009 SCS ONE Body

Welcome back everyone, to the Sad Catholic Show! My last episode about “One Mediator” got enough people talking that I decided to double down on my Catholic Apologetics by immediately doing this, the very next episode, on the communion of the Saints. It really takes all of these discussions about the Faith, to better understand them individually. 

Our religion has two sides, the corporate and the personal. Every man’s religion is his own personal affair, and consists essentially of his direct relationship with God. He reaches God, and God reaches him, often and intimately through the Church, which is the Body of Christ. Each one of us will stand alone, yet together, in the general judgment before God. There is NO path, NO religion, and NO belief that gets any of us out of it. All paths truly do lead to God in the General Judgement at the end of this age when “all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew Chapter 25 verses 32 through 34. We will ALL be there regardless of our “path” in this life. The Pope was right when he said this, but that’s a topic for another show.

Christians should remember that they are members of the mystical body of Christ. Christ is the head of the body to which we belong. Our life, then, should be modeled and directed by Him as our head. Saint Paul was pretty clear about the mystical body of Christ in his first letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 12, verses 12 through 14 when he wrote: “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many.” And then in Colossians Chapter 1 verse 18 he says: “He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.”

Notice that in First Corinthians Paul is including himself in the mystical body of Christ through the use of the word “we”. Everyone that is in Christ is in the same mystical body with Christ as the head and each of us playing our own part in the body. He went on to say in First Corinthians: “But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. If they were all one part, where would the body be? But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body.”

There is only ONE body, and Paul included himself in that one body. It says so in this passage. The objection that many people take here is that the Saints in heaven are “dead” which to me doesn’t make much sense. Jesus Himself said in Luke chapter 20 verse 38: “he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

People will say “but the Saints are in Heaven” to which I reply, “So is Jesus, the HEAD!” and there are no verses in scripture that tell us that once Paul died, he was removed from the ONE mystical body of Christ. We just read in Corinthians that there is only ONE body, and Paul included himself in it!

People online will claim that those in Heaven can’t hear us because they are not omnipresent like God is. I like to remind these people that I am not omnipresent either and yet we are communicating with each other right now, though thousands of miles apart. Do you really think so highly of Humans that our ability to communicate with each other on this earth surpasses the ability of those in heaven to communicate if and when God wills it? And why do you think that a human mouth is required to speak in heaven? And human ears to hear in heaven? The Father, The Holy Spirit, and the Angels are all pure spirit beings without physical ears or a physical mouth, yet they seem to communicate just fine.

The next objection is that those in heaven are not concerned with the goings on of us on earth. For this one I’d like to refer everyone back to scripture in Hebrews 11 and don’t stop reading until you reach Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2. Keep in mind that the chapter numbers and verse numbers are NOT a part of the original text. Chapter numbers were added to the text in the 13th century for quick reference. Verse numbers were added to the text in the 16th century. It originally all flowed together as one scroll, one thought. We will now read about these great saints of old starting at Hebrew 11 verse 1: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain’s. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and “he was found no more because God had taken him.” Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age—and Sarah herself was sterile—for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore. All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.” He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol. By faith regarding things still to come Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and “bowed in worship, leaning on the top of his staff.” By faith Joseph, near the end of his life, spoke of the Exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones. By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; he chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. He considered the reproach of the Anointed greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the recompense By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s fury, for he persevered as if seeing the one who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after being encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace. What more shall I say? I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions, put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders. Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth. Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.  Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us.”

Did you catch that last part? “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” not only are they aware of our goings on, they are witnesses to it!Revelation Chapter 6 verses 9 and 10 also tells us about Saints in heaven that are concerned with the happenings on earth: “When he broke open the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the witness they bore to the word of God. They cried out in a loud voice, “How long will it be, holy and true master,* before you sit in judgment and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth”We’ve now seen that there is ONE mystical body of Christ, Saint Paul included himself and all Christians in that ONE mystical body. We’ve also read that ALL are alive to God. We see that the Saints in heaven actually ARE concerned with our activities on earth and are a great crowd of witnesses in our faith journey. There are no verses in the bible that justify removing ANY member of the ONE mystical body of Christ just because they are in Heaven, which is also where Jesus, the head of the body is.

ALL Christians therefore ARE STILL in the ONE mystical Body of Christ whether on earth, or in Heaven with Him.

The bible is full of examples of intercessory prayer. Praying for others, asking others to pray for us, and offering Prayers and petitions for EVERYONE as St Paul wrote in first Timothy chapter 2. To say that we don’t need the prayers of the saints, or to reject them as parts of the mystical body is unbiblical.

Let’s go back to first Corinthians chapter 12 where we learned about this ONE mystical body of Christ. Verses 15 through 17 tell us: “If a foot should say, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. Or if an ear should say, “Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?”

I hope you are starting to get it, but if not, if you still want to reject these Saints in the One mystical body, verse 20 is addressing  you: “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.”

As we keep reading verse 21 forward, the picture becomes even clearer: “Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

Why wouldn’t we want to be a part of that? Look at what James wrote in Chapter 5 verses 13 through 16: “Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.”Who among us, in the ONE mystical body of Christ, is more “righteous” than the Saints made perfect in Heaven with Jesus? Who can offer a more fervent prayer then those in His presence? To deny them, or the power that God wishes to grant them, is to deny a wonderful gift of the Lord designed to help the body.

The Communion of Saints is a beautiful and central teaching of the Catholic Church. It refers to the spiritual union of all members of Christ’s Body, the Church, across time and space. This includes the Church Triumphant, the Church Suffering, and the Church Militant. The Catechism of the Catholic Church  describes it as “a communion in holy things and among holy persons.”

The Communion of Saints is rooted in Scripture. Saint Paul teaches that we are one body in Christ: “For just as the body is one and has many members...so it is with Christ” .This unity extends beyond death, as Christ conquered death through His Resurrection. Revelation 5 8 also shows the saints in heaven offering prayers to God, demonstrating their intercession for us.

The Church Triumphant are the saints in heaven fully united with God, beholding Him face to face. They intercede for us, as seen in Revelation 8 3&4, where the prayers of the saints rise like incense before God. The Church encourages devotion to the saints, not as worship, but as veneration and asking for their intercession. The Litany of the Saints is a beautiful example of this practice.

The Church Suffering are the souls in purgatory being purified to enter heaven. They are part of the Communion of Saints because they are destined for eternal life with God. We can assist them through our prayers, sacrifices, and Masses offered for their intentions. This is supported by second Maccabees chapter 12 verse 46, which speaks of praying for the dead.

The Church Militant are the faithful on earth. We are called to live in communion with one another and with the saints. We share in the spiritual goods of the Church, including the sacraments, prayers, and works of charity. The Catechism reminds us that “every sin harms this communion” but “every act of love strengthens it” .

The Communion of Saints encourages us to foster relationships with the saints, pray for the souls in purgatory, and support one another in holiness. It reminds us that we are never alone in our journey of faith. As Saint Therese of Lisieux said, “I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth.”

Remember, “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.”

Like I said in episode 8 about the ONE Mediator, we should be praying for everyone. And asking everyone to pray for everyone else too.

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Be kind to others, and try to be happy. Let me be the only Sad Catholic. Until next time.

-Sad