“No man is an island, entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” In the 17th century, English poet John Donne wrote those words in his collection of meditations.
November is the month of All Saints and All Souls. It is the time when we remember in a special way all the baptized who have died to this world and have entered into eternal life. It is the celebration of our belief in the Communion of Saints, which is stated in the Apostles’ Creed. This doctrine simply means that all the ties that unite us through Baptism into the Body of Christ in this life do not unravel at death. In fact, they last forever.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (962) summarizes our belief in these words: “We believe in the communion of all the faithful, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always attentive to our prayers.”
It is for that reason that the Church canonizes certain men and women who have lived lives of heroic virtue and are proposed as models worthy of imitation, spiritual companions and prayer intercessors for us on earth as each continues on the journey into eternity. Ideally, a saint’s name is therefore chosen for a child at Baptism, a pious custom that seems to have been de-emphasized in recent years. Fortunately, the custom still remains at Confirmation when the confirmandi are asked to pick a saint who will serve as their patron.
Perhaps the greatest privilege and duty we have as members of the communion of saints during November – and, in fact, every day of the year – is to pray for the happy repose of the souls of our deceased loved ones. Those are the ones who have died in the state of sanctifying grace, but still have some attachment to sin or residue of imperfection that needs to be purified before entering into glory. It is a process of spiritual cleansing that enables the soul to become perfect and thus to enter into the presence of our all-holy God. We call this the state of Purgatory.
Saint Paul says that Christians must build their lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ. The result of that work will be revealed with fire on judgment day. If one’s work withstands the fiery test, that person will receive “a wage” (entry into heaven). “But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Cor 3:12-15) The dead cannot help themselves in that matter since the time allotted them on earth for living a holy life of faith and good works is over. However, we who are still living members of the communion of saints can help the holy souls through that process by our prayers and good works. This must certainly be a source of great hope and consolation for them.
The Church has traditionally referred to those in Purgatory as members of the Church Suffering. That is true in a sense because a purifying, sterilizing fire can be quite painful. However, we must remember it is not the eternal, agonizing fire of the damned. The souls in Purgatory are joyful because they have been saved and are looking forward to glory. The pain they endure is like the pain one experiences who has just successfully undergone major surgery. It is real and severe but temporary; complete healing is in sight. Heaven is on the horizon. Perhaps then we could also refer to those in Purgatory as members of the Church Expectant.
We naturally recoil from death altogether because it was not part of our Creator’s original plan, which was upset by the sin of our first parents. Thus we mourn the death of our loved ones even though we believe we are all destined to live forever in heaven with a perfect glorified body.
Saint Augustine wrote very tenderly in his autobiography about his experience when his beloved mother, Saint Monica, died. (“Confessions,” Book IX, 11-12) Shortly before she passed away, Monica expressed her belief in the communion of saints in these words: “You may lay this body of mine anywhere. All I ask of you is this, that wherever you may be, you will remember me at the altar of the Lord.”
Then, right after she died, Augustine said, “I closed her eyes, and a great flood of sorrow swept into my heart. And so, now that I had lost that great comfort of her, my soul was wounded and my life was, as it were, torn apart, since it had been a life made up of hers and mine together.”
This November, as we celebrate the Communion of Saints with our heavenly patrons at our side and our deceased loved ones in our thoughts and prayers, let us call to mind as John Donne, Monica and Augustine did, that truly no man is an “I-land.”
Father Edward Kolla is a retired priest of the Diocese.
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