OUR TEMPLE AND TRADITION

SAINT SCHOLASTICA, VIRGIN  

1 Kings 8:22-23,27-30; Ps 84:3-5,10-11; Mk 7:1-13

Making the Word of God our Tradition

God has no need of a Temple built by human hands. But He approved the building of the Temple in Jerusalem for the glory of his holy name. Of what use is the temple if God does not dwell therein and has no need of temples and churches? Even Solomon who successfully completed the Temple in Jerusalem was aware that God cannot be contained in a physical temple, for he asked while praying: “O Lord, God of Israel, not in heaven above nor on earth beneath is there such a God as you, true to your covenant and your kindness towards your servants when they walk wholeheartedly in your way. Yet will God really live with men on the earth? Why, the heavens and their own heaven cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built!” God dwells in the spiritual temple, which he constructed for himself. He only commanded the construction of the physical temples and churches for our training in attentiveness to his real presence.

Because original sin turned us away from God, our redemption involves turning our attention back to God, who is always present to us and lives within us. The physical temples constructed in honour and worship of God serve as a means to attract our attention to God and his presence among us. They serve as venues for the initiation of our interaction and communion with God; for this is what prayer is essentially. The construction and dedication of physical temples, along with the ritual worship of God therein, contribute to the flourishing of our communal prayers and our growth in personal prayer and communion with God. Hence, the external worship of God in physical temples with rituals promotes the individual worship of God in the spiritual temples of our souls. By helping us to pay close attention to the divine presence in physical temples and to rituals of worship therein, the communal ritual of worship promotes spiritual worship of God in his spiritual temple within each of us. The attention to God’s presence and words fostered and gained in the communal worship of God in the physical temple flows into our personal and spiritual worship of the same God within. The celebration of communal worship in physical temples offers us a common wealth to pass to the next generation as our reception and knowledge of God. Thus, traditions contain our values and ways of doing things. So, Solomon prayed: “Hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven where your dwelling is, hear; and, as you hear, forgive.”

Such traditions are of value insofar as they capture the essential values we receive from God through the revelation of His word, which foster our communion with him. In this sense, the word of God is the key content of our religious tradition. The physical temple worship loses its relevance when it is devoid of God’s will for us. For this reason, our Lord reprimands the Pharisees and scribes who complained to him that his disciples were disobedient to their religious tradition. “He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture: ‘This people honour me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they teach are only human regulations. You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’” The rituals of our physical temple worship must be based on the word of God to foster a spiritual and divine tradition for the salvation of souls. Saint Scholastica was formed in a sound Western monastic tradition initiated by Saint Benedict’s attention to the Gospel, and she lived such a holy and pure life. She was born in Nursia in about 480, the twin sister of Saint Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine Order. She was dedicated to God from an early age and followed her brother to Cassino. She is the traditional foundress of the Benedictine nuns. She established a convent at Plombariola near Monte Cassino. She lived a life of contemplation and followed her brother's rule.  She died in about 547. May her prayers help us to grow a deep spirit of prayer and contemplation of God’s presence within us.

Let us pray: As we celebrate anew the Memorial of the Virgin Saint Scholastica, we pray, O Lord, that, following her example, we may serve you with pure love and happily receive what comes from loving you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.