Commentary of the day Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church Sermon Morin no.3, 4 ; PLS 2, 664 He was speaking about the temple of his body Because Solomon was a prophet he built a temple of stone and wood… for the living God, who made heaven and earth and whose dwelling is in the skies… Why did God ask that a temple be built? Was he lacking somewhere to live? Listen to Stephen’s speech at the time of his passion: “Solomon,’ he said, “built a house but the most High does not live in man-made temples” (Acts 7,48). Why, then, did he build, or cause to be built, a temple? To prefigure Christ’s body. The first temple was only a shadow (Col 2,17): when light comes, shadows flee away. Are you now looking for the temple Solomon built? You will find a ruin. Why is this temple only a ruin? Because the reality it announced has been fulfilled. The true temple, the Lord’s body, also fell but has been raised up again, and raised up in such a way it will fall no more… What about our own bodies? They are members of Christ. Listen to Saint Paul: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” (1Cor 6,15). When he says: “Your bodies are members of Christ”, what does this mean but that our bodies, joined to Christ our head (Col 1,18), together form a single temple, God’s temple. Together with Christ’s body our bodies are this temple… Let yourselves be built up in unity that you may not fall in ruins by remaining separate.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 00:55:03 +0000