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Rooted and Grounded

Rooted and Grounded

"You are God's Building"

The vision statement of "His Global Love" prayer apostolate reads:

'To form the hearts of God's people through a deep, personal relationship with God so that they may become, within themselves, a "house of prayer for all peoples".'

This reference to "house of prayer" comes from Is. 56:7, "for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." This house of prayer originally referred to God's temple in Jerusalem. The exterior facade of the original temple in Jerusalem that King Solomon had overseen the construction of ("the temple I have built in your honor" (1 Kings 8:48)) was adorned with gold. This was intentional. For, at sunrise each day as the sun's rays struck the gold the overwhelming brightness of the reflected light was such that the temple appeared to be on fire. After all, the temple was said to be the place of God's presence and fire expresses God's holiness and love. This house of prayer appeared to be a "house of fire": "The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame"(Obadiah 18). King Solomon may have had in mind the history of his people and Moses' first encounter with God on Mt. Horeb (Ex.3:1-2) in fire flaming out of a burning bush, or how God led his people through the desert journey as a column of fire at night. Neither Moses nor King Solomon could have imagined, however, that one day this fire of God's presence would dwell within human beings beginning at Pentecost. No more fiery facades, but now fire within! Each person in the upper room on the day of Pentecost would become in themselves a "house of prayer", a "house of fire". This is our calling, too.

Historically, we know that for all of its grandeur and splendor King Solomons' temple was destroyed by the Babylonians during the time of the Babylonian exile. Even the second temple would be destroyed by the Romans in 70a.d. In John 2:19-21, in the scene of Jesus' cleansing of the temple, he speaks forth an amazing revelation: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up…he was speaking about the temple of his body" (verses 19,21). Indeed Jesus, the "true Solomon" had "built this temple for himself" in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a temple of perfect praise and worship to the Father. Jesus is the "temple" not made by human hands. In his life one sees fulfilled the prophetic words that God had spoken centuries earlier through the Prophet Haggai: "Greater will be the future glory of this house than the former, says the LORD of hosts."(Haggai 2:9). Truly the "house" of Jesus' body, the body of the only Son of the Father, bears the glory of the divine Spirit: "Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory" (Dan. 3:53).

One of the most amazing truths about the Sacrament of Christian Baptism is that at our baptism we begin to "house" Jesus in his Spirit within ourselves. When we speak of our becoming within ourselves a "house of prayer for all peoples" we are saying that we "house" the sacred presence of God within ourselves: My heart becomes a "tabernacle" of his divine presence. St. Paul speaks of this to the Corinthians when he says to them, "For the temple of God, which you are, is holy" (1Cr.3:17); and, "a dwelling place of God in the Spirit" (Eph. 2:22); and, "You are…God's building" (1Cr. 3:9). Each of us must be formed through the help of God's grace to grow in the awareness of this baptismal truth. The heart of the formation process of "His Global Love" Ministry is focused on the transformation of lives. The word, transformation, is another word for the word, change. A true Christian is really a converted--a changed--human being: One who has experienced an interior change of heart and mind. This is certainly so for a contemplative intercessor. As one grows in his/her faith one should begin to believe more and more in the truth that they "house" the sacred presence of God within themselves. The Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of the Father and Jesus, is the fire within us. At some point in our faith journey we hopefully begin to realize that we exist to serve the "life", the sacred presence, of the One who now lives within us through the Sacrament of Baptism. One way in which to serve this life of Jesus within us is to live an intercessory lifestyle of praise and prayer with a willingness to pray for "all peoples" (Is. 56:7). Hopefully, each of us can experience the joy of belonging to God completely, living as God's "house of prayer", interceding as led by the Holy Spirit, and radiating the fire of God's holiness and love for all people.

Scriptures:

Luke 2:49; 2Cr.13:5

Questions:

1.      How on fire for God and for the salvation of souls am I?

2.      Where in my life may I be resisting interior change in my heart and mind?

 

Rooted and Grounded
      You are God's Building
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