When we confess our Faith in the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church, we also state our belief in the "communion of saints".  I will leave it to the Catechism of the Catholic Church to explain it in theological terms, but to me,  in simple to understand speak, it means that we not only have a family on earth in which we are born, we also have a Heavenly Family;  God the Father, Mary the Mother, Jesus the Brother, and all the saints in heaven are our wonderful ancestors.  We look to them as examples of how we are to follow Jesus and also as help for our needs.  They pray to the Heavenly Father for us just as our family on earth does.  BUT, better than the family here on earth, they are alive in Heaven with God the Father,  the God of the Living, and they see Him face to face. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Communion of Saints

948 The term "communion of saints" therefore has two closely linked meanings: communion in holy things (sancta)" and "among holy persons (sancti)."

957 Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven; we seek, rather, that by this devotion to the exercise of fraternal charity the union of the whole Church in the Spirit may be strengthened. Exactly as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the life of the People of God itself"⁴⁹⁸:

We worship Christ as God's Son; we love the martyrs as the Lord's disciples and imitators, and rightly so because of their matchless devotion towards their king and master. May we also be their companions and fellow disciples!⁴⁹⁹

958 Communion with the dead. "In full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and 'because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins' she offers her suffrages for them."⁵⁰⁰ Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.

959 In the one family of God. "For if we continue to love one another and to join in praising the Most Holy Trinity - all of us who are sons of God and form one family in Christ - we will be faithful to the deepest vocation of the Church."⁵⁰¹

960 The Church is a "communion of saints": this expression refers first to the "holy things" (sancta), above all the Eucharist, by which "the unity of believers, who form one body in Christ, is both represented and brought about" (LG 3).

961 The term "communion of saints" refers also to the communion of "holy persons" (sancti) in Christ who "died for all," so that what each one does or suffers in and for Christ bears fruit for all.

962 "We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always [attentive] to our prayers" (Paul VI, CPG § 30).

499 Martyrium Polycarpi, 17:Apostolic Fathers II/3,396.
500 LG 50; cf. 2 Macc 12:45.
501 LG 51; cf. Heb 3:6.

DECEMBER 23

The current calendar lists two saints on December 23. Their stories are briefly presented here one after the other.

ST. JOHN OF KANTY

This Polish saint was born in 1390, the son of good country folk. Seeing how intelligent their son was, they sent him to the University of Krakow. He did well in his studies. Then John became a priest, a teacher, and a preacher. He was also well-known for his great love of the poor. Once he was eating in the university dining hall. At the beginning of the meal, he happened to see a beggar passing by the window. Immediately, he jumped up and brought the man his dinner.
Some people became very jealous of St. John's success as a teacher and preacher. They finally managed to have him sent to a parish as a pastor. Here, he put his whole heart into the new life. At first, however, things did not go well at all. The people did not particularly care for John, and John was afraid of the responsibility. He did not give up, however, and his efforts brought results. By the time he was called back to the university, the people of his parish loved him dearly. They went part of the way with him. In fact, they were so sad to see him go that he had to tell them: "This sadness does not please God. If I have done any good for you in all these years, sing a song of joy."
Back in Krakow, St. John taught Bible classes and again became a very popular teacher. He was invited to the homes of rich nobles. Still, however, he gave everything he had to the poor and dressed very poorly himself. Once he wore an old black habit, called a cassock, to a banquet. The servants refused to let him in. St. John went home and changed into a new one. During the dinner, someone spilled a dish of food on the new cassock. "Never mind," said the saint with good humor, "my cassock deserves some food, anyway, because without it, I wouldn't have been here at all."
St. John lived to be eighty-three. Again and again during all those years he cleaned out everything he owned to help the poor. When people burst into tears on hearing that he was dying, he said, "Don't worry about this prison which is decaying. Think of the soul that is going to leave it." He died in 1473 and was proclaimed a saint by Pope Clement XIII in 1767.

"With [St. John's] humility went a rare and childlike simplicity: the thoughts of his heart were revealed in his words and actions.. The God in his heart and the God on his lips were one and the same God." -Pope Clement XII

ST. MARGUERITE D'YOUVILLE

Marguerite was born in Quebec, Canada, on October 15, 1701. Her father died in 1708 and the family lived in poverty. Relatives paid her tuition at the Ursuline convent school in Quebec. Her two years at the boarding school prepared her to teach her younger brothers and sisters. Marguerite was gracious and friendly. She helped support her family by making and selling fine lace. In 1722, Marguerite married Francois D'Youville. It seemed like the marriage was going to be a truly happy one. But Francois' real self came out as the months passed. He was more interested in making money than in being with his family. His job was illegal liquor trading. He left Marguerite alone with her two children and did not take care of them.
Francois died quite suddenly in 1730 after eight years of marriage. He left Marguerite with large debts to pay. A kind priest named Father du Lescoat gave her courage. He told her that she was loved by God. Soon she would begin a great work for God. The prophecy would come true. Mother D'Youville took in a blind, homeless woman on November 21, 1737. This marks the beginning of a marvelous work of caring for the sick poor in hospitals. These hospitals would be run by the sisters of her new order. She and her first companions became known as the "Grey Nuns." Their religious habit was grey. The sisters took over the general hospital in Montreal. It was run-down and very much in debt. People made fun of the sisters. What were they trying to do, anyway? But Mother D'Youville and her sisters did not lose heart. They worked, and built, and fixed. Above all, they welcomed everyone in need. No one was too poor or too sick to come to their hospital. In 1765, a fire destroyed the hospital, but Mother D'Youville and her nuns had it rebuilt in four years.
Marguerite's two boys became priests: Charles, pastor of Boucherville, and Francois, pastor of St. Ours. In 1769, Father Francois broke his arm. His mother hastened to take care of him. She spent five days at the rectory. Mother D'Youville was equally generous when an epidemic of smallpox spread through the Indian missions of Montreal. And during the Seven Years War between the French and British, she helped soldiers on both sides. She hid the British soldiers in the dark rooms of the convent cellar. There her sisters quietly nursed them back to health. 
Mother Marguerite D'Youville died on December 23, 1771. She was proclaimed a saint by Pope John Paul II on December 9, 1990. She is Canada's first Canadian-born saint.

Marguerite was able to overcome the difficulties in her life through her faith in God and generosity to others in need. Be especially watchful today for an opportunity to help someone who is in particular need.

 

 

The fifth-century Syrian saint, Simeon Stylites, spent the last thirty years of his life sitting on top of a pillar 70 feet high.