1. The Communion of Saints

2.  Church is the Mystical Body of Christ  Christ as head  Mary as mother  The baptized are its members  Membership not limited to here on earth  Baptism’s indelible mark not removed by death  Communion of Saints  Church’s members, both living and dead

3.  Saint means “holy one”  Widely used, all who are baptized share in God’s holiness  Specifically, saints are those who have died and are in Heaven  Canonized Saints: Those officially declared by the Church to be in heaven

4.  Church Militant  Refers to the faithful here on earth  Indicates a struggle against sin and temptation  Pilgrim Church  We are on a journey, the world is not our home  Asked to help one another on the journey  Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy  Prayers for one another

5.  Prayer on behalf of another person  Used all throughout the Bible  Prophets prayed for their people  Even Christ prayed for us at the Last Supper  St. Paul asks for prayers  We continue this with the Prayer of the Faithful today  Petitions at Mass

6.  Souls in Purgatory  AKA Church Penitent  Purgatory: Place of healing our souls so that they can handle seeing God  Atone for past sins  Place of temporary suffering  Principle suffering is not seeing God  Need for preparation seen in the Parable of the Wedding Garment  Purgatory should be seen as a blessing  Second chance for those who have fallen short  Those in Purgatory are guaranteed Heaven  Cannot get out of Purgatory on their own

7.  W/ Intercessory prayer, we pray for dead as well as the living  Seen in the Bible in the book of Maccabees  Judas Maccabeus prayed for his fallen soldiers  All Souls’ Day  Nov. 2 nd  Set aside to pray for those in Purgatory  Pray for the dead in the Eucharistic Prayer  “May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace”  Holy cards distributed at funerals serve as a reminder to pray for the dead  We should pray for them even if we think they are in Heaven

8.  Saints in Heaven  Conquered sin, share in eternal glory  See God in His glory (beatific vision)  Canonized and non-declared saints  All Saints Day (NOV 1)  Saints can help others  We pray for their intercession  Don’t worship them, just ask for their help  Guided by their example, as they are from all walks of life  Patron saints  Saints with whom we have a special devotion  We honor God by venerating (praising) the saints  We worship God for creating and guiding them