BUILD UP A HOME FOR THE LORD IN YOUR HEART

⏰Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year 2 (6 February 2018 – Memorial of St. Paul Miki and his Companions)

????1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30; Ps 84:3, 4, 5 and 10, 11 (R.v.2); Mark 7:1-13

Do you remember what happened, as we read yesterday, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the temple? The glory of the Lord filled the temple, indicating the presence of God in the temple (cf. 1 Kgs 8:11-13).

Note that the content of that Ark was the two tablets of stone which Moses placed in it at Horeb (cf. 1 Kgs 8:9; Exod 34:27) just as we have ordinary bread as the Blessed Sacrament placed in the tabernacles in the Church for adoration.

Hope you are not among the people who doubt the presence of Jesus in the ordinary bread after consecration! It was the same way that the Pharisees doubted the one they looked upon as a village rascal and so missed out the salvation.

Anyway, even with the presence of God with us in those ordinary ways, we are called today not to just limit him to those ordinary forms because his desire is to live in our hearts.

We must allow our lives to be transformed by our belief in that supernatural presence. In that way, we shall not just be following the traditions, but allowing the glory of God to shine out in and through us. That means, we must now be the tabernacles carrying Jesus about to reach out to people everywhere.

The lives of St Paul Miki and his companions, Martyrs of Japan are examples of such lives that have become living tabernacles. They had uncommon courage to stand for the truth even when it was dangerous to do so. Many of them embraced martyrdom when they obviously knew that being identified as a Christian in Japan at that time means death. They could say with St. Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

May God help us to be true images of Christ in our world and candidates for his kingdom in the next. Amen.

Have a glorious day ahead. Peace be with you.