In the company of saints and angels

We should be most aware of this reality offered by our Christian faith, and take advantage of it as much as we can. If we follow our faith, we know that we are all in communion, forming one body, one family, one people in Christ. It is Christ, with his redemptive work for us, that makes this thing happen.

Distance, death and whatever differences we have actually do not take away our communion with one another. In fact, if we use our faith in tackling these situations, they can only heighten our sense of communion.

This communion involves everyone in the whole creation of God, and especially those who already are in heaven, i.e., the saints, and even the angels. We are even in communion also with those souls who are still purifying themselves in purgatory.

We need to process this truth of our faith slowly and constantly, so that it would sink into our very own consciousness and serve as a guiding principle in our life, giving shape and direction to the way we think, understand, see and react to things.

In this way, we avoid being simply at the mercy of our own estimation of things which, even if they can be very brilliant and incisive, would never reach the ultimate and mysterious dimensions of the reality proper to us.

In this way, our thoughts, desires and everything else in our life would assume a spiritual character and a supernatural tone proper to us as image and likeness of God, children of his through Christ. We somehow would know how not to be completely carried away by merely material and earthly values, even if they do have their legitimate role to play in our life.

An abiding sense of confidence and security would be with us if we are truly aware of the fact that we are in the company of saints and angels. When temptations come and when our weaknesses start to stir up, we somehow would know how to handle them, how to resist them. We would never feel alone, abandoned, at our wits' end, and left to our own devices.

Being aware of their company would remind, edify and inspire us of their goodness, their generosity and heroism, and all their virtues like fortitude, spirit of sacrifice, their fidelity even  in the face of martyrdom, poverty, obedience, chastity, etc. They are actually like well-lit and well-paved paths to know God's will and ways.   Our minds and hearts will be filled with many good things that are proper to us, preventing us from falling into self-indulgent thoughts and desires. We would be encouraged to give ourselves to others, to fight with more vigor against temptations. We would be taught how to see things through the eyes of God.

It would be good if we develop a certain devotion to them, getting to know them through the many biographical writings about them as well as their numerous writings that many of them left behind. These writings are real gems of wisdom.

We, for example, should savor the most maternal love of our Lady, our most powerful intercessor. We should feel the fatherly care of St. Joseph for us. We can easily identify ourselves with the bumbling apostles who, in spite of their limitations, were simple and faithful to the Lord.

We should be inspired by the examples of St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Thomas Aquinas, and many, many others who, with the help of grace, made full use of their intellectual and spiritual powers to mine the rich deposit of our faith, the revealed truths, producing a great wealth of theological knowledge that is most helpful to all of us.