Two months ago, I went to Church on Saturday afternoon to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. My wife, Anna, had given me a grocery list and on my way home I was supposed to pick up a few items for supper that very night. Well what happened was something that I was not accustomed. There was a huge line for confessions. I had to defer my reception of confession until another day. I did do it. However, this was a new experience for me. When I went to church in Florida the lines were small. This is a trend throughout the United States and the world today. In Oklahoma every time I went there was a line.
Now I am not trying to say that we sin more in Oklahoma and they do not in Florida. What is interesting is that more people are receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation and participate more . Yes, you might say that people are busier in Florida. I don’t think so. Regular participation is a habit and should be considered as a good practice.
What I see is that the more people participate in the Sacraments are staying connected to the Holy Spirit. It is participation in every Sacrament.
In Haggai’s time from our first Old Testament reading the people were not connected or received the benefit of the Holy Spirit on a regular basis but still were still inspired enough by his words to receive God’s blessing. The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem occurred in 587 BC. Babylon was not home. It was not Jerusalem.
Then comes Haggai in 520 BC. He tells the people to rebuild the Temple and something surprising happened to this prophet unlike other prophets of the Old Testament. They actually listened to him. Five years later the Temple was rebuilt for worship. And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.
The Holy Spirit was working and inspired everyone because Haggai’s words gave them hope. Greater will be the future glory of this house than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give you peace, says the Lord of hosts!
The hope was what Luke’s speak about in the Gospel which Haggai predicted as the future glory. That glory was Jesus Christ. His sacrifice was His death on the Cross and the eventual coming of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s help is the hope of today.
When we partake of the sacraments, keep the commandments and participate in the precepts of the Church we are building that Temple for today’s generation. God’s peace is our hope.
God Bless
Bob Burford
PS Please keep praying for the hurricane victims and people of the Bahama’s and Houston, Texas.
