of our older brothers and sisters by name, for their help.  We have been given their numbers.   We should delight in their help and call often.  We should strive to get better acquainted with who they each are by learning about their lives.  Start a conversation with some of your siblings in heaven.  Get to know them and enjoy their help and company.  They await your call.

"Everyone is born as an original document but many people end up dying as photocopies."
-Blessed Carlos Acutis-