The Book of Revelation describes the great wedding feast of heaven, the Lamb’s Supper. The Church sees in this book a description of the great heavenly liturgy in which all the saints participate. In Rev. 7:9,11 we read: “I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and …all the angels stood around the throne.” The white robe signifies baptism, where the newly baptized are clothed in a white garment, the garment of Jesus Christ, the garment of salvation. The white signifies the purity of one cleansed by the healing power of God’s grace that comes from the Cross of Jesus Christ. The great multitude are the saints from every land and nation who have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb attending the throne of God. Every Mass is a participation in this heavenly liturgy, where believers come in contact with the Blood of the Lamb offered on the Cross.

 

The altar at Holy Mass is the throne of grace where the power of the Cross becomes accessible to us. Here the Lamb’s sacrifice becomes present to us and to all the saints, a great multitude from every people, and all the angels in heaven. For this reason we never celebrate Mass alone, even when only one or two are present physically. The entire heavenly court is present at every Mass. Churches that have images of the saints and angels help to remind us of this reality.  Moreover, at every Mass we mention the saints in the second half of the Eucharistic Prayer, alongside a prayer for the deceased. It is a common practice in the Church to celebrate Masses for the Dead, calling on the saints to intercede for the dead to bring them home to the Father’s house. We can recall the beloved dead in our own family or among our friends, trusting they are with us at Mass. We can intercede for their peace with the Lord. We can have a profound sense of our beloved dead at Mass with us as we worship Jesus Christ.  In Him all the saints are alive.

 

The saints are all the baptized who are in heaven, and we profess belief in the communion of saints during the Creed at Sunday Mass and Solemnities. All of us are called to be saints. We are all saints by our baptism. This is why St. Catherine of Siena could say: “If you become who you really are, you will set the world on fire.” This means if we become sincere Christians the Holy Spirit will radiate from us and change the world. The goal of the Christian life is to live in the communion of saints, the Body of Christ, with Christ Himself as the Head. We dishonor our call to be saints when we ignore our baptismal commitment to follow Christ with all our heart, mind, and soul.

 

Because all the saints, on earth and in heaven, are the one Body of Christ, and Christ is the Head, there is a sharing of spiritual goods. The good of each is communicated to the others. The saints are a treasure of spiritual goods. St. Paul says that the Holy Spirit bestows gifts on all the members of the Body for the edification or building up of the Body of Christ. The saints have received spiritual goods from God to be shared to all members of the Body for our spiritual benefit. Why are we so slow to learn of the spiritual goods of the saints? We should be familiar with the saints, get to know them and how God helped them and blessed them in their struggles. Then we can call upon saints that have had similar struggles to our own, and ask for help. There are saints from every walk of life. Many saints converted from seriously sinful lives, including some who were prostitutes, adulterers, murderers, thieves, tax collectors and dishonest churchmen, who all met the merciful heart of Jesus and gave him everything in return. God chooses the weak to make them strong in bearing witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

The communion of saints reminds us that our family is not just the natural one we have on earth. Our Family is the Body of Christ, indeed all the baptized. We are all seeking the Father’s house. As we share in the one Body and Blood of Christ, the bonds of our family the Church, is built up. We help each other to grow closer to God. Saints never achieve their holiness alone; holiness involves the whole Body of Christ with Christ Jesus as the Head.

 

Fr. Will