Teaching Explained at OLS
“I think all of us can deepen our awareness of the Church’s teaching on this beautiful, beautiful … reality of the communion of saints,” said Sister Karen Ann Lortscher, OSB as she began The Communion of Saints and Mary during Adult Education: Year of Faith & Beyond at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Homewood.
In her talk on February 9 Sister Karen Ann, a Benedictine Sister of Cullman, referred to several sources including the Acts of the Apostles, letters of St. Paul, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium, and Catholic.org. She noted that the communion of saints is mentioned in the Apostles Creed. She said the term ‘communion of saints’ was coined in the fifth century.
Sister Karen Ann, spoke of a communion of spiritual goods in the church and the communion of faith. “Not only do we share faith because it helps to build the other, but we share our faith because it enriches us. It helps to build our faith,” she stated.
She said Pope Leo XIII stated that the communion of saints is the mutual sharing of help, atonement, prayers, and benefits among all the faithful. In other words, she explained, the communion of saints is comprised of people on earth, people in heaven and people in purgatory. She said for those who have loved ones who have died it’s “a comfort…I’m sure everyone here has a story of someone or someones that they feel close to because of our belief in the communion of saints.”
Sister said we are all called to imitate Christ and knowing the lives of saints can be inspirational. “These folks are people who lived, tried their hardest to live in imitation of Christ and the ways in which they did it can inspire and help us on our journey in trying to do the same.” As for statues, pictures, and relics of saints, Sister said of course such things have no power in and of themselves, “These are just things that remind us of these people.”
Sister shared words of St. Dominic and St. Thérèse about interceding for others after death. “So, we ask the saints to pray for us as we might ask someone here on earth for his or her prayers and that’s usually the explanation that I give to my non-Catholic friends who wonder why we pray to saints,” she said adding that the church teaches that a prayer can end only with God. “Devotion to the saints is an optional practice in Catholicism,” she explained.
Sister encouraged reading well-written, modern books on the lives of saints. “They can be a help and a spur to the better practice of your own faith because they’ve been … through the struggle,” she said.
Turning to Mary, Sister Karen Ann said, “What Catholics believe about Mary is based on what we believe about Christ. And Catholic teaching about Mary illumines or shines a light on or enhances our faith in Christ. ”
Sister said that God willed that the Incarnation be preceded by Mary’s free cooperation. “That’s really awesome when you think about it. God could have just done it,” she said, “but in His plan He willed that our redemption, our salvation, would depend on her pre-assent.”
Sister Karen Ann offered several reasons why Mary is honored including: 1. God the Father honored her by sending the angel Gabriel to tell her that she has found favor with God; 2. Jesus honors Mary at the beginning of his public life; 3. the early Christian church honored her; and 4. St. Luke honored her by putting so much about her in his Gospel. “Mary is the saint par excellence for us,” she asserted.
Sister Karen Ann said we honor Mary in the same way we honor statesmen. “Think of government buildings named after famous politicians or we make statues in their likeness. So, we name churches in Mary’s honor and display statues and pictures of Mary, Our Beloved Mother. We don’t do this to adore or worship Mary. She’s a creature and a servant of God,” she said. “But Mary is part of the Communion of Saints.”
