Community July 20
. . . mutually honoring God in yourselves, whose temple you have become (Rule 9).
The Temple is the holy place of God’s presence. It is there that God is honored by acts of adoration, contrition, intercession and thanksgiving. For Augustinian religious, the brother in community is the Temple of God. This is the Temple one enters to adore God. Each time a confrere is welcomed, a space for God is created in the heart. In acts of acceptance of the other, of communication and solidarity, one bows before God in God’s holy Temple. The Temple is the sacred place where, regretting one’s sins, the person asks forgiveness. Reconciliation with the confrere is the sacrament of reconciliation with God, according to the Lord’s Prayer given by Christ. When one pardons another, one reconciles with God in God’s holy Temple. The Temple is the place of intercession where one participates in God’s concern for the world. The gesture of compassion toward the confrere is intercession become effective. By responding to the needs of another, one becomes the channel of God’s blessing in God’s holy Temple. The Temple is the sanctuary in which God is thanked. When one respects the dignity of the confrere, affirming his goodness, valuing him, one recognizes the goodness of God. One gives thanks to God in God’s holy Temple. Before the confrere, according to St. Augustine, sandals are removed because one stands on “holy ground.”
The dog is respected because of its master. (Minyanka)
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