Communion of Saints

I love All Saints Day, when we celebrate the saints among us who have gone on to heavenly glory. During worship that day we read the names of those who have died in the faith since the previous year. As their pastor, I have powerful memories of the many people whose names are read, memories of stories and experiences and prayers we shared—holy moments. These people are examples of lives well lived, and so it is right for me to honour the memory of those—such as my parents and my grandparents—who have contributed so richly to who I am.

Maybe I love this Sunday so much because it is the Christian Church’s way of announcing to the world that there is a glorious heaven and that Jesus is the one true light to lead us there. We who believe know absolutely, for certain, things that non-believers cannot know. Maybe I love it because of the time of Holy Communion when I am aware of that phrase we say in the Apostles’ Creed: ‘I believe in the communion of saints’. Each time I strongly feel surrounded by the ‘great a cloud of witnesses’. That’s why I love this Sunday.

Prayer: Dear God, help us live in gratitude for all the faithful ones who have gone before us. May we follow their example in living so that others come to know Christ. Amen