Donna M. Cole

Faithful, true, and bold

We don’t think too much or too often about the communion of saints. We celebrate them individually on our liturgical calendar, and maybe we seek the intercession of one or another of them on occasion. But rarely do we deliberately look to find our place among them. Not often do we call on them as a whole to walk with us, pray with us, be with us. We tend to envision them on a spiritual plane far above us, and in doing so we miss the opportunity to interact with them as well as with the saints here on earth. It is our loss indeed, for there is great wealth there. Surely in a church in which so many of us are in need of courage and reassurance that the path to which we have been called is true, the saints who have gone before as well as those here on earth are a company to which we can and should turn as we struggle on. There is power in that communion that spans eternity — past, present, and future. All we have to do is reach out to it. It is no wonder that we use the Litany of the Saints at liturgies that form a sacramental crossroads. Not only do we call on the saints for their intercession and blessing, we invite them to rejoice with us and to continue to walk with us in our journey of faith. By their example, we are called to be living saints, true believers, boldly proclaiming our faith before all the world. Being always open to those graced moments when we are able to see in ourselves and in others the seeds of holiness offers us the ability to be true to the people God has called us to be.  

This issue of ML has as its focus the communion of saints in all its varied dimensions. Ron Raab, in another of his profoundly insightful articles, speaks of the grace to be found in the ordinary moments of parish life. Reflecting on how the wear and tear of the various items used in our rituals embody the way that we have prayed those liturgies, he demonstrates how this points to a liturgical spirituality. Bill Graham writes about the primacy of the Sabbath and the critical nature of Sabbath rest. This Sabbath path, according to him, is the way to holiness, and that holiness is surely a way to unity with the saints.Mary Ann Paulukonis offers ways of remembering the dead. She emphasizes ways that console the living, heals damaged relationships, and seeks to cultivate relations among all who are members of the communion of saints. In a reflection of my own, I present some ways of being formed in the communion of saints, finding ways to be open to the graced moments in everyday life and actively seek the presence of the saints both living and eternal. We are far stronger and wiser when we walk with them. Finally, in a resource for the saint in everyday ministry, Paul Turner provides some clear direction on the translation of the Roman Missal.

It’s hard to be a saint today. In certain parts of the world, there is real persecution, very real danger to life. But in many other areas where religious freedom is the rule, there is a more subtle challenge. Here voices who would preach are silenced; those whose teaching or writing is not orthodox enough are censured. Those who would preside, lead, catechize, and share their gifts in a multitude of ways are pushed aside, all in the name of authentic liturgy or a clericalism run out of control. Perhaps we need to call on the saints of old who pushed the envelope of their time, who fought nobly and with the conviction of faith and whose victory is now absolute.

O may thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold, 
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old, 
And win with them, the victor’s crown of gold. 
Alleluia, Alleluia!

— “For All the Saints,” text: William W. How, 1864; music: SINE NOMINE

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