That bitter sorrow through which they then passed could not help but have an indelible effect on their souls; and though that sorrow has now long since given place to the joy of the Lord, yet its memory can never be effaced.

But theirs is no selfish joy, making them unmindful of us who bear the name of Christian and as such are marked as Christ’s brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11).  On the contrary, they now pray for us in our griefs and troubles out of their own experience; and they pray not only with sympathy and understanding but with power.  For if, even on earth, as St James tells us, “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective” (NRSV, 5:16), how much truer is that of the Saints whose holiness is so complete that they have free and open access to the throne of God himself?