In today’s readings, we are reminded of one of the essential marks of our Church. In the creed, we declare that we are “one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic.” That means that our faith is built on the foundation of the Apostles’ teachings, with Jesus Christ as the unifying stone that binds the building together. The Church is a sacred temple, but it’s not a building made of physical rocks. So here in the first reading, when St. Paul says, “In Him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit,” he reminds us of another essential truth. We are one. We often read this as a statement directed straight to us, and in a way, it is. But the “you” that Paul uses isn’t a singular you.
It’s a plural one.
He doesn’t say “you the individual” but rather “you” the community are being built into one, the united dwelling place of God. One body of Christ. United by the same teachings, the same beliefs. It’s important to remember that when we stand firm on this foundation, we hold up and support not just ourselves but also each other. We have to be there for one another, lift each other up, and hold on to each other. When we support one another, it makes it easier for the whole structure to remain intact.
The Catechism says it this way: “This temple, symbolized in places of worship built out of stone, is praised by the Fathers and, not without reason, is compared in the Liturgy to the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. As living stones, we here on earth are built into it.” So when we look at this symbolism, at this idea that we are living stones joined together by the teaching and action of the Church, we find the Liturgy is the cement.
One author writes:
“To sum it up, the Liturgy is both an action of Christ and His Church, acting as one, to communicate all that Jesus did for us by His life, death, and resurrection. This is the gift of salvation. And this gift of salvation is an ongoing gift that we receive to a greater and greater degree, in time and space, each time we participate in the Liturgy. For it is there, in the Liturgy, we meet our God and are transformed by Him. The Liturgy is the most excellent means by which this happens and is, therefore, the greatest form of prayer there is.” (From the book “My Catholic Worship” by John Paul Thomas.)
Here in the Mass, we are transformed, not simply individually but together. Ours is a personal relationship with Jesus, but not a private one. It is a communal one, a “we” thing. One community. One family. One faith. A faith that we don’t get to pick and choose which teachings to follow. The Catholic faith is not a cafeteria where you choose what is palatable and leave behind that which we dislike. Our Amen at the front is a response not just to the statement of the body of Christ but a reaction to the reality of the Sacred Liturgy. It is an affirmation, a “yes” to the calling of God, that we too are meant to go forth and preach the Gospel, and not a Gospel of our own… but the one Gospel, from the one faith, united and intact. It’s a yes, I believe in everything the Church teaches, because it is on the foundation of the Apostles with Jesus Christ as the Capstone.
A reflection on the readings for Thursday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time: October 28th, 2021