What is the "Communion of Saints?"

What exactly does a Catholic mean when he/she recites the Apostles Creed and says “I believe … in the Communion of Saints?”  What is this “Communion of Saints?”  Or, more simply, one might ask “What is a saint?”  Here are my (Thursday) thoughts on the subject.  Friends, please correct me if I say something wrong here.

Many people, I think, would respond by saying that a saint is someone who has been recognized by the Church as having attained eternal salvation and so has been given that title.  We can think of people who lived in the first century and demonstrated a special kind of holiness.  Examples are St. Paul, St. Peter, St. John, St. Thomas, etc.  We can also think of people who lived during the first and second millennia and founded religious orders and monasteries.  Examples include St. Francis, St. Benedict, St. Dominic, St. Ignatius, etc.  In addition, we have people famous for their special leadership and development in Church and religious affairs.  Examples here include St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Gregory, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Theresa of Avila, among many others.  And there are many “modern” saints known for a special brand of holiness, including St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Pope John Paul II, and St. Therese of Lisieux.  I could list literally hundreds and, with a little bit of study, thousands.

But is that all there is?  No.  I could repeat my definition of the word “saint” by repeating the first sentence of the last paragraph and leaving out most of it.  They don’t have to have been recognized by the Church nor given the title.  A saint is anyone who has attained eternal salvation.  Period.  Now, eternal salvation, Catholics believe, is something a person will not be known to have attained until death, at the moment of judgement by God.  As such, we cannot know with certainty whether a deceased person is in heaven.  However, if this person’s life and writings are especially relevant, and, if he/she has been linked to miracles after their death, then the Church may declare them saints through a process known as “canonization.”  The idea is that if miracles can, without doubt, be attributed to their intercession, then we can be sure of their attainment of salvation and they can be canonized.

And so back to my original question:  What is the “Communion of Saints?”  The Church believes that many people currently living on earth will one day attain salvation.  The Church also believes that many people who have died and not attained salvation are in a state where one day they will be given their heavenly reward.  These are those who are in a state we call Purgatory, where they are being purged of their venial sins and/or the lingering effects of their forgiven mortal sins.  So the fellowship that all of these people enjoy together, we on earth, those in Purgatory, and those in heaven, is known as the Communion of Saints.  And as part of this fellowship, we can call upon those who are already in the heavenly state to help us on our own journey.  They can intercede for us via their prayers.  That is why we ask them to pray for us.  That is also why we ourselves can pray for the souls in Purgatory.  Most people, I think, believe in prayer.  And what better use of prayer is there than prayer for someone’s eternal salvation. 

So, as we state in the Apostles’ Creed, we do indeed believe in this fellowship, this Communion of Saints.  Amen.