Building Up God's House

This is what the LORD then said to Moses: "Tell the Israelites to take up a collection for me. From every man you shall accept the contribution that his heart prompts him to give me. These are the contributions you shall accept from them: gold, silver and bronze; violet, purple and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; rams' skins dyed red, and tahash skins; acacia wood; oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; onyx stones and other gems for mounting on the ephod and the breastpiece. They shall make a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell in their midst." (Exodus 25:1-8)

I have sometimes heard others wonder aloud why we give our money to build big, fancy churches rather than putting that money to better use such as a charity for orphaned children or AIDS victims. Wouldn't Jesus want us to take care of His children instead of building huge cathedrals?

Certainly we are called to take care of those less fortunate then ourselves, and we should give a portion of our wealth (be it money, time or talent) to those in need. But as Catholics, we also should give a portion of our wealth to building the house of God much as God commanded Moses to do in Exodus 25.

In this chapter we read about God giving specific instructions on how the Jewish people are to construct the ark which will hold the rod, manna, and commandments as well as how to construct what would become the holy of holies where God would reside among His people.

As Catholics, we believe that Christ is present in a unique way when we celebrate the Eucharist. At the moment of the consecration, Jesus is present in body, blood, soul and divinity and remains so as long as the consecrated host and wine turned blood are in our midst. The tabernacle in a Catholic church becomes for us a holy of holies since God is truly residing with us.

For those who are not Catholic (or do not truly believe that Christ is uniquely present in the Eucharist) I can understand why there might be doubt about putting large sums of money into a building. After all, is a gymnasium or a classroom not sufficient for a service which amounts to a bible study given by a wise pastor or minister? In such scenarios I would be inclined to agree that extravagant buildings with rich tapestries, colorful murals and precious metallic accoutrement are simply means of showing off one's wealth.

But if in fact God is truly present in that place, then shouldn't we offer Him the very best that we can? A Catholic Church IS the House of God, and to do anything less than to give him our first fruits would be to disrespect His sovereignty and power.

In Matthew 26:6-11 we see Jesus affirming the actions of a woman who pours costly perfumed oil on Him. His disciples argued that the oil could have been sold to provide for the poor, but Jesus rebukes them stating that the poor will always be there, but He will not always be there. Should we assume then that Jesus covets the oil or claims to be more important than the lowly poor? Surely not. Instead our Lord is affirming the command the Father gave to the Israelites by confirming that they should offer their best for their Messiah.

We as Catholic Christians are called to do nothing less.

I Am (Your Father)

"Many religions invoke God as 'Father.' The deity is often considered the 'father of gods and of men.' In Israel, God is called 'Father' inasmuch as He is Creator of the world. Even more, God is Father because of the covenant and the gift of the law to Israel, 'His first-born son.' God is also called the Father of the king of Israel. Most especially He is the 'Father of the poor,' of the orphaned and the widowed, who are under His loving protection." CCC 238



Admit it. Christianity is a patriarchal faith. Yes, God did create man and woman in His image, but as equals in a complimentary sense rather than as interchangeable. One can simply look to the state of society since children have been robbed of a father figure to recognize that mom, however great she is, was never created to be the sole head of the household (or nation, or Creator of the universe IMHO).

Why then, do some people who recognize the sign of the cross to be "In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit" be so politically correct when reciting prayers during Mass by removing the male pronouns from prayers and replacing them with asexual references? Can they not accept that while the Church recognizes God as a sexless deity, He remains the Father?

Thanks to the politically correct feminist agenda of making man and woman absolute equals (and often I think they REALLY want to promote the role of womanhood even higher) the Church is now being subjected to the desire to play down God's male image as Father and Protector. Just like the advent of birth control, the push to demote manhood from society will lead to the ultimate downfall of our existence.