THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS: AN INTERGENERATIONAL CHURCH
As I was planting a tree in my front yard last month, I was struck by how vividly the structure and life of a tree mirrors that of the Church. When planting a tree, the lion’s share of labor must happen in it’s earliest stages, when, ironically, the benefits of shade or fruit are largely absent. In many cases, the planter is motivated by a desire to leave a legacy for the future, even if they themselves will not experience any of the trees tangible benefits.
Christ himself planted our Church from a tree, and he lavishly nourished and watered it from his own pierced side. Countless saints and martyrs in the early Church continued to provide similar irrigation in their tireless sacrifice, and even in the shedding of their own blood. Over the ensuing centuries, the Church grew expansively in size, although it’s form and fundamental identity remain unaltered from the seedling years. It now provides shade and shelter to all ends of the earth, and the Sacraments give life to those of many languages, cultures, and nations.
Like a tree, Christ’s Church never ought to be circumscribed or stingy, but rather, generative and expansive. As a tree grows, it does not run out of space for leaves and branches, but its very shape adapts in order to multiply the space and accommodate more life. In like manner, the Church is not an exclusive place with few, coveted vacancies that must be reserved, purchased, or awarded only to those most perfect individuals. Rather, the Church is at its most vital when it (literally and figuratively) branches out to provide nourishment and life to more and more people.
Next Saturday is All Saints Day, a day on which we commemorate the myriad people from varying times and places, folks known and unknown, who now share with Christ in the Heavenly Kingdom. This is a large cast of characters with varied pasts. Some of the greatest saints committed some of the most egregious sins. However, they are not remembered by their sins, but by their surrender to Christ’s infinite mercy and goodness. Their names are prefixed with the word “Saint” not because they had a perfect track record—well, except for Our Lady—but because they drew close to the Lord and chose to follow him in spite of their shortcomings.
The Catholic Church is an intergenerational Church, and it resembles a large fully grown tree. The Communion of Saints is a miraculously expansive community in which people from starkly different historical and cultural praxes find intimate union through Christ. In the same way that the Universal Church is intergenerational, our Mission Statement reminds us that our parish strives to cultivate intergenerational community. Holy Cross is indeed a place where disciples of all ages and various cultures and languages come together to pray, give, and serve.
Our parish is a microcosmic expression of the Communion of Saints. Originally founded Polish immigrants, it is now a spiritual home to Catholics of varied ethnicities and nationalities. Our parish is a gift to us from our ancestors, many of whom gave generous support to the construction of our beautiful church buildings but never lived to see finished brick, mortar, statues, and stained glass. More recently, Ray and Helena Brya made a generous estate gift to Holy Cross which perennially helps to fund our parish’s operations and ministries in the form of an endowment. (You can read more about the Brya family at ourholycross.org/legacy.)
We have been given much by our Lord, and we have been given much by our ancestors. Let us continue to steward the gift of our wonderful parish for future generations, and provide welcome to our neighbors and fellow wayfarers who seek fruit, shelter, and shade in the Church. ~Samuel Backman, Director of Sacred Music