Monday of
the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial
of Saint Scholastica
February 10, 2014 8:30am
Our Catholic theology says that
God is present here in a church building and in our liturgy in three principal
ways.
First, Jesus is present in the
Word.
This is similar to God’s presence
on the tablets of the Ten Commandments that were kept in the Ark of the
Covenant.
They were God’s Word to the Old
Testament people.
We heard about this in our first
reading.
We believe that God is present
and comes to us in the Word that we usually call Scripture.
Second, we believe that Jesus is
present in the Eucharist.
This sacrament is the center of
all the sacraments and is the visible, concrete way that Jesus is present and
comes to us, both in the tabernacle or in the reception of Holy Communion.
It is hard not to see a
connection between our tabernacle for the reservation of the Eucharist and the
Ark in which the Ten Commandments were reserved in the Jewish temple.
And third, we believe that God is
present in us, God’s people.
In fact, the proclamation of the
Word and then our reception of the Eucharist make God present in us.
This goes beyond the ancient
Jewish belief.
Jesus himself says this: “Where two or three are gathered in my name,
there am I in their midst.”
This is the fundamental reason why
we reverence one another with some gesture of peace during Mass.
So, God’s presence makes this
space sacred and makes us sacred as well.
Today’s first reading about the
temple and the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred space for our ancestors in
faith, leads me to reflect on this today.
