“I feel so incomplete,” the Pastor announced at the end of
Mass.
The parish we had visited during a recent trip (not the one depicted below) had been
holding Stations of the Cross during Lent in their newly constructed Church even
though the physical Stations of the Cross had not yet arrived or been mounted
on the Church walls.
“The Stations are coming,” Father assured his congregation. “We
won’t be looking at empty walls much longer.”
I understood that sentiment and how having the physical
Stations would enhance that prayerful devotion.
But…
Was there not a far more compelling reason for all of us to feel incomplete?
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| (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
What about the barren white wall space behind the altar? Where
was the tabernacle? Where was the sanctuary lamp reminding us of the Presence
of our imprisoned Lord?
Where was the God we came to worship? He was not in the sanctuary.
Why
would we remove from the sanctuary of our Churches, HE WHO makes that
space Sacred and Holy - unlike any other structure man can visit?
To whom will we genuflect and bend our knee in adoration,
gratitude and respect?
Why do we hide the greatest Treasure
on earth in a tiny space that can accommodate only a handful of souls in the back of the Church separate from the sanctuary?
How likely are we to spend the time prior to Mass in reverent and prayerful silence, rather than idle chatter with our neighbors?
And we wonder why we have lost the sense of the Sacred within our Church buildings and why so many claiming to be Catholic no longer believe that their Lord remains physically amidst them waiting to be visited, worshiped, loved and adored?
How likely are we to spend the time prior to Mass in reverent and prayerful silence, rather than idle chatter with our neighbors?
And we wonder why we have lost the sense of the Sacred within our Church buildings and why so many claiming to be Catholic no longer believe that their Lord remains physically amidst them waiting to be visited, worshiped, loved and adored?
Yes, I agree with Father. There is a reason for all who enter this particular Church (and far too many others) to
feel incomplete. But it is not due to the absence of man-made sculptures. It is the result of failing to place our loving and ever-present Lord behind the altars in the sanctuaries
of His Churches.
Should we not be concerned about how our Lord feels being hidden and ignored?
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