TEMPLES

Do we have this feeling that we are toiling in vain? Nowadays, some people are working endlessly most especially here in the US but for most of them it's just like work, spend, work cycle and nothing seems to be of worth in what they do. The missing link or the most essential part is to know the driving force behind every action, the wind beneath the wings and the focus of every endeavor which should be for God alone, first and foremost. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and everything will be given to you.

Some of us have been very conscious of the food we eat and doing exercise because of some health issues like diabetes, hypertension and the like. Fr. Mitch Pacwa in his homily said that it is important that we take good care of our bodies because it is a temple. The problem lies in the fact that sometimes we are no longer sure if we really make our bodies temples of God. He said that our bodies are made for God and God for our bodies because we are members of the body of Christ. There are times when we go against this principle without realizing it or sometimes deliberately.  There are some psychologists who say that there are physical desires that we can’t go against. Those urges and forces can make us psychologically distorted if we try to suppress it. We can not deny the fact that there really are some psychological distortions that people can’t integrate, try to deny and people are afraid of. Somehow it tells us that if we have some kind of urges, we must give in to it. This is a nonsense and very destructive of human bodies in many ways.  We have to always remember that our bodies is not just about achieving physical strength nor is it about being a moral champion for the purpose of showing off. The idea is that our body is for the Lord and conversely the Lord is for our body. Pope John Paul II for decades had worked on this theology for the body and came up with these ideas. One of the things he pointed out was that we can not disregard the physical nature that is unhealthy but the physical nature that we have can be put under the control of God’s grace. Our bodies can be used for giving glory to God as well as for sin and this becomes a series of choices that a person must make. We must know that our bodies are members of the body of Christ. Christ is the head of the body. In Ephesians 12, it is said that by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, He joins us to the body of Christ. St. Paul learned about this doctrine on his way to Damascus when the Lord told him, “Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?” To persecute members of the Church is to persecute Jesus Christ Himself. To do good to the members of the Church is to do good to Jesus Himself as in Matthew 25:31. And to neglect to do good to the least of Christ brethren is to neglect to do it to Him. Our Lord is radically identified to us and is therefore as St. Paul says, our bodies are joined to Christ. We have a dignity inherent within the body and if this is the case we are joined to Christ not by a human effort nor by a philosophy but by the action of God the Holy Spirit working within us and giving a power to unite us to Christ. This, we do not have the power on our own but in union with God’s grace that is active within us. We have to avoid immorality. All other sins we commit goes outside but sexual immorality is something that is part of the body.. This is like uniting the body of Christ to the person we are sinning with, it could be a prostitute or the person we are committing fornication. It is not only a sin that goes against the commandments but it becomes a certain type of a sacrilege.   A Communion minister is asked to give due respect to the Body & Blood of Christ, even to the chalice and paten which are vessels being used in the consecration. There are certain things to observe during the conduct of service like things we have to do and not to do. We don’t use any of these sacred vessels for any other purpose except for the Liturgy of the Mass. The chalice and paten are set apart only for use for the Body & Blood of Christ in observance of great respect. These are all done in reverence for the Body & Blood of Christ. In the same manner we are being reminded of the fact that our bodies being united with Christ is not made for immorality.  This is precisely the point that we need to be always aware of not only of our own bodies but of the people around us. It is a means of grace and not of sin. We treat them as gifts of God oriented for sacred purposes. We need to treat our bodies the way that we would treat the chalice meant for the Blood of Christ or a paten meant for the Body of Christ. Our bodies were purchased or redeemed for a price which is the Body & Blood of Christ. A slave in order to be free needs to be purchased and redeemed for a price. In our case, the price that was paid is the Body of Christ being hung on the cross and the Blood of Christ that was shed in Calvary. Jesus took the form of human flesh and gave up His life for our sake. In Greek myths, we see the gods taking on human form and usually it is to make mischief in human beings, to harm, rape and kill them. This is a common pattern between Zeus and Hera his wife. When the One God took human form it is not to harm us but to redeem us. This is what we celebrate in the mass to remind us of this price for which our bodies were purchased. We can truly receive the Body & Blood of Christ in the Eucharist to bring us back to that precious redemption and be strengthened by it. Amen. Hallelujah!

Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13

...How long will they be unable to attain innocence in Israel?...When Ephraim made many altars to expiate sin, his altars became occasions of sin...

We are the temples of the Holy Spirit. We do not have the Holy Spirit as a birth right but a gift. We are born with original sin and this redemption from sin and the kingdom of darkness is what makes it possible for us to receive of the Holy Spirit. A lot of people in our society do like the part that we are temples. We claim that our bodies are temples so we have to treat it well and take care of it by doing exercise. But too often we say that we are temples but we don’t say of what. When we listen to the way we speak we find that we are temples of ourselves. Like the New Agers who consider themselves to be god. We see our bodies as the temple of ourselves because we see ourselves to be god. Each body should be treated with respect since it is the place where God can be worshipped which is derived from the presence of the Holy Spirit. This should be our purpose when taking all the aspects of our body with its wide variety of urges and desires. We can bring it all under the power of the Holy Spirit if only the body is well oriented to the worship of the Holy Spirit.

Despite the unpleasant situation in the world's point of view that we may be in right now we continue to see and look beyond what this present situation is showing us by remaining steadfast in our faith in God just like Abraham who never doubted God's protection for his family. May we all see God as our family's help and shield. We’ve got to straighten up some things about God. Who He is and what He wants for our life. What is our picture of God? It’s not surprising to know that most of us think that God doesn’t want us to have fun. It’s like all the things that we want to do with our friends that are interesting and exciting when we were young are against God’s commandments. It may seem like we have to settle for less. What’s worse is that all the faithful Catholics get less out of life. This is part of the propaganda way back in the Garden of Eden. God gave us a magnificent paradise wherein there is perfect intimacy and no shame with each other. In the Garden they have everything they need but gave just one limit, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is very interesting because God said, “Don’t do this because you will die.” The reason why God commands us something is because He is a loving Father who cares for us. He wants us to have the best. But then came the serpent, he didn’t create Adam & Eve, nor gave the garden or anything at all. All the serpent gave was a lie and told Adam & Eve not to listen to God or they’ll lose out and won’t become like God. They were made to believe that God is holding out something from them and is actually their rival because God doesn’t want them to have what He has. So instead of trusting the one who gave them everything, they trusted a stranger. They disobeyed God and listened to the liar. They were hooked into a downward spiral of destruction. This is what sin is all about. It is a trap. It is disguised as an apparent good because the fruit looks good and desirable but it ends in disaster. The relationship with God is messed up and so creation turned against them, thorns and thistles appear and things in life become hard. This is what sin does, it seemed small but it gets out of control. Things get worse and worse and there are broken lives everywhere. This is the reality about sin. We are draining life out of ourselves unless we recognize the One, True and Living God. God is very persistent in reminding us not to stray away from the path and persevere in the true faith. Sometimes we associate God with all the nice and wonderful things in our lives which is right but we should also keep in mind to focus most on the Giver and not on the gift. As the psalm tells us today, “All glory and honor we give to you alone.” Always remind us Lord to keep our feet on the ground for everything comes to us in the name of Jesus. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 115:3-4, 5-6, 7ab-8, 9-10

R: The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.

3 Our God is in heaven; whatever he wills, he does. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the handiwork of men.

We see a lot of problems in our own society and if we don’t allow and fully trust Jesus to put order in our life just like the possessed person in today’s gospel then we might remain incapacitated for life. We have to set limits in order for us to get rid of the bad elements that make us sick whether physically or spiritually. Just like when we avoid too much sugar, salt and fats in our diet or else we will die of diabetes, hypertension and cardiac arrest. We have to control our eating and exercise. We have to exercise a certain control in ourselves so that we can become efficient and useful laborers in God's vineyard. The harvest is indeed abundant but the laborers are few and we are called to be a part of God’s work force. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 9:32-38

A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute person spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” ...At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”