How’s your ‘temple’?

Excerpts from his homily
San Pablo Fiesta, February 19

Archbishop Romulo G. Valles, D.D. started his homily with great gratitude to God and the gift of faith to the parishioners of San Pablo Parish; a faith that is in decline in Europe save for the Filipino diaspora whose faith continues to make the churches in the west alive and vibrant. It is worth mentioning that our Archbishop was recently in Rome and shared this observation in contrast with the Philippine church’s situation.

He started his homily with church-life stories in the Philippines like seeing families together to attend the Holy Mass every Sunday. Today the Psalms was beautifully sung by a differently-abled, and this, according to him manifest the goodness of God. The congregation was told that Filipinos need to thank God for the gift of faith.

Moreover, taking a line from the second reading on St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, (Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?), the Archbishop reminds us that we are ‘Temples of the Holy Spirit,’ and therefore are under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Everybody was told to manage his/her bodies well, keeping it clean – free from drugs and materialism which adorns it with useless clutter. He also said to adhere to Church’s teachings on population control. Finally, he urges all to be always inspired and to ponder on spiritual things, a call to live a holy life for God is holy.