Gospel Reflection--Friday, June 1, 2007

June 1, 2007
Memorial of Saint Justin, martyr
Mark 11:11-26

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people,” Jesus reminds the disciples after driving out the moneychangers and vendors from the temple. Certainly these words remind us of the sacredness of churches, sanctuaries, and house of worship. Yet, especially in this day and age, these words can also apply to another dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, the human body.

We know we are duty-bound to revere and keep holy places of worship, places where the presence of God are sacramentally present, but we also know that we are equally bound to revere and keep holy the body in which the Spirit of God lives. This can be more of a challenge than it first seems. While most people would never have occasion to even consider selling their human body, there are so many ways in contemporary society in which this dwelling of the Holy Spirit is neglected, abused, or disregarded. The challenge for us today, then, is not only to revere our own individual dwelling place of the Holy Spirit but all sacred bodies in which the Spirit of God dwells.

Prayer:
Lord God, may I never forget that Your dwelling is a sacred space and so may I always work to preserve the sanctity of Your every dwelling, of each person within whom you live.