Why do Catholics ...?
Why do Catholics refer to the ‘communion of saints’?
“The Church is a ‘communion of saints’: This expression refers first to the ‘holy things’ (sancta), above all the Eucharist, by which ‘the unity of believers, who form one body in Christ, is both represented and brought about’ (Lumen Gentium, 3),” the Catechism explains in 960.
“The term ‘communion of saints’ refers also to the communion of ‘holy persons’ (sancti) in Christ, who ‘died for all,’ so that what each one does or suffers in and for Christ bears fruit for all” (961).
“We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion the merciful love of God and his saints is always [attentive] to our prayers (Paul VI, CPG § 30)” (962).
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