The Temple Within

Greetings, Sisters, Brothers, and Friends,

Today’s lectionary readings in I Samuel 3 told the story of young Samuel, a novice in the service of the Temple, who was awakened several times from his peaceful sleep by the gentle voice of God calling his name. He was given a message to be delivered to Eli, a priest in the Temple. The message was not good news for Eli, but the context with which the message was received by Samuel is good news for us.

Consider these things as you read the story:
1) God is persistent in His attempt to reach us. He doesn’t quit very easily. As long as there is a chance that we will listen, He will speak.
2) The Almighty God who created the entire cosmos is also intimately attached to us, calling us by name to attract our attention and establish a relationship. Samuel! Samuel!
3) God speaks to us in the Temple. In the Hebrew scriptures this was, of course, the one and only Temple in Jersualem. As our understanding of God evolves, however, we are taught in the New Testament that WE are actually the temple of God. “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (I Corin. 3:16) It is actually within us, within our soul, that God speaks. It is through the soul that He placed in us with the breath of life that He speaks to us. The kingdom of God is within you. To hear Him, we need to be still and know that He is God (Ps. 46:10)

As our chaplain, Fr. Patrick, suggested this morning at mass, look for an opportunity this coming week to remind someone else that they are the temple of God. Really!

Know that you are loved,

“All that is necesssary is to look into one’s own heart; for what God asks of us is not found at a great distance.” - St. Jerome.

Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG