THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Dedication of the Patriarchal Basilica of Assisi 25 May 2014

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friend,

When St. Francis died, his body was solemnly taken to Assisi, and placed in the church of St. George. Before he left this world, he requested that his body be buried on the "Hill of Hell" a place where criminals were executed. Gregory IX had a magnificent church built on the "Hill of Hell" which he called the "Hill of Paradise." The construction was completed after two years and with a great concourse of pilgrims, the body was transferred with great pomp to the new church on May 25, 1230. On May 25, 1253, Innocent IV solemnly consecrated the building. Benedict XIV raised it to the rank of a Patriarchal Basilica. 

The house of God is the most awesome place for men here on earth. Our Holy Mother Church has gone to great lengths to adorn and embellish her churches so that we might be impressed by the majesty of being in such intimate proximity to God. The house of God brings us into the true presence of God; because Jesus Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist. As true God and true man He is hidden under the appearances of simple bread and wine. 

The design, embellishments, and decorations of the church are deliberately made so that our hearts and minds will be lifted up to God. The rising columns, the vaulted ceilings, the paintings, statues, all colors and textures; are the best of man's ability to give honor and glory to God. The best artisans and builders are obtained and inspired to give their all to the project. Cost often was no object, as Catholics are always eager to make sacrifices for the glory of God. The church is truly Heaven on earth. In the church, we kneel, in the presence of the magnificent and all powerful God. It is our portal into eternal glory. In the church we obtain a taste of what heaven must be like. 

Many would imagine that St. Francis would be at odds with all this material wealth and beauty. It is true that St. Francis loved poverty and simplicity, but it is also true that he would exhaust himself as well as all his resources for the House of God. He would often sweep and clean out the churches as well as repair them with his own hands. 

The Modernists, who have taken over the churches, have removed the divine presence from the buildings. They have removed the tabernacles, they have invalidated the Eucharist, and they preach the Rights of Man as opposed to the Rights of God. Often, the physical buildings maintain some of their material beauty, and they are awesome testimonies of the ingenuity and brilliance of man's abilities. However, without the true presence of the Holy Eucharist, they are nothing more than museums or monuments to men. Even the religious themes of the artwork lose their meaning when they are separated from their intended proximity to the Real Presence. What Jesus had condemned in the Temple has now taken place in the churches. "My house is a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves." Many continue to attend the buildings even after God was driven out. This was a deliberate design. The people mistook the buildings for the Church and the true Faith, and now the churches are churches of men rather than houses of God. 

The true temple, however is not made by the hands of men. God's desire was not to be hidden away in a building no matter how beautiful it may be. The desire of God is to live in our hearts and souls. Our bodies are the temples that God wishes to live in. When Jesus said that men would destroy the Temple and He would rebuild it in three days, He was speaking of His body not of a temple built by the hands of men. Likewise, we must realize that our bodies are temples more beautiful and precious than the greatest of cathedrals. 

The committing of sin and driving God and grace out of our bodies and souls is a much greater sacrilege than the desecration and driving Him out of material buildings. The best adornments for the Temples of our bodies are the virtues especially treasured by St. Francis: humility, modesty, poverty, chastity, obedience, faith, hope, and most of all charity. We often consider the modern churches and observe that they are empty and naked, but sadly this is what is happening to so many people's bodies. They are empty of any virtue, and often lacking in sufficient or decent clothing. The numerous piercings and tattoos make one think of graffiti desecrating the walls of our once sacred churches. In fact, because our bodies are more sacred than material buildings, the desecration is all the more evil. Our bodies are often not only desecrated themselves but they are used to tempt and destroy the life of grace in the bodies and souls of those around us. 

We may not be able to do anything about the takeover of our churches by the Modernists, but we still have control over the more sacred temples of our bodies. Let us strive to make them beautiful and worthy places for God to dwell, until we are eternally united with Him in Heaven.