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Communion of Saints

When I saw the title of an article about communion of saints in a periodical I read, I was immediately drawn to it.  And then I saw the author of the article was my friend, Franciscan Dan Horan, so I knew it would be good.  I know a fair amount about the idea of the communion of saints, but some of my knowing is different than Dan’s.  Dan is a lifelong Catholic, a Franciscan brother whom I love to see in his brown robe, and he is a priest.  And yet, I think he feels reciprocally good about having me as a Quaker buddy! 

I know the idea of communion of saints is part of the Catholic creed tradition.  Obviously, I don’t get my grounding there, since Quakers have not used creeds as part of our worship.  But that does not mean I don’t believe what the creeds say.  In fact, much of the affirmation of creeds seem quite fine to me.  This is one doctrine to which I can enthusiastically say yes.   

I may have gotten my first whiff of the notion of communion of saints from reading the New Testament.  But I also am sure I was not with it enough to grasp what it really meant nor its significance.  The Apostle Paul talks about the idea.  I think my first real engagement with the idea came from my college days when I was reading a great deal of the German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who gave his life in a Nazi concentration camp because he actively opposed Hitler.  Bonhoeffer has a book with communion of saints as its title. 

For my friend, Dan, this idea was worth surfacing and underscoring in this scary period of global confrontation with coronavirus. I would like to share some of what he says, because I find it some solace to those of us in various faith tradition.  While it comes out of the Christian tradition, I don’t think it has to be limited to that tradition.  Dan sets the context with these words: “The doctrine of the communion of saints is an important tenet of our faith but one that few Christians regularly consider.  It was added to the Creed sometime around the fifth century, and yet for all its ancient significance it remains largely misunderstood.” 

I like the next move Dan makes in the article.  He allows we might understand what this idea means by being clear what it is not.  He quotes another favorite theologian of mine, Elizabeth Johnson.  This is how she puts it.  “This doctrinal symbol does not in the first instance refer to paradigmatic figures, those outstanding individuals traditionally called "saints," but rather names the whole community of people graced by the Spirit of God.  Neither does it point exclusively to those who have died; rather, the community of living persons is its primary referent.  Furthermore, while obviously interested in human beings, the symbol does not allude to them exclusively but embraces the whole natural world in a "communion of the holy.”  I really like her emphasis upon the fact that it applies the whole community of God as the “communion of saints.”  This is our gang---a big gang to be sure! 

Next Dan quotes a line from one of the Vatican II documents, which I very much like.  That 1964 document, Lumen Gentium (“Light of the Nations”), puts this take on communion of saints: “all the faithful, scattered though they be throughout the world, are in communion with each other in the Holy Spirit.”  All the faithful includes me and every other person around the globe who has some sense of God or Higher Power.  To be faithful is not the same thing as being perfect---a saint in Elizabeth Johnson’s words.  I am trying to be full of faith, but Lord knows I am a long way from being perfect. 

The other thing I like about this Vatican II document is the idea that all of us are in communion with each other in the Holy Spirit.  Of course, we could write a book about what this means.  But in very simple form being in communion in the Holy Spirit means to me we are connected with God and with each other.  Clearly that connection has all sorts of complexities and sometimes complications, but it is real and it is good. 

I like Dan’s take on this idea.  He says, “Because the Spirit is not bound by human laws, prejudices, borders, or any form of demarcation we establish among ourselves, the communion that is shared in the Spirit transcends space, time and even earthly life.”  Knowing that helps me cope with everyday Covid-19 issues.  For example, this social distancing is important, but it is not preferable.  Even though I am an introvert, I am social.  I miss my friends.  Of course, communication these days is incredibly easier than it ever has been, but still…  I just want to sit in a coffee shop with a friend and maybe even shake a hand! 

Dan says we get three good things from this.  I’ll share those.  “First, we are already always united to one another in the Holy Spirit.”  The second one he aims at the younger folks.  He comments, “Second, those of us who are not yet ill but embrace social distancing for the sake of the common good are practicing a form of solidarity that is another reflection of our belief in the communion of saints.”  And finally, “…the Latin phrase in the creed communion sanctorum can also mean "communion in holy things.”   

We’re in it together---covid-19 and the communion of saints.  The latter is more important!   


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