THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Twenty-Seventh (Last) Sunday after Pentecost

24 November 2024

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends in Christ,

We are once again reminded of the dreadful fall of Jerusalem that Jesus predicted and warned the infant Church against. When the biological children of Abraham ceased to be spiritual children of Abraham, the destruction of Jerusalem and her people was imminent. Jesus emphasized the need to be detached from material things as he warned us not to turn back. If we are on the housetop, we are not to come down to take anything out of the house. If we are in the field, we should not return for a coat. He even pronounces woe to us if we are attached to material things, like a mother is attached to her unborn or nursing infant.

Our physical or biological inheritance is not what is essential. It is our spiritual inheritance, the legacy of faith, hope, and love, that we must cherish and preserve, even at the loss of material things and relationships. The physical destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem was dreadful. The Temple was beautiful and was a place dedicated to the honor and glory of God. In those sacred walls, sacrifices and offerings were prepared and given to God in worship and love. The physical beauty was because of the spiritual beauty that took place within its walls. Once the spiritual beauty was destroyed, only the temple's outer shell was left standing. The destruction of this material — physical — outer shell shocks and frightens us. However, the actual destruction came long before with the loss of spiritual things such as faith, hope, and love. As the people of the Temple became more concerned with the material than with the spiritual aspects of worshiping God, they abandoned the True God and chased Him out of their hearts and souls and even the Temple.

Without God in their hearts and minds, their souls and the physical Temple became empty or desolate. As the sacrifices and offerings became purely material things, they became abominations. When the sacred becomes profane, it is an abomination. When materialism or politicism became the false god of the Temple, God abandoned the Temple and its people. There was the abomination of desolation standing in the Holy Place.

The early Catholics must have found it very difficult to see the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. The richness and glory of the Temple were made possible by the sacrifices and labors of many people for many years. It once gave great honor and glory to God. Yet, without God, the Temple was only an empty vessel. The altars, walls, candles, incense, decorations, etc., were all meaningless when separated from the true love and worship of God. As the early Catholics fled without concern for material things, they also left behind all the material things in the Temple. The only thing they needed to take with them was the love of God in their hearts and souls. God is a loving Father who knows what we need and provides lovingly for us. We need not concern ourselves with material riches when we have spiritual treasures in our hearts, minds, and souls. Material things can be re-acquired if or when they are genuinely needed. Trust in God's provision and focus on spiritual wealth will lead us to true fulfillment.

The material beauty of our Churches should never become a distraction to true spiritual beauty. Instead, it should enhance and uplift our spiritual worship. Material beauty should be an aid or complement to the spiritual beauty of God, which lives within our hearts, minds, and souls. When we come to Church, we see many beautiful things, but everything should direct our hearts, minds, and souls to God. The ceremonies of the Mass and Sacraments are filled with meaning and wonder, but we must guard against mechanical or rote material participation or observation.

Hidden within the outward or material things and ceremonies is the true treasure of Life and Love — God Himself. Things should lead us to greater love of Him, not distract us or lead us away from Him. It is not the physical bread and wine that we offer to God in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that we worship, but it is God Himself Who transforms the bread and wine into His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, Whom we worship, love and adore.

When material or mechanical ritualism takes the place of true offerings, sacrifices, worship, adoration, thanksgiving, etc., our Churches become like the Temple in Jerusalem — filled with the abomination of desolation. It is our clue that we must flee from this, and we need not worry about saving the altar, the candlesticks, the statues, artwork, or other material things. All we truly need to take with us is the true love, sacrifice, and worship of God in our hearts and souls. God will provide for the material things when or if they become needed.

We are called upon to use material things to aid our spiritual lives, not to replace them. They must be used to draw us nearer to God, not replace Him in our hearts.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!