The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-12-28
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

on earth and the holy souls in Purga-
aid of the Saints and pray for the
suffering souls; and the latter are
| cheered during their night of purga-
tion and suffering by the knowledge
that the faithful on earth and the
Saints in heaven are not unmindful
of their needs and continually petit
tion the throne of grace in their be-
half.
Exposition of the Doctrine.
In his expositions of the doctrine of
the Communion of Saints, DR.. McGin-
mis- begins by establishing the mean
ing of worship and alteration and not
ing the historical development of the
dogma. This leads naturally to a
consideration of what is involved in
the idea of the Communion of Saints
namely, the invocation of the blessed
by the members of the Church Mill
tant, the microscopy power of the
Saints, and the expiatory remem-
brance of the souls in Purgatory.
LII A40 IL CdC1uCAL VI IAC0C COp1S0 IhS
author establishes the dogmatic
foundation of the doctrine and gives
brief explanation of grace and
merit to account for the intercessory
function of the Saints and to demon
strate the utility and reasonableness
of invoking their prayers.
In the first centuries the practical
value and application of the doctrine
of the Communion of Saints was exem-
plifed in the spiritual union that ex-
listed among the Christians. It not
only constituted them members of one
great family while on earth, but kept
them united in spirit even after death
had intervened. In the early centu-
ries many references are found to the
efficacy of prayers for the departed
and to the fact, which is more remark
able, that Christians prayed to the
departed, even though the latter were
not recognized as enjoying the prerog-
atives of sainthood. After adducing
proofs for the existence of Purgatory
and for belief in the efficacy of prayers
for the dead as a logical deduction
therefrom, the author devotes chap
ter to the Blessed Virgin as our media
trix, the Martyrs and the Angels. The
remainder of the book treats of the
practical consequences and application
of the doctrine as shown in the Ven
Grafton of the Saints, the Worship of
Sacred Images, the Canonization of
Saints, Pilgrimages and Shrines, Festi-
walls, Stations and Litanies.
Arguments From Many Sources.
The plan followed in the develop
ment of the subject matter is to
marshall arguments from every
source. Dogmatic Theology, Archaeo-
logy, Pathology, Church History, the
Classics, the Grammar of ancient
languages is made to contribute
it's share to the establishment of the
truth of the doctrine and it's practical
value as an aid in developing the
spiritual life of the true Christian.
DR.. McGinnis' book is of special value
to the Reverend Clergy for the refer
ences it gives to the sources whence
tu0y udy u1dW ldCC duu duu
illustration to enable them to present
the teaching of the Church on this i'm
portant subject in it's most attractive
form. The book is written in clear
and simple style, for one of the chief
purposes which the author has in
view is to present the doctrine of the
Communion of Saints in such way as
to render it Ineligible to the lay
man Of average intelligence. Hence,
it should make an appeal to a large
circle of readers. We recommend it
most highly to our Catholic people
who feel the need of a more compre-
hensive knowledge than they possess
on this subject, as well as to non
Catholics who may wish to familiarize
themselves with the teaching of the
Catholic Church in regard to the Com
munion Of Saints. The price is reason
able-one dollar and a half, net-and
the technical workmanship is all that
can be desired.