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Show COMMUNION OF SAINTS. The Holy Catholic church is declared in the 9tb article of the Apostles Creed to be the "Communion "Commun-ion of Saints." The church on the 1st of Xovem-ber, Xovem-ber, each year, in every part of the world com-menorates com-menorates the feast of All Saints. It is a wonderful won-derful day of Catholic devotion. Look into ordinary ordi-nary handbooks of devotion and on each day you will find two or three or perhaps a larger number num-ber of saints whose commemoration, in this or that place, is. mentioned. But go to the Roman mar-tyrology mar-tyrology and see how great an array of saints there are for each day of the year. And how many are there who, on every day of the year, have finished their course on earth, and been already received into the Beatific Vision, who are not recorded in the Roman Martyrology ? All this mighty army of the saints, the holy ones of God, we commemorated on Friday morning. Mighty and wonderful are they, for those who have the faith to invoke them, because they are clear to our Lord who has ransomed ran-somed each one of 'them. Wonderfully great are the benefits we may obtain by earnestly commending commend-ing ourselves to each and all of this white-robed army, who through exceedingly great trials have passed and won their crowns. Bought by the Blood of their Redeemer, trueand heroic in fidelity to him in the perverse generations in which they lived, their intercession on behalf of those who invoke their aid cannofr fail to be efficacious. The dogma of the communion of Saints is a sweet and most consoling doctrine of our holy religion. By it we who are now pursuing our pilgrimage on earth, contending with the passions of corrupt nature, the evil influences of manifold vicious example, and the snares and assaults of the devil, are united in charity and active sympathy with "the spirits of the just made perfect" (Heb. xii.), among whom are many' of our own dear relatives and friends. We rejoice for their having attained the "unfad ing crown of glory," whilst they, from their high place in heaven, look down encouragingly upon us and as a "great cloud of witnesses over us," watch with eagerness our successes and failures amid the trials of life, interceding for us all before the throne of grace. |