SACREDNESS & DIGNITY:
Scripture: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.” – 1 Cor. 3:16-17
Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, Who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.” – CCC #2258
Brothers and sisters, if we only knew, only understood just how precious life is to God; if we only understood how important upholding the dignity of every living human being is to God, we (Christians) could fully appreciate what we recently celebrated in the Triduum. God loves us so much, that He desires us to live life and live it in joy and peace from all struggle and sorrow, and for us to allow each and every one
else to be given that same love and respect. Because He loves and respects our human dignity, He, in turn, expects us to wholeheartedly embrace the command of Jesus to, “Love others as He loves us.”
However, it is not only the sacredness and dignity of life that we are called to respect and uphold of our fellow human beings. We are also called to uphold and respect the sacredness and the dignity of the Lord, our God: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
As such, both of these are spelled out in the 10 Commandments. The first three commandments focus on God; while the remaining seven are directed to the care and concern for one another. And, as you may recall me saying earlier, that we can envision these relationships as a vertical direction between us and God, and then a horizontal direction with each other as we are all created equal in the eyes of God. When these two directions are
brought together they form a Cross.
Interestingly, at a priest’s ordination, the bishop says to him, “Know what you are doing, and imitate the mystery you celebrate; model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s cross.” Brothers and sisters, when we are working and praying to maintain the sacredness and dignity of God and mankind, we are living out the mystery of the Cross of Christ.
We should ask ourselves though (removing emotion from our thought process), if we are indeed maintaining the sacredness of our Lord, Jesus Christ or are we just “checking boxes” that we learned long ago? Has sacredness and dignity been worn down over time?
For instance, when we want our child baptized, do we take seriously the role of the parents and godparents that the child has a right to? Do we think that confession is for only if we violate the Letter of the Law – what about the Spirit of the Law that Christ spoke about? Do we receive the Eucharist in reverence, believing that it is truly the Body and Blood of Christ, or are we just checking the box? Do we believe that when a child is confirmed, they no longer are required to attend mass? When a couple want to get married, are they more concerned about scheduling the reception, rather than making sure the church and the priest/deacon are available for the wedding day?
Brothers and sisters, only we can answer these questions for ourselves. God has gifted us the sacraments of the Church to help us grow in love andcompassion; always recognizing the sacredness and dignity of each other and of Him. Let us never assume anything…As the Catechism points out, “God Himself is not bound by His sacraments.” – #1257
“Everything comes from love; all is ordained for the salvation of man.
God does nothing without this goal in mind.”
-St. Catherine of Siena
