Communion of Saints

The Communion of Saints

"When you perceive that God is chastening you, fly not to his enemies…but to his friends, the martyrs, the saints and those who were pleasing to him, and who have great power in God." John Chrysostom: Orations 396AD

St. James contains the images in statues, or stained glass windows, of saints of the church.

It is Catholic belief that there is an interrelationship of church members, The Church Triumphant or those saints in heaven, The Church Militant or Pilgrim Church, those members struggling to live faithful lives in an earthly existence, and The Church Suffering or souls in Purgatory. All three of these groups comprise The Communion of Saints.

The interrelationship is the saints in heaven helping the members on earth and in Purgatory, those on earth praying to the Saints in heaven and for one another on earth and the souls in Purgatory being helped by those members on earth and the Saints in heaven.

A pilgrim church member spending time in St. James and looking around is reminded of the Church Triumphant. Whether in carved oak or stained glass, one sees images of those "holy ones" who excelled in life and over came great obstacles.

This Church Triumphant represented around us came from such varied backgrounds as royalty, slavery, middle class, pagan, Jew, Protestant, misspent youth, a hermit, immigrants and the politically powerful.

They come from around the globe, Rose of Lima, Peru, Therese of Lisieux, France, Boniface from Devonshire, England, Brendan of County Kerry, Ireland, Bridget of Country Louth, Ireland, Agnes of Rome, Italy, Frances Cabrini of Lombardy, Italy and Elizabeth Ann Seton of New York City. Their family relationships and occupations are not totally dissimilar then our life today.  Elizabeth Ann Seton and Elizabeth of Hungary were wives and mothers; John Chrysostom was raised by his widowed mother; Mary Margaret Alacoque was physically handicapped, Frances Cabrini was one of 13 children; Luke was a physician, Francis de Sales a lawyer, Francis of Assisi a merchant’s son; John Neumann wrote for newspapers; Gregory of Nazianzen was a government official, and Mark a school teacher.

For greater detail and information, including devotional prayer, for these and other saints of the church, we suggest you click on any of the following on-line directory of saints.

http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/patron02.htm
http://www.catholic.org/saints/stindex.php
http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/