Posted on 11/19/2019 9:06:56 AM PST by Salvation
This is the tenth in a series of articles on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell.
Continuing our series on the Four Last Things, in today’s post we consider an aspect of Heaven called the Communion of Saints. I have discovered that it is frequently misunderstood. Many of you know that I write the weekly “Question and Answer” column for the Our Sunday Visitor newspaper. Every once in a while, someone poses a unique question, one that I had never thought of before. such is the case with the question below. It led me to reflect on the deeper experience of what we call the Communion of Saints in Heaven.
My answers are required to be no more than 600 words, so this response is relatively brief.
(There is an online catalogue of my “Question and Answer” columns available here: Msgr. Pope’s OSV Columns.)
Q: The descriptions in the Bible seem to describe a vast amount of people, and the paintings I have seen from the Renaissance make it look rather crowded and busy. Frankly, I hate big cities and crowds. Are these descriptions accurate or am I missing something? Doris Leben, Wichita, Kansas
A: The danger to avoid when meditating on Heaven is taking earthly realities and merely transferring them to Heaven. Even if there are similarities to things on earth, things in Heaven will be experienced in a perfected way, with unspeakable joy.
The more biblical and theological way to understand the multitudes in Heaven is not as a physical crowding but as a deep communion. In other words, the Communion of Saints is not just a lot of people walking about or standing around talking.
St. Paul teaches, So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members, one of another (Rom 12:5). Although we experience this imperfectly here on earth, we will experience it perfectly in Heaven. As members of one another we will have deep communion; we will know and be known in a deep and rich way. Your memories, gifts, and insights will be mine, and mine will be yours. There will be profound understanding and appreciation, a rich love and a sense of how we all complete one another and really are all one in Christ.
Imagine the glory of billions of new thoughts, stories, and insights that will come from being perfectly members of Christ and of one another. Imagine the peace that will come from finally understanding and being understood. This is deep, satisfying, and wonderful communion—not crowds of strangers.
Therefore, the biblical descriptions of Heaven as multitudes should not be understood as mere numbers, but as the richness and glory of communion. The paintings showing “crowds” should be understood as an allegory of deep communion, of being close in a way we can only imagine.
St. Augustine had in mind the wonderful satisfaction of this deep communion with God and with one another in Christ when he described Heaven as Unus Christus amans seipsum (One Christ loving Himself). This is not some selfish Christ turned in on Himself. This is Christ, the Head, in deep communion with all the members of His Body, and all the members in Christ experiencing deep mystical communion with Him and with one another—together swept up into the life of the Trinity. As St. Paul says, you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s (1 Cor 3:23).
Monsignor Pope Ping!
the Faithful on Earth, The souls in Purgatory and the Triumphant in Heaven make up the Communion Of Saints. (Baltimore Catechism)
Worth noting, this is a term never appearing in Scripture, but used by Saint Nicetas of Remesiana in the 4th Century.
bump for later
There is nothing in the NT to suggest this type of "sharing" suggested by the Msgr.
“Worth noting, this is a term never appearing in Scripture, but used by Saint Nicetas of Remesiana in the 4th Century.”
So we can only use terms mentioned in Scripture?
So we can never say “Trinity”, for instance?
You’re adding evidence to the idea that anti-Catholicism is a mental illness.
I’m a saint.
Oh, it must be true, since we Catholics tell Christians that "sola sciptura" isn't in the Scripture
“Oh, it must be true, since we Catholics tell Christians that “sola sciptura” isn’t in the Scripture”
Sola scripture isn’t in Scripture - but especially as a doctrine not just the words “sola scriptura”.
But again, are we not supposed to use terms like “Trinity”? Maybe you could actually answer the question this time - if you can find the wherewithal to do it.
As a Catholic, I freely admit that the teaching of sola scriptura is in Scriture.
... but I prefer to also believe the crazy stuff our Catholic Church added, that is now part of our Sacred Tradition.
I like the comfort of splashing around holy water, sacrificing on an alter, bowing before idols, seeing our priests in their very worldly costumery - even the church office of Pope.
If you prots don't like it, who cares. We wrote the Bible, but we are not limited by it.
We can add things to Sacred Tradition as we go and they they become equal to Scripture. Then we assume the whole ball of wax was passed verbally over the centuries from Peter, our first great pope.
Recently we added a veneration of a beautiful statue of Mother Earth. No doubt this will be part of the Amazon Rite soon, and part of the Sacred Tradition. No doubt we will elevate her to sainthood.
Again, if prots or others don't like it, talk to the hand.
Tagline
“ We wrote the Bible, but we are not limited by it. “
What a spectacular error.
If so, do you remember writing 2 Tim 3:16?
If you “wrote” it, then you’d probably be an expert in what It says. But oddly, you’re not.
Weird.
Not per Roman Catholicism. They’ve redefined the word to mean something other than what is found in the New Testament.
Yes. I know.
My mother had a statute of some “Saint” mounted on the dashboard of our ‘59 Ford Fairlane. She thought it helped her driving.
ALWAYS pray for the poor souls in Purgatory. They in turn will pray for you and intercede for you when they get to heaven. Never stop praying for your loved ones who have died.
If you are living, then you are among the Church Militant.
Not the Church Triumphant — the Saints in heaven.
Good one!
............
Do you have a chapter and verse for "church militant" and "church triumphant."
I don't remember ever seeing them in Scripture...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.