It is the season when the phrase “communion of saints” from the Apostles’ Creed touches our celebrations and our life of prayer. We are in communion with our future. We remember those whom we call saints. In this case, we become present to those who are experiencing the fullness of joy and peace in the Lord’s presence. Theirs is a new life born from their fidelity to the love of God while on earth. In our communion with them, we hear them assuring us we are on the right way, encouraging us to cling to our hope for a world where God’s harmony and justice are the norm.
These days we are also in communion with our past. We come from somewhere, from someone. We are not alone but are part of a communion of ancestors. From our point of view they are past, they are dead. But in our communion with them, they are with us, and we with them. They remind us that we are human, of the earth, but they remind us, too, of our divine nature, our link to the life of the Spirit. It was from them we learned to talk, to love and embrace. From them we learned that true life meant forgiveness, sharing and walking with. Death does not break communion with them. For our God, all is alive: our past, our present and our future. We live in perpetual communion with all.
Fr. Prior Joel Macul, OSB
