Catholic World News News Feature

Pope speaks on communion of saints November 03, 1997

VATICAN (CWN) -- In a special Angelus message for the feasts of All Saints and All Souls, November 1 and 2, Pope John Paul II remarked: "Death is not the last word on human destiny, because man is destined to a life without end, which finds its fulfillment in God." The Holy Father urged his listeners not to "lose sight of the ultimate end of life, which is Paradise."

On Saturday, the Pope observed Christians, in the Creed, profess their belief in the "communion of saints." That communion, he said, is present most perfectly in the Eucharist, whose meaning transcends the confines of time. And in view of that communion across time, he continued, Christians should not be uncomfortable in calling upon the intercession of the saints. At the same time, he added, every Christian is called "to be holy as God is holy."

On Sunday, the Holy Father announced that "I am united in spirit with all those who will be visiting the tombs of their deceased loved ones in the cemeteries in Rome and around the world." He recalled that during his most recent trip to Poland this year, he took the time to visit the grave of his own parents. In prayers for the dead, he recommended the example of the Virgin Mary, who was present at the foot of the Cross and, having thus died internally, was ready for the Resurrection.