By John Katz, Editor,The American Dossier
I am a Jewish convert to Catholicism going on almost 40 years.
Am I worthy? , What does it take? , How has God proved His Love for us? , Who will save your soul?
These are l things we are called to ponder on all throughout the year, not only from Lent through Easter.
Yet we recycle through the remainder of the year often measured by materialistic values rather than spiritual. Then comes Christmas.. rinse and repeat through Advent.
This sounds mundane, yet as Christians, we called to believe we have a God who still loves us in and wants to refine/rebuild us from our flaws.
During His lifetime Jesus ...God in the flesh performed many miracles, yet he was ultimately hung on a cross.
“On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?” 19Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it again.” 20“This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and You are going to raise it in three days?”
Within the past 48 hours, since we all became aware of the tragic fire of Notre Dame Cathedral, there already have been millions if not billions of dollars pledged to rebuild it. Is this really about a building?
But in reality how much will it take to save our souls? No amount of money can do that.
Sadly, without haste, there was world wide speculation that Monday’s fire at Notre Dame was an act of terror. As of this writing, the cause is still pointing towards accidental due to a restoration project.
Indeed it was/is a building of historical .artistic and spiritual grandeur. Some are calling this tragedy the “911” of Europe.
However, it is also an awakening to the confused culture in which we live.
There already have varied opportunist reactions ranging from demeaning the Catholic Church to calling for greater attention to be spent on ‘real social injustices.’
There is validity to a degree of all these aspects that we have heard. But perhaps this tragedy can spark a spiritual revival to the awareness of a Higher Power… God.
When you consider the atrocities that have hit the Catholic Church with reports on all the scandals you cannot help but ponder the karma of yesterdays tragic fire occurring during Holy Week.
Does anyone remember the popular phrase from a few years back WWJD? (What would Jesus do)
Perhaps we need to start printing bumper stickers along the lines of “ Is Not About Rebuilding A Building Stupid ! “ to make us aware of God in regards to this tragedy.
We all need to see this tragedy as an opportunity to rebuild/revitalize awareness of the spiritual body of the church rather than that of rebuilding a physical building.
I can t help ponder when Jesus turned over the tables in the temple, Matthew 21:12, Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.
Christ’s anger was justified. Material things are not replacement for God. They can come and go and can be replaced. More significantly was that Jesus anger was more toward those’ in charge’ who were using God’s house for selfish greed. and manipulation.
Fortunately, there were no lives lost yesterday. Yes, a building can serve as a significant and beautiful reminder of God, but if it should fall, it is our job to continue to continue to keep faith, to give thanks and pray to God. ( And to tell its story and history ,from a secular perspective this is why in America, we value free speech without censorship).
In Closing thoughts , it was reported that amongst the ruins the Crown of thorns, said to be worn by Jesus Christ, was saved. Perhaps a reminder that it's not about a physical building we are called to rebuild. By Christ’s sacrifice, and our accepting and only through His Grace, Love and Mercy we can save our individual spiritual ‘buildings,’… our souls.