Communion of Saints

 

AMDG

I, your brother in Christ, to you, my brothers and sisters at home and scattered abroad. Grace and peace.

I visited Vatican City once, ten years ago, and I remember St. Peter’s Square. I remember looking up at the rooftop encircling me and seeing the statues of saints evenly spaced. It was uplifting to feel surrounded by these holy men and women who preceded me.

A white marble colonnade sweeps around a paved square. A host of marble statues of saints line the roof of the colonnade.

Occasionally in church we read or sing a whole litany of saints. At the right frequency it invokes a sense of solidarity stretching over the millennia and every corner of the world. Back when I was convicted of my desire to join religious life and planned to tell the vocations director that I was transgender, I began praying a litany of saints every night, asking for their intercession. It was a conglomeration of all the Jesuit saints and blesseds and personal write-ins, to which I’ve continued to add. In advance of All Saints and All Souls Days coming up, I share a few particular, favorite saints:

Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi

Francis and Clare, of course, for their devotion, dedication, beautiful spirituality, and persistence. Their friendship in the Lord and complementarity is my favorite love story of all time. Their frank and fearless living out of the Gospel inspires me. And they were open to making room in the order for everyone.

Saint Henry II

Henry II, Obl. S.B., schooled by the Benedictines, was convicted of his calling to be a Benedictine monk and progressed as far as being an oblate. However, due to his station he was not permitted to go farther. When called upon to be emperor, legend has it that he fled to the abbot and begged the man to accept his vow of obedience. “The abbot accepted the emperor’s obedience but, in return, commanded him to go on ruling the Empire.” (Coulson quoted by Becker). And Henry did so, all the while continuing to strive for holiness. I found St. Henry II while by Googling “saints for discernment,” and was horrified to find a saint who was rejected from the path of religious life! Nevertheless I admired his spirit and added him to my litany. His example became all the more relatable and important to me a few weeks later and I think of him in a particular way as a patron saint.

Saint René Goupil

René Goupil is, in a way, the comeback story to Henry II. He was dropped from Jesuit scholastic formation when he suffered a minor disability, but was kept on as a donné (or lay cohabitator/coworker) and was missioned and martyred along with the other Jesuits of the Canadian missions.

The Canaanite Woman

The Canaanite woman of the Gospel holds a mystery of faith and hope, a confident and selfless humility, that I find refreshing and inviting.

Grandma and Grandpa

I don’t mean to be presumptuous in calling my grandparents saints; “saint” means holy, and they were that despite their flaws. I believe they are in Heaven. Grandma and Grandpa were involved in the church, they prayed, and they passed down the faith. My grandfather went home a few years ago, and my grandmother went this Easter. At my grandmother’s funeral, I specifically remember it being said that they prayed regularly for religious vocations. Over the years, three of their grandsons that I know of, to various ends, entered religious discernment. At that funeral I wondered how much my calling could be the result of their prayers. I receive consolation knowing that, although we did not talk about these things together on Earth, I can still share with them now and still receive the prayers of my Grandma and Grandpa.

 

As we intercede for the departed and ask for their intercession, I am grateful for the communion we share. Grateful for the prayers of the saints, grateful for the prayers of the living, grateful for the strength and edification God shares through those around us and before us.

I am praying for peace, unity, and fraternity.

Love,

Your Other Brother

 

St. Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us.

All you Jesuit Saints and Blesseds, pray for us.

St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us.

St. Clare of Assisi, pray for us.

St. Jude, pray for us.

St. Mark Ji Tianxiang, pray for us.

St. Teresa of Ávila, pray for us.

St. James, pray for us.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

St. Clelia Barbieri, pray for us.

St. Henry II, pray for us.

St. Casimir, pray for us.

St. Philip Neri, pray for us.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

St. Louis and Zelie Martin, pray for us.

St. Gemma Galgani, pray for us.

St. Benedict Joseph Labre, pray for us.

St. Frances Cabrini, pray for us.

St. René Goupil, pray for us.

Harriet Tubman, pray for us.

The Canaanite Woman, pray for us.

Grandma and Grandpa, pray for us.


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