Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Someone once told me about a personal moment from the final hours of a loved one; this relative, knowing death was near, could only think about the joy of being reunited with a spouse who had died years earlier. It made a difficult journey seem less painful because the outcome was to be so meaningful. The end of her earthly life would result in a peace that had been elusive during those many years apart. The faith shown by the person dying also comforted her grieving family.

The communion of saints

But what about us as our own story continues? How do we connect along the way with those who have gone before us, to still share in the spiritual gift of love we have been given?

Church teachings coming down through the centuries continue to help us with loss. The Apostles’ Creed includes our belief in the communion of saints. This belief, a part of our Tradition going back to the end of the fourth century, provides a path to unity between the living and the dead. This is our family really, all of us joined together by the Holy Spirit through baptism, becoming that “one body in Christ.” We are taught that even death cannot undo the communion of saints; death only makes this union of us together in God deeper. Those who are already with God and those who are still on earth are bound to one another always.

In the communion of saints, the Church teaches that we both share communion in holy spiritual things and among holy persons. So we share Eucharist together, as well as other sacraments. We belong to a local community, our parish church. We in fact are those holy persons, as Paul again helps us to understand that we have “been sanctified in Christ Jesus” and “called to be holy” (1 Cor 1:2).

In this way, we are the saints. The Holy Spirit dwells within us, and we share in the one Holy Spirit. We are given special gifts by the Spirit, which are used for the general benefit of the whole community. In receiving Eucharist our communion with one another becomes stronger, we are called to greater love for others, and to share our worldly goods as these may be needed, even with people we do not know. We also further the ties between us and all whom we love, including those who cannot be physically present with us.