23rd Sunday after Pentecost 8.11.20 The Communion
of saints
These are worrying times for us, as we try to defend the truth and the right in the face of bolder assaults on the Church, and all that we hold dear.
Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. (Is 64,10).
We must do all we can. We pray, fast, live holy lives etc. and never give up.
With so many things to pray for, we might feel inadequate to make the prayer succeed.
We think of the saints working miracles left and right, and then doubt if we could do that! We can find strength when we need it. We do not have to go it alone. We might be alone physically when we pray, but we have the whole treasury of the Church to call upon.
The recent feasts of All Saints and All Souls remind us of our communal nature as the Church.
Your problems are my problems. Everyone else’s problems are our problems.
We can help each other, not just in a practical sense, but through mutual prayer, each helping the other to a deeper faith.
The whole Church is the Body of Christ with each part reliant on the other, and able to help each other stay alive.
We feel weak in many ways, but we draw strength from within this Body of faith, hope and charity. The strong should help the weak (Rm 15,1).
We might feel a lack of conviction sometimes but we know that others will believe what we may not; or they will believe it more strongly. The same applies for hope, and charity.
The Church has within her ranks those who believe with certainty, those who can hope despite adverse appearances; those who can love even when hated in return.
The steadfastness of the Church sustains us. Every day there is Mass, the Divine Office, other prayers and devotions going on - around the clock, and around the globe.
We are absorbed in that prayer, reinvigorated. Courage, hope, and all necessary qualities are restored for us.
The durability of the Church can be ours at the individual level. The Church has survived every kind of crisis. So can we. Even death will not defeat us.
There is a strength in the Church which far exceeds what any individual could manage.
The Church stands strong and tall, offering refuge to all who feel their inadequacy.
Individuals may falter; the Church stands firm.
We do not allow anything to deflect us. The faith of the whole Church is carrying us, weak individuals though we may be.
Our belonging to the Church makes us one. Thus the images of salvation presented in the Scriptures: we are one people, one flock, one tree, one building etc.
Being made one is itself part of the objective. Together we all learn to love God more, and place more trust in Him. We grow in love of neighbour, increasingly desiring the salvation of others.
We can always delve a little deeper into the spiritual treasury of the Church, and call on this combined power. Very likely we will feel stronger.
Even in this church now angels and saints are present. They join us, as we join them.
We are never alone when we pray. We may be physically alone but we are praying with, and for others. The needs of one are the needs of all. The strength of all is available to the individual.
All Saints and Holy Souls, pray for us.
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