Youtube Interviews
In this episode of Roadmap to Heaven, host Adam Wright is joined by Father Wade Menezes to discuss the doctrine of the communion of saints. They begin by highlighting the significance of November as the month to honor both the holy souls and all the saints in Heaven. Father Menezes explains that the communion of saints refers to the three states of the Church: the church triumphant (saints in Heaven), the church militant (believers still on Earth), and the church suffering (souls in Purgatory).
Father Menezes further explains that the doctrine of the communion of saints encompasses both a communion of holy things and a communion of holy persons. The communion of holy things refers to the sharing of spiritual goods within the Church, such as the faith, sacraments, shared charisms, and charity. The Eucharist holds a special place in this communion, as it expresses and brings about the unity of believers.
The communion of holy persons, on the other hand, refers to the three states of the Church. The members of the church triumphant, church militant, and church suffering are all connected through a perennial link of charity. The faithful on Earth can seek the intercession of the saints in Heaven and offer prayers for the souls in Purgatory.
Father Menezes emphasizes that the communion of saints provides hope for believers, as it allows for a real communion with the saints in Heaven and the opportunity to support and aid the souls in Purgatory. He also notes that the saints lived in the modern world of their time and encourages believers to imitate their example of holiness in our own modern world.
The episode concludes with a reminder to seek the intercession of all the saints and a prayer of blessing from Father Menezes.
Adam Wright:
Once again, we’re happy to be joined by Father Wade Menezes here on Roadmap to Heaven in this month of November as we continue to celebrate all of the saints. If you can’t pick just one, this is a great month because we’re talking about all of the saints canonized, not canonized, but all in Heaven. Father, there’s a lot to break open here because there’s a lot the church teaches about the communion of saints.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
That is right. While it’s often said that November is the month of all holy souls, and that is true, it’s also the month of all saints, and we can’t forget that. So I like to call November the month of the three states of the church. Right? The members of the church triumphant in Heaven, the members of the church suffering in Purgatory (also referred to as the members of the church penitent), and then of course us, still living on Earth, members of the church militant. And this doctrine of this three-tiered hierarchy, is known as the doctrine of the communion of saints. You know, us to them, them for us, us to them, them for us. There’s this real communio going on. Right? So, it’s really brought to the fore during this month of November.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
And it’s interesting that by the phrase “communion of saints”, we don’t mean only the three states of the church, and I bring this out in my book, Catholic Essentials. Listen to this, Adam. In Catholic teaching, the phrase “communion of saints” has two closely linked meanings. The communion existent in holy things and the communion existent among holy persons. And we can read more about this in the catechism of the Catholic church numbers 946 through 948. Now listen to this, regarding the first one, holy things. In regards to holy things, the church refers to the whole communion of spiritual goods within the church founded by Jesus Christ, which are readily made available to her faithful members. These include a communion in the faith, a communion of the seven sacraments, a communion of shared charisms granted by the holy spirits for the building up of the church, the body of Christ, the sharing of material goods, and a communion rooted in charity. Among all of these spiritual goods and others, the Eucharist deserves special mention, for it is by the Eucharist, to quote the second Vatican Council, that the unity of all believers who form one body in Christ is both expressed and brought about.
So we have these holy things that are part of the doctrine of the communion of saints, mainly because they feed the members of the church militant (still living on Earth) to have that strong desire of union with the members of the church triumphant in Heaven (eventually eternally, a union that’s eternal, the beatific vision, eternal beatitude, Heaven for all eternity) but also to drive us now to want to have a communion for the members of the church suffering who can no longer merit for themselves because they’ve died. And while they can’t merit for themselves, we can assist them with our prayers. So that’s the first part, the communion of holy things is part of the doctrine of the communion of saints.
And then in regards to holy persons, the second part of the doctrine of the communion of saints, which we’ve already said constitutes the three states of the church, the church triumphant, the church militant, and the church suffering. In regards to holy persons, the three states of the church comprise the community of saints, the members of the church triumphant in Heaven, the members of the church suffering in Purgatory who are assured Heaven after their time of purification, and lastly, the members of the church militant on Earth who are still living. The catechism states, “In the communion of saints, a perennial…” Perennial, Adam. That’s a very strong word there. “… a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home…” That would be the members of the church triumphant, right? “…who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in Purgatory…” That would be the members of the church suffering or the members of the church penitent. “…and those who are still pilgrims on earth.” In other words, the ones still living like you and I, Adam, members of the church militant. This is the number 1475 of the catechism. To sum up then, we believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on Earth still (church militant), the dead who are being purified (the church suffering or the church penitent), and the blessed already in Heaven (the church triumphant), altogether forming one church. And we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and His saints is always attentive to our needs. So there you have it. One doctrine, the communion of saints, with two major parts: the communion of holy things and the communion of holy persons. And in regards to that second one, the communion of holy persons, we have a three-tiered breakdown of the church triumphant, the church militant, and the church suffering.
Adam Wright:
I often like to think of my first experience at a Major League Soccer event, Father. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to one of these, but there is a whole section of the stadium–
Fr. Wade Menezes:
If that’s not a statement that you are a father to a lot of kids. When you’ve got to use a soccer metaphor, I mean, come on. That totally gives it away. I don’t even have to ask you if you’re a dad.
Adam Wright:
The Domestica Ecclesia in action, friends. But, you go, and there’s this whole section of the stadium where the cheering is beyond belief, and the work of the players is to play the game. That’s not the work of those in the stands. But they play that game and those in the stands cheer. And I like to think that’s what, in one way, what the saints are doing for us. Every time we’re confronted with that decision to either choose holiness or to give in to temptation. They’re cheering us on and not just, metaphorically, but actually interceding for us if we ask them, “Pray that God would give me the grace to choose His will and not this temptation.” And I use that soccer analogy because if you’ve been to a professional soccer game, you know that cheering is on a different level than any other professional sport.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. It is great. It builds you up, right? When you’re there and you’re witnessing that, you’re part of it, it kind of gets the adrenaline running. Well, this is the same thing with the communion of saints. You know, there’s a great quote by Saint Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, which he founded for laity. It wasn’t only until years later that clerics were permitted to join Opus Dei to support those laity. But remember, Saint Josemaria founded Opus Dei (“work of God”) specifically for laity at first. It was to help them sanctify their day, their work with their family life, their individual spiritual life and vice versa, so that the whole day becomes sanctified through faithfulness to daily duty. But there’s a great quote that he gives us, Adam, that really echoes what you just used with your example of a soccer game. Listen to this. “The community of saints,” he says. “How shall I explain it to you? Well, you know what blood transfusions can do for the body? Well, that’s exactly what the communion of saints does for the soul.” That’s pretty powerful. Pretty powerful. “The communion of saints, how shall I explain it to you? Well, you know what blood transfusions can do for the body? Well, that’s exactly what the communion of saints does for the soul.” And remember, too, every Sunday at Mass, when we pray the Apostle’s Creed, right? We say in unison, in congregation, that we believe in the communion of saints. Right? That’s part of the Nicene Creed. We believe in the communion of saints.
I like to remind my listeners that the beautiful Nicene Creed that comes to us from 325 AD, the Council of Nicaea, depending on how you break up all the truths found in the creed, there’s really some 45 plus truths in the Nicene Creed. And that’s one of them, is that I believe in the communion of saints, and I think that’s very, very, important to remember. And then, of course, Ephesians 4 verses 15 through 16. Listen to this. “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head. Into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by every joint in which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth, and upbuilds itself in love.” And so there’s that perennial charity again, that the catechism talks about when it talks about the communion of holy things and the communion of holy persons that together make up this one doctrine of the communion of saints. There’s that love again, that perennial charity that’s made possible through the use of the holy things that builds up the three-tier hierarchy of the community of persons, the members of the church triumphant, the members of the church militant, and the members of the church suffering or the members of the church penitent.
And so this is a beautiful doctrine that gives us hope. It gives us, really, the theological virtue of hope, along with faith and charity. But it gives us hope that what awaits us is real and that we can have a real “communio”, Latin for communion, a real communio right now with the saints in Heaven, the triumphant members, also with the church suffering, who can’t merit for themselves because they’ve passed. That time of meriting for themselves is now not available to them, and so we can really aid them. We can really support them to get to Heaven more quickly. And here’s another point. We want to pray for the holy souls in Purgatory while they’re in Purgatory, sure enough. Not only to alleviate their current suffering, but to get them to Heaven more quickly. And thirdly, once they are in Heaven, they remember that we prayed for them while they were in Purgatory. So you will have more intercessors in the church triumphant who were priorly members of the church suffering because they will know that you prayed for them, and that’s important to remember as well.
Adam Wright:
If Father Wade Menezes were on the show — oh wait, he is. I’m surprised you haven’t said, Father, something that I quote you often on, that just as we are the contemporaries in our times, the saints were the contemporaries in their times. And so while their times may have been different, they lived that life of holiness, and we are called to imitate their example in our times and live that life of holiness. To paraphrase Father Wade Menezes.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
And you did a a pretty darn good job, I might add. What I say is the saints lived in the modern world of their time, just as we live in the modern world of our time. If they did it, we can do it. And what do I mean by “if they did it”? If they live to a degree of heroic virtue at least by the time they die. They were known for their heroic virtue by the time they died. They may not have always have been saintly. Right? Augustine with his lust, Padre Pio with his unjust anger, Teresa of Avila with her controlling tendencies, very much a controller. But God used these things to bring them to greater holiness, right, despite these faux pas. But the fact is they, at some point, reached a degree of heroic virtue. So if they did it, we can do it. The saints lived in the modern world of their time just as we live in the modern world of our time. If they did it, we can do it. And that’s something that literally cannot be lost sight of because, again, it gives us great, great hope.
Adam Wright:
Well, Father, this has been wonderful as always, and it’s a great reminder for us that we need to be asking for the intercession of all of the saints. And there’s a pretty easy way to do that in our daily prayers. I mean, even if we listed every canonized saint in the history of the church, I like to think that that would pale in comparison to the number of souls in Heaven. I like to think that. I don’t know. I won’t know until, God willing, I get there. But it’s as easy as at the end of our prayers when we say, for instance, “Saint Joseph terror of demons pray for us. All holy men and women saints of God, pray for us.” It’s an effective prayer, and it’s a message I’m glad you shared with us today, the power of the communion of the saints.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah and your phrase that you just used as a prayer to remember all the ones that are in Heaven. All holy men and women of God. That’s actually a phrase said at the end or chanted at the end of the communion of saints, because there’s those in Heaven that we don’t know, that aren’t formally canonized. Right? So, we know for a fact, a basic historical fact, that there’s 8-10,000 formally canonized saints on the Catholic church’s saintly roster, what’s called the martyrology, even though they’re not only martyrs, per se, means the the whole list of canonized saints. Why do I say 8-10,000? Why is there a leeway there of about 2,000? Well, because the earliest canonizations, were done by proclamation of the people, still subject to the church’s approval, but there was no formal process till about 1100 AD. Right? So they were done regionally by the bishops. They were subjected to the church’s authority, which the church would eventually give. So, for example, some of the earliest saints that have no formal canonization process. We have Saint Philomena. We have Saint Christopher. Right? But the fact is we still invoke them, and they are on the church’s martyrology. Right? So we know for a fact, historically, there’s about 8-10,000 canonized saints. Now I don’t know about you, Adam, but I have the virtue of hope that there’s more than 8-10,000 souls in Heaven. I have great hope that there’s more than 8-10,000 souls in Heaven.
I like to think that the non-canonized in Heaven actually outnumber the canonized in Heaven. And I think that’s something that we need to have the virtue of hope about. Because in the 2,000 year history of the church, we know for a fact, again, that there’s 8-10,000 canonized saints, and we have the virtue of hope that there’s more than that amount of souls in Heaven. So, yeah, you make a great point. And again, it’s not just the month of the holy souls. It begins with All Saints on November 1st. It begins with, All Souls on November 2nd, and we, the members of the church militant, have communion with both of those other two states of the church, the church triumphant and the church suffering, and we can’t lose sight of that. So, you know, Holy Mother Church just unfurls all these beautiful doctrines before us, and it’s up to us to know these doctrines, share these doctrines, love these doctrines, know these doctrines, and to share this great news with others.
Adam Wright:
Indeed it is, Father. Before I send it back to you for prayer to close out our time together, I just want to mention this. One of the favorite titles we have in the martyrology, of mine: “and companions”. And I always think of that, the importance of having good, holy friends and family here on this earthly pilgrimage. Because if I end up canonized the saint, I’m not really going to squabble if it’s “Saint Adam Wright” or “Saint Father Wade Menezes and companions” if I’m numbered among the companions. That would be just okay with me. I would happily say, “Thank you, Lord. I’ll take it.” Because it would mean Heaven. Father, could you close us out with a prayer to wrap up our time together?
Fr. Wade Menezes:
I certainly can, Adam. You bet. May the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit descend upon all of our Roadmap to Heaven listeners and remain with each and every one of you this day and always, Saint Joseph, terror of demons.
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
And all holy men and women of God.
Adam Wright:
Pray for us. If you’d like to hear more from Father Wade, be sure to tune in to Open Line Tuesday on EWTN, 2:00 on Covenant Network. You can find your station, for those watching on YouTube, at ourcatholicradio.org or just type in Open Line Tuesday. You can even watch it on YouTube as well. Father Wade, until next time. It has been a pleasure.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Thank you, Adam. God bless you. Have a great day.
Adam Wright:
Once again, we’re happy to be joined by Father Wade Menezes here on Roadmap to Heaven in this month of November as we continue to celebrate all of the saints. If you can’t pick just one, this is a great month because we’re talking about all of the saints canonized, not canonized, but all in Heaven. Father, there’s a lot to break open here because there’s a lot the church teaches about the communion of saints.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
That is right. While it’s often said that November is the month of all holy souls, and that is true, it’s also the month of all saints, and we can’t forget that. So I like to call November the month of the three states of the church. Right? The members of the church triumphant in Heaven, the members of the church suffering in Purgatory (also referred to as the members of the church penitent), and then of course us, still living on Earth, members of the church militant. And this doctrine of this three-tiered hierarchy, is known as the doctrine of the communion of saints. You know, us to them, them for us, us to them, them for us. There’s this real communio going on. Right? So, it’s really brought to the fore during this month of November.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
And it’s interesting that by the phrase “communion of saints”, we don’t mean only the three states of the church, and I bring this out in my book, Catholic Essentials. Listen to this, Adam. In Catholic teaching, the phrase “communion of saints” has two closely linked meanings. The communion existent in holy things and the communion existent among holy persons. And we can read more about this in the catechism of the Catholic church numbers 946 through 948. Now listen to this, regarding the first one, holy things. In regards to holy things, the church refers to the whole communion of spiritual goods within the church founded by Jesus Christ, which are readily made available to her faithful members. These include a communion in the faith, a communion of the seven sacraments, a communion of shared charisms granted by the holy spirits for the building up of the church, the body of Christ, the sharing of material goods, and a communion rooted in charity. Among all of these spiritual goods and others, the Eucharist deserves special mention, for it is by the Eucharist, to quote the second Vatican Council, that the unity of all believers who form one body in Christ is both expressed and brought about.
So we have these holy things that are part of the doctrine of the communion of saints, mainly because they feed the members of the church militant (still living on Earth) to have that strong desire of union with the members of the church triumphant in Heaven (eventually eternally, a union that’s eternal, the beatific vision, eternal beatitude, Heaven for all eternity) but also to drive us now to want to have a communion for the members of the church suffering who can no longer merit for themselves because they’ve died. And while they can’t merit for themselves, we can assist them with our prayers. So that’s the first part, the communion of holy things is part of the doctrine of the communion of saints.
And then in regards to holy persons, the second part of the doctrine of the communion of saints, which we’ve already said constitutes the three states of the church, the church triumphant, the church militant, and the church suffering. In regards to holy persons, the three states of the church comprise the community of saints, the members of the church triumphant in Heaven, the members of the church suffering in Purgatory who are assured Heaven after their time of purification, and lastly, the members of the church militant on Earth who are still living. The catechism states, “In the communion of saints, a perennial…” Perennial, Adam. That’s a very strong word there. “… a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home…” That would be the members of the church triumphant, right? “…who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in Purgatory…” That would be the members of the church suffering or the members of the church penitent. “…and those who are still pilgrims on earth.” In other words, the ones still living like you and I, Adam, members of the church militant. This is the number 1475 of the catechism. To sum up then, we believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on Earth still (church militant), the dead who are being purified (the church suffering or the church penitent), and the blessed already in Heaven (the church triumphant), altogether forming one church. And we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and His saints is always attentive to our needs. So there you have it. One doctrine, the communion of saints, with two major parts: the communion of holy things and the communion of holy persons. And in regards to that second one, the communion of holy persons, we have a three-tiered breakdown of the church triumphant, the church militant, and the church suffering.
Adam Wright:
I often like to think of my first experience at a Major League Soccer event, Father. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to one of these, but there is a whole section of the stadium–
Fr. Wade Menezes:
If that’s not a statement that you are a father to a lot of kids. When you’ve got to use a soccer metaphor, I mean, come on. That totally gives it away. I don’t even have to ask you if you’re a dad.
Adam Wright:
The Domestica Ecclesia in action, friends. But, you go, and there’s this whole section of the stadium where the cheering is beyond belief, and the work of the players is to play the game. That’s not the work of those in the stands. But they play that game and those in the stands cheer. And I like to think that’s what, in one way, what the saints are doing for us. Every time we’re confronted with that decision to either choose holiness or to give in to temptation. They’re cheering us on and not just, metaphorically, but actually interceding for us if we ask them, “Pray that God would give me the grace to choose His will and not this temptation.” And I use that soccer analogy because if you’ve been to a professional soccer game, you know that cheering is on a different level than any other professional sport.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. It is great. It builds you up, right? When you’re there and you’re witnessing that, you’re part of it, it kind of gets the adrenaline running. Well, this is the same thing with the communion of saints. You know, there’s a great quote by Saint Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, which he founded for laity. It wasn’t only until years later that clerics were permitted to join Opus Dei to support those laity. But remember, Saint Josemaria founded Opus Dei (“work of God”) specifically for laity at first. It was to help them sanctify their day, their work with their family life, their individual spiritual life and vice versa, so that the whole day becomes sanctified through faithfulness to daily duty. But there’s a great quote that he gives us, Adam, that really echoes what you just used with your example of a soccer game. Listen to this. “The community of saints,” he says. “How shall I explain it to you? Well, you know what blood transfusions can do for the body? Well, that’s exactly what the communion of saints does for the soul.” That’s pretty powerful. Pretty powerful. “The communion of saints, how shall I explain it to you? Well, you know what blood transfusions can do for the body? Well, that’s exactly what the communion of saints does for the soul.” And remember, too, every Sunday at Mass, when we pray the Apostle’s Creed, right? We say in unison, in congregation, that we believe in the communion of saints. Right? That’s part of the Nicene Creed. We believe in the communion of saints.
I like to remind my listeners that the beautiful Nicene Creed that comes to us from 325 AD, the Council of Nicaea, depending on how you break up all the truths found in the creed, there’s really some 45 plus truths in the Nicene Creed. And that’s one of them, is that I believe in the communion of saints, and I think that’s very, very, important to remember. And then, of course, Ephesians 4 verses 15 through 16. Listen to this. “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head. Into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by every joint in which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth, and upbuilds itself in love.” And so there’s that perennial charity again, that the catechism talks about when it talks about the communion of holy things and the communion of holy persons that together make up this one doctrine of the communion of saints. There’s that love again, that perennial charity that’s made possible through the use of the holy things that builds up the three-tier hierarchy of the community of persons, the members of the church triumphant, the members of the church militant, and the members of the church suffering or the members of the church penitent.
And so this is a beautiful doctrine that gives us hope. It gives us, really, the theological virtue of hope, along with faith and charity. But it gives us hope that what awaits us is real and that we can have a real “communio”, Latin for communion, a real communio right now with the saints in Heaven, the triumphant members, also with the church suffering, who can’t merit for themselves because they’ve passed. That time of meriting for themselves is now not available to them, and so we can really aid them. We can really support them to get to Heaven more quickly. And here’s another point. We want to pray for the holy souls in Purgatory while they’re in Purgatory, sure enough. Not only to alleviate their current suffering, but to get them to Heaven more quickly. And thirdly, once they are in Heaven, they remember that we prayed for them while they were in Purgatory. So you will have more intercessors in the church triumphant who were priorly members of the church suffering because they will know that you prayed for them, and that’s important to remember as well.
Adam Wright:
If Father Wade Menezes were on the show — oh wait, he is. I’m surprised you haven’t said, Father, something that I quote you often on, that just as we are the contemporaries in our times, the saints were the contemporaries in their times. And so while their times may have been different, they lived that life of holiness, and we are called to imitate their example in our times and live that life of holiness. To paraphrase Father Wade Menezes.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
And you did a a pretty darn good job, I might add. What I say is the saints lived in the modern world of their time, just as we live in the modern world of our time. If they did it, we can do it. And what do I mean by “if they did it”? If they live to a degree of heroic virtue at least by the time they die. They were known for their heroic virtue by the time they died. They may not have always have been saintly. Right? Augustine with his lust, Padre Pio with his unjust anger, Teresa of Avila with her controlling tendencies, very much a controller. But God used these things to bring them to greater holiness, right, despite these faux pas. But the fact is they, at some point, reached a degree of heroic virtue. So if they did it, we can do it. The saints lived in the modern world of their time just as we live in the modern world of our time. If they did it, we can do it. And that’s something that literally cannot be lost sight of because, again, it gives us great, great hope.
Adam Wright:
Well, Father, this has been wonderful as always, and it’s a great reminder for us that we need to be asking for the intercession of all of the saints. And there’s a pretty easy way to do that in our daily prayers. I mean, even if we listed every canonized saint in the history of the church, I like to think that that would pale in comparison to the number of souls in Heaven. I like to think that. I don’t know. I won’t know until, God willing, I get there. But it’s as easy as at the end of our prayers when we say, for instance, “Saint Joseph terror of demons pray for us. All holy men and women saints of God, pray for us.” It’s an effective prayer, and it’s a message I’m glad you shared with us today, the power of the communion of the saints.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah and your phrase that you just used as a prayer to remember all the ones that are in Heaven. All holy men and women of God. That’s actually a phrase said at the end or chanted at the end of the communion of saints, because there’s those in Heaven that we don’t know, that aren’t formally canonized. Right? So, we know for a fact, a basic historical fact, that there’s 8-10,000 formally canonized saints on the Catholic church’s saintly roster, what’s called the martyrology, even though they’re not only martyrs, per se, means the the whole list of canonized saints. Why do I say 8-10,000? Why is there a leeway there of about 2,000? Well, because the earliest canonizations, were done by proclamation of the people, still subject to the church’s approval, but there was no formal process till about 1100 AD. Right? So they were done regionally by the bishops. They were subjected to the church’s authority, which the church would eventually give. So, for example, some of the earliest saints that have no formal canonization process. We have Saint Philomena. We have Saint Christopher. Right? But the fact is we still invoke them, and they are on the church’s martyrology. Right? So we know for a fact, historically, there’s about 8-10,000 canonized saints. Now I don’t know about you, Adam, but I have the virtue of hope that there’s more than 8-10,000 souls in Heaven. I have great hope that there’s more than 8-10,000 souls in Heaven.
I like to think that the non-canonized in Heaven actually outnumber the canonized in Heaven. And I think that’s something that we need to have the virtue of hope about. Because in the 2,000 year history of the church, we know for a fact, again, that there’s 8-10,000 canonized saints, and we have the virtue of hope that there’s more than that amount of souls in Heaven. So, yeah, you make a great point. And again, it’s not just the month of the holy souls. It begins with All Saints on November 1st. It begins with, All Souls on November 2nd, and we, the members of the church militant, have communion with both of those other two states of the church, the church triumphant and the church suffering, and we can’t lose sight of that. So, you know, Holy Mother Church just unfurls all these beautiful doctrines before us, and it’s up to us to know these doctrines, share these doctrines, love these doctrines, know these doctrines, and to share this great news with others.
Adam Wright:
Indeed it is, Father. Before I send it back to you for prayer to close out our time together, I just want to mention this. One of the favorite titles we have in the martyrology, of mine: “and companions”. And I always think of that, the importance of having good, holy friends and family here on this earthly pilgrimage. Because if I end up canonized the saint, I’m not really going to squabble if it’s “Saint Adam Wright” or “Saint Father Wade Menezes and companions” if I’m numbered among the companions. That would be just okay with me. I would happily say, “Thank you, Lord. I’ll take it.” Because it would mean Heaven. Father, could you close us out with a prayer to wrap up our time together?
Fr. Wade Menezes:
I certainly can, Adam. You bet. May the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit descend upon all of our Roadmap to Heaven listeners and remain with each and every one of you this day and always, Saint Joseph, terror of demons.
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
And all holy men and women of God.
Adam Wright:
Pray for us. If you’d like to hear more from Father Wade, be sure to tune in to Open Line Tuesday on EWTN, 2:00 on Covenant Network. You can find your station, for those watching on YouTube, at ourcatholicradio.org or just type in Open Line Tuesday. You can even watch it on YouTube as well. Father Wade, until next time. It has been a pleasure.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Thank you, Adam. God bless you. Have a great day.
In this episode of Roadmap to Heaven, host Adam Wright is joined by Father Wade Menezes to discuss the doctrine of the communion of saints. They begin by highlighting the significance of November as the month to honor both the holy souls and all the saints in Heaven. Father Menezes explains that the communion of saints refers to the three states of the Church: the church triumphant (saints in Heaven), the church militant (believers still on Earth), and the church suffering (souls in Purgatory).
Father Menezes further explains that the doctrine of the communion of saints encompasses both a communion of holy things and a communion of holy persons. The communion of holy things refers to the sharing of spiritual goods within the Church, such as the faith, sacraments, shared charisms, and charity. The Eucharist holds a special place in this communion, as it expresses and brings about the unity of believers.
The communion of holy persons, on the other hand, refers to the three states of the Church. The members of the church triumphant, church militant, and church suffering are all connected through a perennial link of charity. The faithful on Earth can seek the intercession of the saints in Heaven and offer prayers for the souls in Purgatory.
Father Menezes emphasizes that the communion of saints provides hope for believers, as it allows for a real communion with the saints in Heaven and the opportunity to support and aid the souls in Purgatory. He also notes that the saints lived in the modern world of their time and encourages believers to imitate their example of holiness in our own modern world.
The episode concludes with a reminder to seek the intercession of all the saints and a prayer of blessing from Father Menezes.
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