Pope Francis at General Audience: Communion of Saints Church's deepest reality
(Vatican Radio) At his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis continued
his series of catechetical reflections on the Creed, focusing this week on the Communion
of Saints. In the English-language synthesis of the Holy Father’s remarks read out
following the main catechesis in Italian, Pope Francis writes, “The Catechism of the
Catholic Church reminds us that the Communion of Saints is a communion “in holy things”
and “among holy persons” (No. 948).
The Holy Father’s remarks go on to say
that the Communion of Saints is the deepest reality of the Church, because in Christ,
through Baptism, we are made sharers in the communion of life and love which is the
Blessed Trinity: Listen:
As such,
we are united to one another in the Body of Christ. Through this fraternal communion
we draw nearer to God and we are called to support one another spiritually. The communion
of saints does not only embrace the Church on earth; it also embraces all who have
died in Christ, the souls in purgatory and the saints in heaven.
Pope
Francis’s remarks go on to say that that we experience this solidarity between heaven
and earth in our intercessory prayer and in the feasts of All Saints and All Souls
which we shall soon celebrate. “As we rejoice in this great mystery,” his remarks
conclude, “let us ask the Lord to draw us ever closer to Him and to all our brothers
and sisters in the Church.”