We often hear and say in the Apostles’ Creed: “The communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting,” but do we really understand it? I often explain it to the bereaved family, relatives and friends during funeral rites.

We are still in the octave of remembering our beloved dead and it is still appropriate to talk about the mysteries of life, death and resurrection as we remember the faithful departed.

Simply, the “communion of saints” is the fellowship between Christians both living and dead.

In Christian theology, this fellowship of those united to Jesus Christ in baptism is first found in the 5th-century version of the Apostles’ Creed.

The “communion of saints” that we profess in the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds is also known as “the Church” — that is, the Church in its entirety, which has three groups: those who are canonically declared saints or blessed in Heaven; we, the faithful on earth; and those who have died and are now being purified in Purgatory.

It is in the communion of saints that we express our belief when we recite the Creed, involving not only the communion of Christians on earth in prayer, sacrifice, the Sacraments and good works, but also the communion of Christians on earth with those who have gone before us.

We must be aware that people’s love of all worldly desires, pursuits, attachments and ambitions are distracting us, pulling us away and tempting us away from the ability to truly love the Lord and prioritize Him in our lives.

As Christians, we are expected to show the same love that Jesus did in all of our actions, works and deeds, in our every interaction with one another.

Since God loves each and every one of us, how can we truly call ourselves His beloved children if we hate other people? The Lord Jesus Himself has given us the perfect example of this obedience to the Law and of how we all should love each other.

As mentioned in our second reading today from the Letter to the Hebrews, He is our High Priest Who has offered on our behalf the perfect and most worthy offering of Himself as the Paschal Lamb, in obeying perfectly the will of His heavenly Father to become the sacrifice to bring about atonement for our innumerable sins, and to reconcile each and every one of us to the Lord, our Master and Creator.

And He did all these because He loved His Father, obeying Him out of love, and also for the same love that He has for every one of us without exception.

Our love, care and concern for everyone must be genuine, so that we may truly be worthy to be called Christians, to be a people who are truly holy and beloved by God.

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Greetings and prayers to Father John S. Castillo, FDP, SthL, the First Delegate Superior of the Sons of Divine Providence Congregation to the newly created Delegation of Mary’s Immaculate Conception–Philippines and the parish priest of Mother of Divine Providence Parish in Payatas, Quezon City, under the Roman Catholic diocese of Novaliches.

Fr. John, may you have more birthdays to come as the Lord continues to make use of you as a minister of the Word and the Sacraments and as a good pastor to the souls entrusted to your care as you walk on this journey of spreading Saint Luigi Orione’s teachings for the glory of God.