The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

Today we celebrate the dedication of the mistress of all churches, the Archbasilica of Our Holy Savior.

Our churches are holy because they belong to God; and because of the celebration of the holy Sacrifice offered inside; and because of the prayer and praise offered to the divine Guest who dwells there. Our churches are more exalted than all the holy temples and tabernacles of the Old Testament because ours contain Jesus Christ within them in the Sacramental species.

The Church whose dedication we celebrate today was once the glory of all Christendom. It was the first and primary Church in Rome, where all the most important acts of the Church took place.

Even though it is now in the hands of heretics and has become the holy place where the abomination of desolation has taken over, we still recall to our minds the glorious days when this church was dedicated and the many glorious times it was restored so that through it we might give greater honor and glory to God.

While there are many who greatly mourn this loss and desecration of holy places and things, we should not be overwhelmed by the loss of these material things. There is a tabernacle that is much more sacred than the one in the Archbasilica _ ourselves. We are to be the living tabernacles of God. This loss of human tabernacles is the greater misfortune.

Is it because of the destruction of the sacred things that men have lost the sacredness of their own lives? Or, is it because men have lost their holiness that the physical buildings have lost theirs? There are many who will argue that men have lost the faith and therefore the right path because they were not taught or told the truth in what was once the Church. But, it appears to me that men must have first lost their function as living tabernacles before the destruction of the physical ones could have taken place.

If the life of God is dwelling in us and we are operating in His grace, it seems improbable that we should ever be led astray concerning our souls' salvation (At least not for long.). But, on the other hand, if the life of grace is first taken from the souls of men, and God is driven from His living tabernacles, then it seems to be a simple matter for men to allow the non-living tabernacles to be destroyed or taken away.

The Mass for today reminds us of how terrible (awesome) the house of God is. And this is true of those churches that were built and maintained by those who had the true Faith _ men who were living tabernacles of God. But, what is even more awesome is the living tabernacles of our bodies. We are temples of the Holy Ghost, tabernacles for the Body of Christ which we receive in Holy Communion. We are more so than any other creature made in the image and likeness of God. For Jesus Christ became Man not any other creature.

Our bodies are sacred and holy because they are the house of God. But, when God is driven out they are nothing but hollow shells of what once was. There is an emptiness and shallowness of so many in the world, because God is not permitted to dwell within them.

So many abuse their bodies and never give a thought that by so doing they are insulting God who not only is the creator and designer of this body but also its owner and resident. The need of some for extreme makeup (cosmentics, piercings, tattoos, mutilations, etc.) reveals a person with emptiness within and shallowness without. They are just a shell of what should be and they must use these measures to try and hide and fill up the void within where God should be dwelling. And then there are those who wish to hide their emptiness by revealing more and more of their flesh to the world. Perhaps they imagine that if they can distract the world with their bare skin; that somehow the world will never notice that there is nothing beneath the skin. They are empty and devoid of all supernatural life.

Let us never lose sight of the fact that we are God's tabernacles. We are holy because God who lives and reigns within us is holy. Let us monitor how we decorate this tabernacle of God; let us monitor what we allow to enter into this tabernacle (sounds, images, taste, thoughts, etc); and let us ever be on guard of where we take this tabernacle. If we force God to go with us and be present with us in things that are most offensive to Him we can be sure that He will not remain long with us but will leave. And in that vacuum there are many devils ready, willing, and able to usurp the place of God. If it is a terrible crime (sin) of sacrilege to desecrate a church, it is an even greater sin to desecrate the living tabernacle of God _ our bodies.

Franciscan Benefactor Seraph Subscription Vocations Have you remembered God?