PRAYER CREATES a communion between the living and those who are now in heaven and reminds everyone of God’s call to holiness, a Dominican priest said.
University Vice Rector for Religious Affairs Rev. Fr. Pablo Tiong, OP said prayer allows everyone to understand the connection between those in heaven and the people living on Earth.
“When we come together in this feast… this means that we can pray for one another. Those now in heaven, they can pray for us, and together [with them], we can join them in praying for those in purgatory,” he said during the mass for the Solemnity of Saints last Monday.
Tiong said praying in communion with the saints also sanctifies everyone’s faith in Jesus Christ. Through this faith, everyone is called to holiness and become saints, he added.
“The grace of faith allows us to believe that God loves us, and we have a compassionate Lord that would care for us and call us to holiness,” Tiong said.
“If we will not be saints, we would not be able to join in the communion, not in the Church militant (people living on Earth), not in the Church suffrage (souls in purgatory), and not in the Church triumphant (souls who are in heaven),” the Dominican priest added.
The Catholic Church celebrates All Saints’ Day every Nov. 1 to honor men and women, both known and unknown, who are considered models of the faith.
The mass for the Solemnity of Saints was live-streamed through the Santisimo Rosario Parish’s Facebook page. F – M. A. Jucom
