UNIT SEVEN

The Church is a
Communion of Saints

7.1 Who Are the Saints?

Saints Alive
The hand of God is seen in the
world through the actions of
Gods people.
Saints allow others to see God in
them and in the world; they set
examples and are inspiration for
people who wish to follow Christ.

Saint
One who has been transformed
by the grace of God
In most basic sense, refers to all
Christians
Normally used to refer to those
who the Church has canonized,
honored with the title Saint, and
declared worthy of veneration

Touched by God
In Old Testament, to call
someone holy was to say that
he or she had been touched by
God and set apart for a special
and unique purpose
Holy people recognized their own
unique purpose and accepted the
particular role which God had given
them

Touched by God
New Testament Letter to the
Romans addresses those who
are called to be saints. The
Greek word translated saints is
same word in other places is
translated as holy
Saint recognizes and accepts Gods
unique call to him or her
Live authentically

The Communion Of Saints

Church is a body of holy persons,
both on earth and in heaven, who
share spiritual possessions
By 5th century, Church
understood unity between Church
on earth and Church in heaven
Gifts of members of each served
other

The Communion Of Saints

Church cannot be divided by
death
Saints are fully united with Christ
Communion with those saints unites
us more completely to Christ
Communion with those who have
died and are not yet fully united to
Christ
Our prayers help those who have
died, their prayers help us

Signs of Hope
Saints help Church understand
and explain the eschaton,
Christian understanding of the
end times

Eschatology
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The study of the last things:

The second coming of Christ
The resurrection of the dead
The kingdom of God
Judgment, heaven, hell and
purgatory

In between time
Now, the time between the
decisive in-breaking of the
kingdom of God in Jesus and the
perfection of history in the second
coming
Death will continue to exist until
the time of Christs return, but
death no longer has the power it
once had

Second coming
Jesus return in glory at the end
of time
At the second coming, the
kingdom of God will be fully
realized

Eschatological community
The community of the end times
Church even now shares in
divine glory
Seen in actions of saints while on
earth, through their intercession
in heaven
Prayers of the faithful do make a
difference

Jesus Works Through the

Saints
Jesus is the only mediator
between God the Father and
humanity
Since Jesus resurrection and
ascension Jesus communicates
with us through other people
Saints cooperate with Jesus and
allow him to work through them

Doctor of the Church

A title officially conferred upon a
saint by the pope or by a general
council declaring that person to
have been particularly holy, wise,
and learned, and therefore a
source of sound theological
teaching for the Church.

Father of the Church

Title for writers of the early
Church who had a major impact
on the development of Christian
theology and doctrine
Characterized by holiness of life,
orthodoxy of doctrine, approval of
the Church, antiquities
Period of the Church Fathers
ended in the 7th century

Saints: The Benefits Of

Virtue
Virtues are the habits and
inclinations which lead us to be
true to our values even when we
find this is difficult.
The stories of the saints can help
us see the power and the
benefits of virtue:
Teach us the possibilities that open
when people learn virtues of faith,
hope, love, temperance, fortitude,
justice and prudence.

Virtue
Habitual disposition to do good
Attitudes and habits which lead a
person to do what God desires

Value
Something believed to be
particularly important

Mary: The Model Saint

Demonstrates the most authentic
form of perfect imitation of Christ
Disciple par excellence
Showed her complete
commitment to God in the way
she lived
Said yes to the angels request that
she be the mother of the Savior

Mary: The Model Saint

Willing to place all her trust in
God
Total dependence on God remind
Church of its own mission
Open to Fathers will, even when
she did not understand
Remained faithful to Jesus to his
death
Allowed herself to be emptied even
as Christ was emptied

Self-Emptying and
Discipleship
Must be at the heart of all true
faith
Some will be called to follow
Christ to the cross in a literal
sense, giving up their lives for
their faith
All are called to follow Christ to
the cross as Mary did

Redemption
Christs saving work which freed
humanity from the power of sin
and death and restored them to
unity with God

Mary As A Sign Of Gods

Presence
Mary is everything that the
Church strives to be
She is a sign that the Church will
eventually achieve what it is striving
for

Mary is a sacrament
Symbol and instrument of Gods
presence with humanity

Mary is nothing without

Jesus
She is able to do what she does
only because she is filled with
Gods grace
Jesus human identity is derived
from the fact that he was born of
a specific woman, Mary
God chooses to work through
human beings
God calls each one of us to a
unique role

Mary: Sign of the new

covenant
In the Incarnation, Christ and
Mary are indissolubly linked.
They are united by blood

Mary prefigures the Church

Indissolubly linked to Christ through
the blood of the cross

Mary: Sign of Gods

election
When Mary is chosen to be the
Mother of God, God makes an
irrevocable commitment to
involve human beings in all that
he does
Because Mary has been elected
she is freed from every stain of
original sin

Immaculate Conception
Dogma which states that Mary
was free from the stain of original
sin from the moment of her
conception

Assumption of Mary
Dogma which states that the
body of Mary was taken directly
to heaven after her death
Mary already shares in the
resurrection of the body which is
promised to all the faithful

Assumption: Sign of
Churchs eschatological
hope

In her, we witness the

resurrection of the body and the
new creation
Guarantee of the final
resurrection of all the faithful
Final triumph of God over evil is
already accomplished

Mary Is Also a Sign of the

Church
Churchs role in the world and
love for the world
Mary, the mediatrix:
Shares in the work of Christs
mediation
Has a role in making God
accessible to humanity
Intercedes for faithful, offers her
assistance

Mary Is Also a Sign of the

Church
We bring our concerns to Mary
because it is Christs will that she
and all members of the Church
share in the work of her Son
Vatican II made it clear that all
Mary does is because of Christ
We honor Mary because she had
done what we are still struggling
to do

Mary Is The Mother Of The

Church
She has a particular role and
responsibility
She cooperates with Christ in
caring for and guiding the Church
Marys motherhood is a gift which
Christ makes personally to the
Church as a whole and to every
individual

Church is Mother
The Church follows Marys
example
Receives the Word of God in faith
and then brings forth sons and
daughters who are conceived
and born of the Holy Spirit

In Conclusion
Everyone needs someone who is
a good example for virtuous living
Church offers its saints as
models who help us respond to
the crises which face us, as
models who can help us to live
more Christian lives
General theme of all saints is that
they were faithful in everyday
things

In Conclusion
To imitate saints, we should look
for God in everything we do, and
in all the people we meet.
Communion of saints offers
models for our faith, guides to
help us as we reach out to the
Lord.
Saints in heaven are still living
members of the Church.

In Conclusion
God gives us the grace to be holy,
but accepting gods grace is
difficult to do alone.
Saints offer us support and
encouragement we need to accept
grace, and to become holy.
Among whole communion of
saints, Mary is preeminent
because she is the perfect model
of faith.

In Conclusion
The Magnificat expresses the faith of
the true Church, the faith which clings
to God and abandons all desire to be
god.
Mary is a brave woman, willing to risk
everything because she trusts and
loves God.
Mary is sign of Church, which will
become one with Jesus, has been
called to bear God to the world.