FORMATION 2006
Foreword & Segments
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session
NO 8
topic:
“The Communion of Saints”
Despite our flaws, each of us
is a saint in the making..
opening prayer: As
for the Order Prayers
introduction:
Being in communion is the heart of Catholicism. We become one body
in Christ at Baptism and we continue sharing that common life forever, beyond
death. We are aware of this connectedness with one another every time we say
in the creed: "I believe in the communion of saints." We speak of this
community each time we pray at Mass when we pray for the living and recall
"those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith."
Communal living was the norm in the
Jerusalem church. They saw
themselves as establishing the reign of God in the world. They cared for each
other, worked for each other, died for each other. They were one community. It
was understood that all Christians were bonded together and had obligations to
each other. As people died, they had not left the community, but had entered
another state, just as Jesus had at the resurrection.
word of god
&
The Gospel according to Mark 13: 26-33
The Word of
God is now read aloud slowly and prayerfully
Then they
will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. Then he
will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the
ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
"From the fig
tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its
leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things
taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you,
this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But about
that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will
come”
Allow a few
moments reflective silence and then read the following:
word of reflection
The
Communion of Saints
Feastday
– November 1
How Does It Work?
All the saints—those on earth, those in heaven and those in
purgatory—were seen as belonging to the one body of Christ.
There was much emphasis placed on this idea of a saintly community
in the early church. Saint Gregory of Nyssa wrote that Christians are united
by one same Holy Spirit through Baptism and must "cleave together," forming
one body and one spirit.
This interconnectedness is a dogma that has been observed and loved
by the church through the centuries. It brings us all together as one family.
It includes not only canonized saints but also all those who have died. It
keeps us connected to our beloved dead. We pray for them, for whatever
obligations they left unfinished, and we ask them to pray for us. We pray for
each other. We pray for our friends scattered far and wide and feel a bonding
with them. We pray for those in missionary work, for those who are sick, for
those being persecuted for the faith, for our pope, bishops, priests and
sisters. We pray for our enemies and are thus enabled to forgive and to change
our attitude.
It is in the celebration of the Eucharist that this communion is
most manifest. Here the whole church is united. The Eucharist binds Christians
with the entire Christian community, living and dead, through those physically
present at the celebration and those absent.
The Third Eucharistic Prayer prays that those who are nourished by
the Lord's body and blood may be "filled with the Holy Spirit and become one
body, one Spirit in Christ."
This common fellowship makes up the body of Christ who is the
ultimate holiness: the blessed in heaven, the suffering in purgatory and the
militant on earth. There is an exchange of graces and blessings among them.
Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Credo of the People of God,
states: "The union of the pilgrims with the brethren who have gone to sleep in
the peace of Christ is not in the least interrupted....Those in heaven place
their merits at our disposal." This has been a most cherished and consoling
teaching for Catholics.
The communion of saints brings together the present, past and future
and makes sense of life. We have not lost those who have gone on before us.
They are still there, though in a different form, and we still communicate
with them.
For
the next five minutes silently read and reflect on the readings.
Underline
what you consider to be key words and/or phrases for you.
the sharing
�
Share your insights in discussion of the following:
(10 mins)
v
What are the
important points in the readings??
v
What does the
doctrine of the Communion of Saints teach us?
conclusion
Leader:
None of us can make ourselves
saints. None of us can even say the name of Jesus in faith without his grace.
It is God who reaches out to us, not we who first choose God. God reaches out
to us every day in a million ways, so grace is always there. It all starts
with God and it ends with God, and in between there are nothing but God-laden
moments, although we may not always recognize them as such and so we pray:
All:
Lord God,
Strengthen us that we may always be
open to your grace and respond to your call to be your saints in the world. We
ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen
The meeting proceeds
closing
prayer: As
for the Order Prayers at the Closing of the Meeting
