I decided to spend some quality time with my spiritual mother. Her name is Mary. Other titles for her include, Mother of God, Star of the Sea, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Blessed Mother, Mamma Mary, Handmaid of the Lord, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, Mother of Jesus, and I could just keep on going. She has so many titles. Check out a few more in the Litany of Loreto. Anyway, during this Christmas season, I talked and reflected with Mary on the concept of our bodies being temples. "My body's a whaaat?" you might ask. See St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body." I'm sure you all know what your body is. Bones and muscles and all of that stuff covered by flesh. I'm not an anatomy person, but I know that my body is how I eat and need to eat. It is how I walk, grab, sit, stand, dance, laugh, breathe, cry, and sweat. What then, is a temple? A simple definition would be a place where God dwells, or gods/a god is believed to dwell. Most religions have temples--holy places--from Hinduism to Judaism. One thing I'd like to focus on is the Jewish Temple. I'm not talking about the modern-day synagogues. I want to talk about the Temple in the land of Israel. The Temple in Jerusalem, that Jesus would walk in and out of (think around 33AD). Quick bible history lesson because I'm a bible nerd. Solomon built the First Temple of God in Jerusalem. Beautiful and rich--where the people of Israel could worship the Lord, as it was the Lord's house. Very sadly, the First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians and the Jews were cast into exile (586BC). Very joyfully, after being delivered from exile, the Jews built the Second Temple right on top of the first. The Second Temple was standing during the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The first and second temples were similar in many ways. They both had what was called the Holy of Holies and it was likely required for those who entered the Temple to be ceremonially clean. In the very center of the Temple was what was called the Holy of Holies, which contained the very presence of God. Connecting this back to the temple of our bodies, our bodies are meant to contain the very presence of God. I believe as a Catholic, that the very flesh and blood of God dwells within me when I receive Jesus during the celebration of the Mass. Called the Eucharist, Jesus Himself takes on the form of bread and wine so that He may enter us most fully and intimately. When I eat this bread, not only the presence of God is within me, but His whole body, blood, soul, and divinity. Another cool thing. To enter the Temple in Jerusalem, one had to be ceremonially clean. Jews would have to cleanse themselves before entering the Temple (it was a type of ritual bath). Anything that was sinful or dirty would be terribly disrespectful to God, Who dwelt in the Temple, thus they had to make sure they were clean. Think of our own bodies now. We should only let what is clean enter our bodies. Let's try our best to keep out all that is sinful and dirty. The sinful and dirty can come in many forms:
1 Comment
Chris Beltowski
12/31/2017 03:27:49 am
Another great lesson by a great teacher of the faith. Keep up the great work.
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AuthorJacqueline St. Clare: I spent six months in a cloistered convent, and now I'm a college student! Archives
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