The Temples of our Bodies

The Temples of our Bodies
A Lenten Minute Reflection for Sunday, March 8, 2015 

by Dcn Bob Bonomi

One of the reflections that I read today came from "The Word Among Us" and focused on the line from today's Gospel, "Zeal for Your house will consume me." (John 2:17).  It compared the Lord's passion for the Temple in Jerusalem with His passion for us, for our bodies are the temples of His Holy Spirit.  What a thought! I've often been reminded that when we receive the Eucharist, we become tabernacles for the Body of Christ, but I've never thought about how our bodies are also temples. This Gospel reminds us that our bodies are indeed temples for the Risen Lord, just as Jesus referred to His own body as the temple which would rise in three days after it's destruction.

And if we are temples of the Holy Spirit, then the Lord's zeal for God's house extends to each one of us.  He wants to purify us; drive out the sin, the earthly concerns that weigh us down and which consume the space which we need for the Holy Spirit.  We, too, should have that same sort of zeal for God's temples - both in us and in our fellow man.  As we continue through Lent, let us allow the Holy Spirit do some "spring cleaning" within us, and prepare our temples for the Body of Christ.  If you haven't already done so, make time to clean house by the Sacrament of Reconciliation this week.