Homily for Monday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time Year II
Theme: ABOUT THE CHURCH
By: Rev. Fr. Jacob Aondover ATSU
Homily for Monday February 10 2020
MEMORIAL OF ST. SCHOLASTICA, VIRGIN
READINGS: 1 KINGS 8:1-7.9-13, PSALM 132, MARK 6:53-56
The ceremony described in our first reading reminds me of the dedication of our Churches today when the new ark of the covenant, the Eucharist is celebrated and reposed officially in the tabernacle in the midst of many children of God and the Lord is invited to “Go up to his place of rest” Ps. 132:8). The celebration reiterates God’s dwelling or ever abiding presence among us in a very visible way. With the arrival of the Ark, the Temple became a house of prayer and blessing; a dwelling place of God. Some reminders about the structure called ‘Church’, once dedicated:
1. It becomes the House of the Lord where: worship is rendered to him day and night and prayers offered always (Lk. 19:46).
2. It becomes a sacred place where the healing touch of Christ is felt in a most special way, a touch that is ‘healing’ in itself.
3. It becomes an image proclaiming the heavenly Jerusalem; a visible sign of the pilgrim Church on earth.
4. It turns to a place where the mystery of the communion between man and God is instantiated.
5. It also becomes an oasis where people gather in silence and prayer seeking peace of soul and light of faith given the noisy nature of today.
6. It becomes a place of recognition and encounter (with Christ) so that touching now, not his garment but his body in the Eucharist or his word in the Gospel, we become healed of our ailments.
Beloved brethren, the Church remains a sacred place even when no liturgical celebration is taking place. Entering it is like crossing a threshold from the WORLD WOUNDED BY SIN to a WORLD OF SACREDNESS AND BLESSEDNESS. We are invited today like the gathered assembly in Solomon’s days to marvel at the presence of the Lord among us. He is with us in the tabernacle; let us go to the place of his dwelling; let us go to kneel at his footstool (Ps. 132:7). When we approach him rightly, reverence his dwelling as we should; his favour necessarily rests on us and his divine touch always finds us.
Do you have the faith of those who recognized Jesus and went all out to touch his garment for healing today? If you do, hurry now, pay him a visit in his dwelling place; kneel before his tabernacle and like Hannah (1Sam. 1:9ff), weep freely and beg him to touch you. In his compassionate nature, he’ll touch your dry faith, dead business, failed projects, wearied bones, sick body, hopeless situations and restore you to a blessed state. May St. Scholastica who felt the loving touch of Christ from her earliest years hence dedicated her life to Christ in virginity always intercede for us.
FEED AND EDUCATE ONE