This sad reality of how “un-present” we are to each other physically is a good starting point for reflecting on why we are here today.
Our actions have impact on others. Before, now and after. In short, we affect people, past, present or future. It is not a one-way street affair. Others affect us too. We may have benefited from the actions of someone whom we have never met in the past, now or even in the future. This ability to affects others is at the heart of the Communio Sanctorum. “The Communion of Saints expresses a reality that there exists a communion of goods in the Church. The most important member is Christ since He is the head. Therefore the riches of Christ are communicated to all the members through the Sacraments (CCC#947). The Church who is governed by the same Spirit means that all she has received necessarily becomes a common fund”.
The Communion of Saints is not restricted to the list of canonised saints because we ourselves can contribute to the spiritual goods being exchanged as well as become recipients of such goods. In other words, every action of ours is not restricted to ourselves only.
A good analogy for the communion of saints is a big cooking pot of soup. All the goodness in the soup comes from Christ and He gives it out to those who are most in need of the nourishment. What happens is that our individual goodness is not wasted. Remember your morning prayer. “O my Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my family, friends and relatives and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father”. This Prayer powerfully expresses the “communion of saints”.
Whatever little good we do, Christ can take it and use it for the good of souls anywhere in the world. Our loving actions can reach out and benefit anyone across space and time. Of course, we are also beneficiaries of the meritorious acts of love performed by someone else across space and time!
If every meritorious deed we perform adds to the goodness of the soup in the pot of Christ, then a way to understand sin is that whenever we sin, Christ will need to work harder to save us. No good deed is ever wasted, just that our evil deeds make Christ’s work of salvation a lot heavier. Those of you who pray hard for the conversion of a hardened soul know that you can be praying for decades.
In the light of this wonderful idea of what we can do for others, perhaps we should take time to consider three things.
Firstly, to give thanks to God for the spiritual goods that have already been conferred on us by virtue of other people’s loving actions. Strangers help us without our awareness of it. This kind of spiritual communion makes the world less frightening.
Secondly, to pray that the soup of Christ’s merits and the spiritual goodness of the communion of saints be conferred on those who need our prayers. St Theresa of the Child Jesus said, “I will spend my heaven doing good on earth”. The saints especially Our Holy Mother Mary is a reservoir that is gushing forth goodness for all who want to drink. Pray that sinners may drink deeply, from the “flowing fountain” of the Communio Sanctorum.
Thirdly, strive to be a producer of spiritual fruits for others, engaging in acts of love, and offering up any suffering that comes your way on behalf of those most in need of that fruit. Our suffering is never wasted. United with Christ, He uses it for saving others.
Finally, people feel compelled to leave legacies of themselves. They build mausolea and monuments. But in time, these material memorials crumble. So, what better legacy than to be meritorious in our actions so that others can benefit from it. Even though we may be dead but in a way, we live forever by our goodness.
Our “acts of love” send ripples as they join the cosmic waves of Christ’s goodness that radiates outward to touch and save the lives of others. The caveat is this and it is related to All Souls Day. We are able to do good for others and benefit ourselves when we are alive. The moment death closes its door on our earthly life, the only avenue available is to do good for others but never to benefit ourselves. The souls in purgatory pray for us. But they will have to depend on us to pray for them in their journey towards the beatific vision. So be good and do good before we die.
