Saints in Glory: Companions on our Journey
Do you have a favorite saint? The question is a stumper for me. Growing up Catholic in the ’50s, I found most saints impossibly good and situated in contexts so different from mine that emulating them seemed way out of reach.
For me, theologian Elizabeth Johnson’s companionship model of the communion of saints is more compelling than the patron/intercession paradigm of my childhood. She places “ . . . [T]he saints in heaven not between God and those on earth, but alongside their sisters and brothers in Christ.” (2) She agrees with St. Paul who “[E]nvisioned the saints as a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us and cheering us on . . . with the encouragement of their lives.”*
The feast of All Saints is special to BVMs for another reason: 188 years ago the first BVMs made public vows on November 1 in St. Joseph Church, Willings Alley, Philadelphia. Surely we can count on all our BVM foremothers to cheer us on whether we’re Sisters, Associates, former students, colleagues, relatives, or friends.
Happy 188th birthday, BVMs!
*Johnson, Elizabeth A. “America Magazine.” https://www.americamagazine.org, 17 June 2000, https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2000/06/17/mary-nazareth-friend-god-and-prophet. Accessed 29 Oct. 2021.
THANKS, Teri. SO nice to have you ‘with us’ in new ways! Love, Nancy
I love the idea of the saints – canonized or known only to a few – being those in the unseen multitude cheering us on. As we read the BVM necrology daily and respond “Be with us!”, it is a reminder to me of this truth.
What a great concept to have the support of those near and dear supporting us in such a manner. Thank you Teri!
Thanks for including Elizabeth Johnson’s understanding of saints. That makes sense to me. I had forgotten about this explanation.
Happy birthday to each of you!
Rose Mary
Thanks for reminding us our saints walk with us. Every morning when I walk to the cemetery I thank all those there for walking with us.
There is not a day goes by that I don’t think of all the “saints” that have gone before me and who continue to give me encouragement, and sometimes a little nudge, along the way. Kit McDonald, who celebrates the anniversary of her entrance into new life on Nov 3, is among my most cherished companions on the journey.
Thanks for sharing.