“WHOEVER or wherever you are in life, as I see you in front of me in prayer, I feel very close to you, not in any sentimental way, but as a man who has lived your lives interiorly and knows about the pain and joy you hold in your hearts.” — Henry Nouwen
The above words of Henry Nouwen speak about our connectedness with one another, including those who have gone before us. They speak of prayer as an act and a means of communion with those that we love and those that need our prayers. They are words of generosity and deep concern for fellow human beings.
They show a similar sentiment that a seminarian shared with me one day when we were talking about the value of praying the Liturgy of Hours. He said, “Father, every time that I pray the Liturgy of the Hours, I do it in communion with the Church and in remembrance of all those who need our prayers.”
As we celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day this first week of November, it may help us to reflect on this communal aspect of prayer. Prayer is not merely the lifting up of our personal needs to the Father; it is also an expression of our solidarity with all people, living and dead.
It is an expression of solidarity because there are other people and creatures of God who are joining us in praying for others and the needs of the world: they are the saints and the angels in heaven. They too are in communion with us. They know the deep longings of our hearts and since they are near our God in heaven, they can intercede for us.
This is the wisdom of the Catholic doctrine, The Communion of Saints. Those that have gone before us and are worthy of a home in heaven have never stopped relating with us here on earth. We have a spiritual relationship with them that still runs deep. Their vocation in heaven is to pray for us, to intercede for all our needs.
Now this may sound like a simple faith, but it is a profound truth.
As a matter of fact, for us, Catholics, the most intimate time that we can communicate with the saints and with our deceased loved ones is during the Mass. At Mass, the saints and our loved ones who are enjoying eternal life in heaven are worshipping with us, singing praises to the Father, and offering with Jesus his eternal sacrifice to God, the Father.
So, may I suggest that we keep in mind this wisdom of the Church when we do your prayers and when we come to Mass? By doing this we come out of your egocentric attitude. We die to ourselves because of our love for God and for others. We are concerned not just of our personal well being but also that of other people.
The praying of the Litany of the Saints is a manifestation of this fundamental truth of our Catholic faith. We call on the saints to ask them to pray for us.
Our wish is to become like the saints when our personal journeys here on earth end. In heaven, we too will keep interceding for the people on earth and the world. Our whole consciousness will be our love for God and others. We will be singing our eternal praise to the Almighty God. In our fidelity and love for him, his heart would be moved to answer our prayers!
May Mary, the Mother of God, all the Saints and our love ones in heaven, intercede for us! Amen.
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From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1999-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.
