Daily Retreat 07/06/09
2009 Jul 6 Mon:Ordinary Weekday/ Maria Goretti, v, mt
Gn 28:10-22a/ Ps 90(91):1-2. 3-4. 14-15ab/ Mt 9:18-26
From today’s readings:“How awesome is this plae! This is nothing else but the house of God, and the gate of Heaven!... In You, my God, I place my trust.... The girl is not dead, but sleeping....”
Domus Dei et Porta Caeli
One of the more common inscriptions sometimes found on or above the doors of great churches and cathedrals are the words “Domus Dei et Porta Caeli,” which is the Latin translation of the phrase which so aptly captures Jacob’s sense of awe as he stands at Bethel before the “House of God and the Gate of Heaven.”
The erection of a church or shrine as a holy place does not, of course, negate the fact that God is certainly present with His people everywhere. Likewise, when a flagpole is raised to proudly unfurl the national banner, there’s no implication that all property beyond the pole’s shadow is somehow less a part of the fatherland. But the church and the flagpole both serve as a visible reminder of greater realities, and thus they become effective focal points to inspire and express love of God and love of country.
Neither, we might add, does the stipulation of a solemn hour of communal prayer in “God’s House” on the Lord’s Day suggest that it is impossible to talk with God and listen to Him at other times during the week. Likewise, the observance of a national holiday is certainly not meant to imply that one should be less patriotic on other days of the year. But sacred times and places are, like patriotic times and places, indispensable for reminding all of us of the greater realities...
Gn 28:10-22a/ Ps 90(91):1-2. 3-4. 14-15ab/ Mt 9:18-26
From today’s readings:“How awesome is this plae! This is nothing else but the house of God, and the gate of Heaven!... In You, my God, I place my trust.... The girl is not dead, but sleeping....”
Domus Dei et Porta Caeli
One of the more common inscriptions sometimes found on or above the doors of great churches and cathedrals are the words “Domus Dei et Porta Caeli,” which is the Latin translation of the phrase which so aptly captures Jacob’s sense of awe as he stands at Bethel before the “House of God and the Gate of Heaven.”
The erection of a church or shrine as a holy place does not, of course, negate the fact that God is certainly present with His people everywhere. Likewise, when a flagpole is raised to proudly unfurl the national banner, there’s no implication that all property beyond the pole’s shadow is somehow less a part of the fatherland. But the church and the flagpole both serve as a visible reminder of greater realities, and thus they become effective focal points to inspire and express love of God and love of country.
Neither, we might add, does the stipulation of a solemn hour of communal prayer in “God’s House” on the Lord’s Day suggest that it is impossible to talk with God and listen to Him at other times during the week. Likewise, the observance of a national holiday is certainly not meant to imply that one should be less patriotic on other days of the year. But sacred times and places are, like patriotic times and places, indispensable for reminding all of us of the greater realities...
posted by FrPitstick | 7/03/2009
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