We are the
Church
from a sermon by Saint
Caesarius of Arles on the anniversary of the Dedication of Saint John Lateran
My fellow
Christians, today is the birthday of this church, and occasion for celebration
and rejoicing. We, however, ought to be
the true and living temple of God.
Nevertheless, Christians rightly commemorate this feast of the church,
their mother, for they know that through her they were reborn in the
spirit. Our first birth brought death to
us, but our second restored us to life.
If we think more
carefully about the meaning of our salvation, we shall realize that we are
indeed living and true temples of God. God does not dwell only in structures
fashioned by human hands, in homes of wood and stone, but rather he dwells
principally in the soul made according to his own image and fashioned by his
own hand. Therefore, the apostle Paul
says: The temple of God is holy, and you
are that temple.
God
himself in his loving mercy saw fit to make of us his own home. When Christ came, he banished evil from our
hearts, in order to build in them a temple for himself. Let us therefore do what we can with his
help, so that our evil deeds will not deface that temple. For whoever does evil, does injury to
Christ.
My fellow
Christians, do we wish to celebrate joyfully the birth of this temple? Then let us not destroy the living temples of
God in ourselves by works of evil.
Whenever we come to church, we must prepare our hearts to be as
beautiful as we expect the church to be.
Do you wish to find this basilica immaculately clean? Then do not soil your soul with the filth of
sins. Do you wish the basilica to be
full of light? God too wishes that your
soul be not in darkness, but that the light of good works shine in us, so that
he who dwells in the heavens will be glorified.
Just as you enter this church building, so god wishes to enter into your
soul, for he promised: I shall live in them, and I shall walk the corridors
of their hearts.
Do you enter this
church with the attitude that you are coming to spend time with Christ? If you were really in His presence, you would
not want to leave, you would want to bask in his light and love forever. He is present in this church, in this
temple. He is present in your heart,
your temple- unless you have asked Him to leave. You are the temple of the Lord. He speaks to you when you are quiet and can
listen. The Mass Journals were given out
so you could save what he says to you.
Use them to savor the conversation!
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