May the Lord bless you with peace and health in the Holy Spirit.
It is 31st October 2021.
1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30; 1 Pet 2:4-9; and the Gospel of John 4:19-24
As we celebrate the solemnity of Dedication of the Church in all AVOSA churches, we are invited to reflect on the blessings we receive from the Church, not merely a symbol of faith but the strength of our hope.
Even now, after so many months, the churches are still not able to return to the original grandeur and magnificence by accommodating all people of God.
Vatican Council II: “since all men and women are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery” (Gaudium et Spes, n. 22).
An entire family was there in a nearby Church for the Sunday celebration. As the family knelt to pray together in the evening, one of the children prayed, “Dear God, we had a good time at church today, but I wish you had been there.”
A Place of worship, A House of prayer (Is 56:7), A Symbol of the presence of God in the midst of us, A Gathering place in which to learn, to be challenged, to rest, to come close to God.
The three Readings of this solemn liturgy are intended to show us the meaning of a sacred building as a house of God and a house of men and women.
Our Holy Father teaches us: “The church building exists so that God’s Word may be listened to, explained, and understood by us; it exists so that God’s Word may be active among us as a force that creates justice and love. It exists so that in it the celebration in which God wants humanity to participate. It exists so that the knowledge of justice and goodness may be awakened within us. It exists so that we may learn to live the joy of the Lord who is our strength.”
We heard the Prayer of Dedication by Solomon in the first reading. He taught us that even the heavens cannot contain God, yet God was willing to live in the heart of those who love God. “May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, my name will be there.” (1Kg.8:29).
The responsorial Psalm prays, “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, God of hosts.” (Ps.83:2).
St. Peter presents the church as a living, the spiritual temple with Christ as the cornerstone and each one of us is as a stone joined with Him as one temple. While Paul portrayed the church as a body, Christ is the Head and we are the members. Both views take us to the understanding of community. As an individual, we cannot call ourselves as the church or a community. It is not for individual glory, fame, and authority for which the church exists to build and bring everyone on board to do the will and plan of God.
St Augustine remarks “through faith people are like the wood and stones collected in the forests and on the mountains for building; then through Baptism, catechesis and preaching they are rough-shaped, squared, and polished; but they become houses of the Lord only when they are put together with love. When believers are interconnected in accordance with a specific order, mutually close and cohesive, when they are joined by love, they truly become a dwelling of God that is in no danger of collapsing (cf. Serm., 336).
God wants us all to be holy offering spiritual sacrifices putting aside our lustful desire and creating a deep longing to serve with all our resources and energy for the welfare of the other.
The way we believe inside the church has a wider impact of behaviour outside the church.
Our presence in the Church is so essential to be a believing community and the same way our loving presence outside the Church demonstrates our connections with one another.
“The stone rejected by the builders has proved to be the keystone, a stone to stumble over, a rock to bring men down.”
Ps. 118:22 is quoted, “the stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”
Refusing to believe Jesus makes us stumble on the rock, which is Jesus Himself and brings before the judgement seat of God.
We all participate in the common priesthood. So, we are expected to offer worthy sacrifice. Romans 12 :1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
The story of a Samaritan woman at the well presents us with the question of which is the correct place to worship? She put this question when Jesus touched her intimate life and all that was going on in her life. Jesus taught her the importance of disposition and generosity of heart that matter for true worship in spirit.
Encountering Christ in truth and being willing to face the truth in our life is the place in our churches.
We have met the Lord in the Sacraments and in the Word of God, so just like the Samaritan woman, what we have experienced in Jesus, we need to share with the others. whatever our inner is, the Lord knows that and so we do not need to be ashamed to share the experience.
When we have begun living a changed and converted life in the Spirit, people become curious to know what happened and so we become the instruments of faith and charity to others.
God is not limited to a space, but God loves living in us. It is not where we worship God but what and how we worship. Is there truth and genuineness in our worship? If we communicate and listen to the promptings of the Spirit, we feel that the Spirit prays for us (Rom.8:26), teaches us the profound mysteries of the Word (Jn.14:26) and assures us constantly that we are loved by a merciful Father. (Rom.5:5).
The Church alone, the mystical body of Christ, can quench our thirst and our hunger. May God bless our worship and the place we worship to be blessed by God.