COMMUNION OF SAINTS

But those who are weak and slothful in prayer, hesitate to ask anything from the Lord; but the Lord is full of compassion, and gives
without fail to all who ask Him. But you, having been strengthened by the holy Angel, and having obtained from Him such intercession,
and not being slothful, why do not you ask of the Lord understanding, and receive it from Him?"

HERMAS, The Shepherd, Book 3, Similitude 5, Chapter 4 [ A.D. 78-155]

So is he always pure for prayer. He also prays in the society of angels, as being already of angelic rank, and he is never out of
their holy keeping; and though he pray alone, he has the choir of the saints standing with him.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, The Stromata, 7:12 [A.D. 188-199]

St. Clement of Alexandria, a Greek Theologian.

But these pray along with those who genuinely pray-not only the high priest but also the angels who "rejoice in heaven over one
repenting sinner more than over ninety-nine righteous that need not repentance," and also the souls of the saints already at rest. Two
instances make this plain. The first is where Raphael offers their service to God for Tobit and Sarah. After both had prayed, the scripture
says, "The prayer of both was heard before the presence of the great Raphael and he was sent to heal them both," and Raphael himself,
when explaining his angelic commission at God's command to help them, says:

"Even now when you prayed, and Sarah your daughter-in-law, I brought the memorial of your prayer before the Holy One," and shortly
after, "I am Raphael, one of the Seven angels who present the prayers of saints and enter in before the glory of the Holy One.

ORIGEN, On Prayer, Chapter 6 [A.D. 185-253]

Yet there is a certain helpful charm in a place of prayer being the spot in which believers meet together. Also it may well be that the
assemblies of believers also are attended by angelic powers, by the powers of our Lord and Savior himself, and indeed by the spirits of
saints, including those already fallen asleep, certainly of those still in life, though just how is not easy to say. In reference to angels we
may reason thus: If an angel of the Lord shall encamp round about those that fear Him and shall deliver them, and if Jacob's words are
true, not only of himself but to all who have devoted themselves to God, when we understand him to say the angel who delivers me from
all evil . . . it is natural to infer that, when a number of men are genuinely met for Christ's glory, that angel of each man-who is round about
each of those that fear-will encamp with the man with whose guardianship and stewardship he has been entrusted, so that when saints
assemble together there is a twofold church, the one of men the other of angels.

ORIGEN, On Prayer, Chapter 11 [A.D. 185-253]

St. Origen, Father of the Church. Born about 185 A.D. and died about 253 A.D.. It is likely that the torture Origen endured

during his persecution lead to his death.

Let us remember one another in concord and unanimity. Let us on both sides always pray for one another. Let us relieve burdens and
afflictions by mutual love, that if any one of us, by the swiftness of divine condescension, shall go hence the first, our love may continue
in the presence of the Lord, and our prayers for our brethren and sisters not cease in the presence of the Father's mercy.

CYPRIAN, Epistle 56:6 [A.D. 200-258]

St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage.

Hail to thee for ever, thou virgin mother of God, our unceasing joy, for unto thee do I again return. Thou art the beginning of our feast;
thou art its middle and end; the pearl of great price that belongest unto the kingdom; the fat of every victim, the living altar of the
bread of life. Hail, thou treasure of the love of God. Hail, thou fount of the Son's love for man. Hail, thou overshadowing mount of the
Holy Ghost. Thou gleamedst, sweet gift-bestowing mother, of the light of the sun; thou gleamedst with the insupportable fires of a
most fervent charity, bringing forth in the end that which was conceived of thee before the beginning, making manifest the mystery
hidden and unspeakable, the invisible Son of the Father--the Prince of Peace, who in a marvellous manner showed Himself as less than
all littleness. Wherefore, we pray thee, the most excellent among women, who boastest in the confidence of thy maternal honours, that
thou wouldest unceasingly keep us in remembrance. O holy mother of God, remember us, I say, who make our boast in thee, and who
in hymns august celebrate the memory, which will ever live, and never fade away. And do thou also, O honoured and venerable
Simeon, thou earliest host of our holy religion, and teacher of the resurrection of the faithful, be our patron and advocate with that
Saviour God, whom thou wast deemed worthy to receive into thine arms. We, together with thee, sing our praises to Christ, who has
the power of life and death, saying, Thou art the true Light, proceeding from the true Light; the true God, begotten of the true God; the
one Lord, before Thine assumption of the humanity; that One nevertheless, after Thine assumption of it, which is ever to be adored;
God of Thine own self and not by grace, but for our sakes also perfect man; in Thine own nature the King absolute and sovereign, but
for us and for our salvation existing also in the form of a servant. yet immaculately and without defilement. For Thou who art
incorruption hast come to set corruption free, that Thou mightest render all things uncorrupt. For Thine is the glory, and the power,
and the greatness, and the majesty, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen.

METHODIUS, Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna, Chapter 14 [A.D. 311]

St. Methodius. It is stated by St. Jerome that Methodius was Bishop of Olympus, Lycia and then of Tyre. St. Methodius was

famous for his preaching and scholarship.

Then we commemorate also those who have fallen asleep before us, first Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, that at their prayers and
intercessions God would receive our petition. Then on behalf also of the Holy Fathers and Bishops who have fallen asleep before us, and
in a word of all who in past years have fallen asleep among us, believing that it will be a very great benefit to the souls, for whom the
supplication is put up, while that holy and most awful sacrifice is set forth.

CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, Catechetical Lecture 23:9 [A.D. 315-386]

St. Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem and Doctor of the Church. Born about 315 A.D. and died about 386 A.D..

Remember me, you heirs of God, you brethren of Christ; supplicate the Savior earnestly for me, that I may be freed through Christ from
him that fights against me day by day.

EPHRAIM THE SYRIAN, The Fear At The End Of Life [A.D. 306-373]

St. Ephraim, Theologian, Preacher, and Poet. Declared Doctor of the Church in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV. Born about 306 A.D.
and died about 373. A.D..

As this, O Lord, is the command of your Only-Begotten Son, that we share in the commemoration of your saints... through whose prayers and
supplications, have mercy on us all and save us, for the sake of your holy name, which is called upon us.

BASIL, Liturgy of St. Basil [A.D. 329-379]

St. Basil the Great, Doctor of the Church. Born about 329 A.D. and died about 379 A.D..

You say, in your pamphlet, that so long as we are alive we can pray for one another; but once we die, the prayer of no person for another
can be heard, and all the more because the martyrs, though they[2] cry for the avenging of their blood, have never been able to obtain
their request. If Apostles and martyrs while still in the body can pray for others, when they ought still to be anxious for themselves, how
much more must they do so when once they have won their crowns, overcome, and triumphed?

JEROME, Against Vigilantius, 6 [A.D. 342-420]

For he that wears the purple himself goes to embrace those tombs, and, laying aside his pride, stands begging the saints to be his
advocates with God, and he that hath the diadem implores the tent-maker and the fisherman, though dead, to be his patrons.

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, Homily on 2 Corinthians, 26 [A.D. 347-407]

St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church. Born in 347 A.D and died in 407.

St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church and Biblical Scholar. Born about 342 A.D. and died in 420 A.D..

For the souls of the pious dead are not separated from the Church, which even now is the kingdom of Christ; otherwise there would be no
remembrance made of them at the altar of God in the partaking of the body of Christ,....

AUGUSTINE, City of God 20:9:2 [A.D. 354-430]

St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Father and Doctor of the Church. Born in 354 A.D. and died in 430 A.D..

This it was that the blessed martyrs did in their burning love; and if we celebrate their memories in no mere empty form, and, in the banquet
whereat they themselves were filled to the full, approach the table of the Lord, we must, as they did, be also ourselves making similar
preparations. For on these very grounds we do not commemorate them at that table in the same way, as we do others who now rest in peace,
as that we should also pray for them, but rather that they should do so for us, that we may cleave to their footsteps; because they have
actually attained that fullness of love, than which, our Lord hath told us, there cannot be a greater.

AUGUSTINE, Tractrate 84:1 [A.D. 354-430]

SOON after the enactment of this law, Theodosius went to Constantinople. The Arians, under the guidance of Demophilus, still
retained possession of the churches. Gregory of Nazianzen presided over those who maintain the "consubstantiality" of the Holy
Trinity, and assembled them together in a little dwelling, which had been altered into the form of a house of prayer, by those who
held the same opinions and had a like form of worship. It subsequently became one of the most conspicuous in the city, and is so
now, not only for the beauty and number of its structures, but also for the advantages accruing to it from the visible manifestations
of God. For the power of God was there manifested, and was helpful both in waking visions and in dreams, often for the relief of
many diseases and for those afflicted by some sudden transmutation in their affairs. The power was accredited to Mary, the Mother
of God, the holy virgin, for she does manifest herself in this way.

SOZOMEN, Ecclesiastical History, Book 7, Chapter 5 [A.D. 379-447]

St. Sozomen, Historian of the Early Church. Born about 379 A.D. and died about 447. A.D..

Let us rejoice, then, dearly-beloved, with spiritual joy, and make our boast over the happy end of this illustrious man in the Lord,
Who is "wonderful in His saints," in whom He has given us a support and an example, and has so spread abroad his glory
throughout the world, that, from the rising of the sun to its going down, the brightness of his deacon's light doth shine, and Rome
is become as famous in Laurentius as Jerusalem was ennobled by Stephen. By his prayer and intercession we trust at all times to
be assisted; that, because all, as the Apostle says, "who wish to live holily in Christ, suffer persecutions," we may be
strengthened with the spirit of love, and be fortified to overcome all temptations by the perseverance of steadfast faith.

POPE LEO I THE GREAT, Sermon 159:1 [A.D. 461]

St. Pope Leo I The Great. Elected Pope in 440 A.D. and reigned as Bishop of Rome 440-461 A.D.. Pope Leo I The Great was

declared Doctor of the Church in 1754.

RETURN TO CONTENTS

St Hermas, Bishop of Philippi, Greece, and Apostolic Father, Christian Writer, and martyr. St. Hermas is believed to possibly

be the brother of Pope Pius, Bishop of Rome. Hermas works, The Shepherd, is believed to be written between 139-155 A.D.