In a Diocese where churches are so wantonly closed, objections of parishioners dismissed, and the communion of saints in the Church Militant has reached its apex in spaghetti suppers, it seems fair to say that a sense of the Holy has been lost, or at least diminished. Is not the Sanctuary of any Catholic church at least as holy as the Sanctuary of the Temple of Jerusalem? Why then do we see such disrespect, and also the enticing of souls into disrespect?
What has been occuring at St. Januarius is all of the above and more. It has become the poster child for so much that is wrong in the servanthood for souls. And now we have icons of destruction to gaze upon as we meditate from the Bible on how God views His Own Sanctuary, and those who destroy it, or aid those who destroy it.
Destruction in the Sanctuary
Psalm 74: 3-8:
“Direct Thy steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
Thy foes have roared in the midst of Thy holy place; they set up their own signs for signs.
At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes.
And then all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
They set Thy sanctuary on fire; to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of Thy name.
They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”…”
When it is church leadership that drives forth to this destruction, how can the flock be blamed for not understanding the concept of holy? For arriving at church on a Sunday morning and greeting everyone but the Lord? For dressing improperly? For running out early to get out of the parking lot? For failing to pause for Thanksgiving while the Eucharistic presence still dwells within? God is still God, and He’s given many words of Scripture to reveal what He expects for His Sacred Sanctuary. We offer these for additional meditation, and in memory of the words: “I will go in to the altar of God; to God, the joy of my youth.” (Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.)
Steps of Ascent to the Altar
Lev: 19:30 and 26:2: “You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.”
Num: 18:3: “They shall attend you and attend to all duties of the tent; but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar, lest they, and you, die.”
Num 3:38: “…Moses and Aaron and his sons, having charge of the rites within the sanctuary, whatever had to be done for the people of Israel; and any one else who came near was to be put to death.”
Num 4:15: “…the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.”
Num 18:1: “So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your fathers’ house with you shall bear iniquity in connection with the sanctuary; and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity in connection with your priesthood.”
"...tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."
Isa 63:18: “Thy holy people possessed thy sanctuary a little while; our adversaries have trodden it down.”
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Tags: Zeal
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It honestly boggles the mind as to why they started this during Holy Week. Of all the times to start renovation on a church, the LAST week they should start is Holy Week, considering that is the one week when people should go to Mass.
Kevin,
They have lost their faith….
These priests are so sensitive!!!LOL I always have maintained that priestly celebacy was a back door gift to women!!!!