During my consecration this past Sunday (if you missed it, you can watch here), I found myself overwhelmed by the experience of heavenly presences—not God alone, but God and the people of God, the great cloud of witnesses. Others shared stories of similar experiences. That impressed on me the need to think again about what we do and do not mean by “the communion of saints.”
As you know, we say things every week in our worship that indicates the reality of the communion. When we confess the creed we say we believe it, trusting God in and within that reality. When we celebrate the Eucharist we pray as if it were true: “Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who forever sing this hymn to the glory of your Name…” At the the bed of those who are dying and at their graves, we hold to the hope that they are passing—departing to be with the Lord and all those who have died in the Lord.
But are those words true or are they not? If they are, what difference do they make?
It was this essay by Robert Jenson that first forced me to take those questions seriously. My experience the other night has returned me to them in a much brighter light. So, next week (Aug 17, 6-9CST), I’m going to offer an SAI class, exploring what we do and do not believe about the communion of saints and the mystical body of Christ—including visitations of the saints, especially Mary, encounters with angels, and prayers of/for/to the dead.
You can sign up for the course here.
If you’re a paid Speakeasy subscriber, feel free to use the usual discount code.
"Faith is what someone knows to be true, whether they believe it or not." - Flannery O'Connor.
Thank you for sharing this - and Jenson's essay. If we register for August 17 but are unable to attend in person, will a recording be available?
Hi Chris. Forgive me for putting this query here but I couldn't find a way to contact St Anthony Institute. If we enrol in the course can we see a recording of the Zoom session? I live in Australia and will need to log off to go to work before the end.