EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
3 MARCH 2019
The
Prophet Ezekiel writes to his people who are in exile in Babylon. The Babylonians had destroyed the city of
Jerusalem and torn down the Temple, the dwelling place of God. Ezekiel has told his people that this
disaster had been their fault. They had
walked away from God and had abandoned the Covenant. However, Ezekiel is clear that God has not
abandoned them. God remains with them in
exile and will be with them when they will return home. He shares the vision he has received of a new
and restored Temple. We hear the end of
that vision in the first reading when he describes the glory of God returning
to the Temple and filling it with his presence.
God will not abandon his people.
Two years
ago, this temple was filled for the first time with parishioners who had
sacrificed to make the building possible.
With dozens of priests concelebrating, Bishop Rhoades consecrated this
new house of God. After the assembly
asked for the intercession of the Saints, he prayed the prayer of consecration,
making it clear that this building would be used for nothing but worship. He anointed the Altar with Sacred Chrism,
along with the walls at the 12 crosses.
Clouds of incense filled the church, and the Bishop led us in the
celebration of the Eucharist for the first time. The Lord remains truly present in the Blessed
Sacrament reserved in the Tabernacle. In
addition to the public worship offered here daily, people can pray in the
presence of the Blessed Sacrament at any time during the day or night.
In
celebrating this second anniversary, we give thanks for our beautiful church. But in doing so, we are conscious of the
words of the First Letter of Saint Peter.
We are the living stones, built on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. Through Baptism, we have become a chosen
race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own. In celebrating this anniversary, we renew our
trust that the Lord is continuing to build us into a beautiful spiritual
house. We know that we are not perfect,
and that we do not always live our baptismal promises. That is why we enter into the Season of Lent
on Wednesday. We commit ourselves to
prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to admit our sins and to trust in God’s mercy.
Our
confidence rests on the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel. Simon Peter does not make a wild guess that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
His correct answer is revealed to him by the Father. Jesus does not make Simon Peter the rock
foundation of his Church because of any accomplishment or particular holiness
on Simon Peter’s part. His denial of
knowing Jesus is plainly seen on our Triumphal Arch, with the cock
crowing. Jesus makes him the rock
foundation because of his profession of faith.
We see the image of Peter on the left wall of the Triumphal Arch,
pictured with the keys that symbolize the authority given to him and his
successors (including our patron, Pope Saint Pius X, on the right wall).
At this
time in the history of the Church, we are painfully mindful of the failures of
too many priests, bishops, and even cardinals.
We have seen the damage done to so many innocent victims. We witness the terrible effects of these sins
on the Church. That is why it is so
important to remember the promise of Jesus to Peter that the gates of the
netherworld shall not prevail against it.
In the ancient world, the gates to the netherworld were seen as
separating our world from theirs. When
Jesus calls Peter the “Rock,” he is not only saying that the Church will
prevail against the netherworld. He is
the Rock that is thrown against that barrier and breaks down sin, evil, and all
that is the work of the evil one. As we
celebrate the Sacramental life of the Church in this church, we are drawn more
closely into that mystery, especially as the Church is being purified. Jesus will keep his promise and has opened
for us the gates of eternal life.
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