605. November 9, Dedication of Archbasilica of Our Holy Saviour
Meditations no. 532 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
Churches are a symbol of Godās presence among men.
When the Jewish people were wandering in the desert, God wanted to have a place set aside for Himself, where he could make known to Moses his plans and answer the Israelitesā requests. The Lord said to Mosesā¦ let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. According to all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and all its furniture, so you shall make it. The Lord explained to Moses even the small details for the construction they should undertake: the ark, the tabernacle, the altar of holocausts, the lamp stand. These were visible signs by which he made known to his people that he dwelled among them, and that he was always ready to listen to their pleas and to care for them at every moment.
St Paul teaches that The God who made heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. Nevertheless, he wants to have churches dedicated to his worship in order to show visibly that he is continually present among men and to make it easier to approach him.
When dedicating a church, in one of her most solemn rites, the Church recalls this mystery of Godās drawing close to men, which began in the Old Testament and reached its fullness in Jesus Christ. My dwelling place shall be with them, God said through the prophet Ezekiel, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
The material building consecrated to God is a symbol of the Church, which is perpetuated on earth by those living stones, your chosen people, that is, by Christians. It also symbolizes the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church triumphant in heaven, where human buildings will no longer exist: its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. When at the end of the world the heavens and the earth are renewed, the heavenly tabernacle will be the one true sanctuary, where God will dwell together with all the just who have gloriously risen, being for them their light and their life.
Both meanings are contained in one of the prefaces for todayās Mass, where the Church invites us to give thanks to God: Here you reveal your presence by sacramental signs, and make us one with you through the unseen bond of grace. Here you build your temple of living stones, and bring the Church to its full stature as the body of Christ throughout the world, to reach its perfection at last in the heavenly city of Jerusalem, which is the vision of your peace.
In the tabernacle, Christ himself is present in the Holy Eucharist.
Since Christās coming to earth, the church is truly the place of Godās presence among men. For the Son of God has chosen to dwell in every tabernacle. The centre of our churches is a tabernacle that men would never have been able to imagine. Christ himself is really present in the sacrament of the Eucharist, with his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Moreover, on the altars of our churches the sacrifice of the new and everlasting covenant is renewed in the unbloody immolation of the sole victim of Calvary.
Each church is a place dedicated to public worship. It is the house of God; Jesus is there, sacramentally present. It is not surprising, therefore, that we make every effort to adorn our churches in the most dignified way possible, and that we take great care of them. To reach God, we need to make use of our senses and emotions. Therefore we need images to assist our devotion, and everything should be clean and attractive. Our Father writes, Sacred art should lead us to God and respect holy things. Its goal must be to foster piety and devotion. For many centuries religious art was the best art because it followed that rule, respecting its intrinsic purpose. But the modernistic images are so often caricatures. They are as bad as the āsugar-coatedā images. What is ugly and disrespectful is just as bad as what is unctuous and in bad taste.
Neither of these two extremes is of any help for piety. If architects, sculptors and painters wish to contribute to divine worship by their art, they must obey certain clear rules. I donāt mean by this that one has to paint heaven on oneās knees, as they say Fra Angelico used to do. But it is necessary to paint it respectfully, with love and devotion.
A Christian can find God anywhere, because he always bears him within himself. His soul in grace is a temple of the Holy Spirit. My children, your ordinary contact with God takes place where your fellow men, your yearnings, your work and your affections are. It is in the midst of the most material things of the earth that we must sanctify ourselves, serving God and all mankind. But to do so, we must always show great refinement and love towards Jesus in the tabernacle, where he has wanted to remain hidden, waiting for us like an eternal lover.
Putting affection and care into our oratories and acts of worship.
Our Father taught us that when a house is to be constructed or an existing building remodelled for one of our apostolatesā¦ consideration has to be given, above all, to the tabernacle. In our Centres the oratory always occupies the best place. We put great love into preparing the room where the tabernacle will be. There Jesus awaits our visits and our words of love. He wants us to ask Him trustingly, as the disciples from Emmaus did: mane nobiscum, quoniam advesperascit, et inclinata es iam dies. Stay with us, since we need you. Were our Lord not truly present in the tabernacle, we would feel an immense void in our lives. We need to draw close to him, to kneel down in his presence. We need to have him always beside us. He is the Head of our house and presides over our home.
The conviction that Jesus Christ is truly present in the tabernacle leads us to give him the most precious objects that we can. We give God the best. By the attention and care that we put into divine worship- ordinarily carried out in small oratories-we will ensure that we never offer the sacrifice of Cain. As I have said before, when a man gives the woman he loves a sack of cement and three iron bars as a sign of affection, we will do the same for our Lord, who is in heaven and also in our tabernacles.
That is why our oratories are dignified, well cared for and clean. We may not be able to make them very rich, but we offer God the best that we have or are able to obtain. If they are being newly constructed, we try to make them of a better quality than the rest of the house. In 1932 the Father wrote, My daughters and sons, I dream of the oratories, the tabernacles that will be spread throughout the world, carrying the God-given spirit of the Work of God to all souls. I ask that, wherever you are, you follow the local usage in building materials. But it makes me very sad to see churches that look like garages, and images that are a caricature and a mockery. Never put them into our oratories.
Years ago, our Father when traveling through different countries would sometimes come upon churches in disrepair. He used to comment that he could easily understand any kind of sin due to human weakness. But it was much harder for him to understand a lack of dignity in things and places for worship, because it so vividly reflects an absence of faith and love. He would say: I think that God looks with special affection on persons who put love into everything related to worship and who make sure that churches are dignified, decorously maintained and cleaned, and that the altars are sparkling and the sacred vestments are well kept. God will look upon them with special affection, and He will more easily overlook their weaknesses, because they show by those details that they believe and love.
We ask our Lady to teach us how to show Jesus the same refinement and love that she showed Him in Bethlehem, at Nazareth, and throughout her whole life.