The Temple of the Holy Spirit

[theculturewarrior]

Hello:

I had a thought. I know that the body is a temple to the Holy Spirit, and you can even pray retreat into that temple and pray. (There is a prayer in the Legionaries of Christ's prayerbook, [i]Manual of Prayers[/i] that recommends this approach).

If the body is a temple to the Holy Spirit, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the King and Center of all hearts (from the Litany), and if the Sacred Heart is a Tabernacle of the Most High, would it be appropriate to say that at the center of the temple is a Tabernacle to the Most High?

What does it mean that the body is a temple to the Holy Spirit, and what does it mean that the Sacred Heart is the King and Center of all hearts? And if we can retreat into the silence of our hearts to adore the Holy Spirit, can we not also adore the Trinity? Or is all of this just figurative?

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote]I had a thought. I know that the body is a temple to the Holy Spirit, and you can even pray retreat into that temple and pray. [/quote]
Yes, the ideal state is to attain to a constant state of adoration and thanksgiving toward God; this is cultivated by an awareness of the Presence of God's indwelling in the soul. There are often tangible effects of this indwelling, but one should not be preoccupied with sensations of the body. What should happen is we should grow in our awareness of our communion with the Holy Trinity in and through Christ's life within us. Our heart ought to beat with His heart as it were. It is like a process of gestation if you don't mind the analogy.

[quote]If the body is a temple to the Holy Spirit, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the King and Center of all hearts (from the Litany), and if the Sacred Heart is a Tabernacle of the Most High, would it be appropriate to say that at the center of the temple is a Tabernacle to the Most High?[/quote]
Indeed. There are descriptions of the spiritual lives of many saints and mystics that testify to this fact. And it is a profound image to internalize via prayer. If you are living the spiritual life, you are indeed a walking tabernacle of God. This realization can change the spirit of one's daily life if it becomes deeply experienced and realized.

[quote]What does it mean that the body is a temple to the Holy Spirit[/quote]
Through the Love of Jesus Christ and the Sacramental life of the Church, we literally receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and our very bodies are sanctified. The Holy Spirit is joined to us and informs our being on some level. The degree of actualization depends upon out own dispositions and state of soul (and body). You may wonder what I mean by "and body", but really, a person with one arm or some sort of paralasis does not have the same bodily disposition as healthy person with both arms. (sorry, a bit of a tangent) Because our soul is so perfectly united to the body, you can hardly speak of one without the other in this life. Consider the mystics who have experienced extraordinary phenomenon. There is what can be called the "quasi-glorified body", of which phenomenon such as bi-location, levitation, no necessity of food or water, etc.. become associate. When the soul is elevated in certain ways, the body can't help but be effected. We are a body/soul composite. I hope this helps.

[quote]what does it mean that the Sacred Heart is the King and Center of all hearts?[/quote]
Just that. We ought to recognize Christ's reign on earth and this begins and ends in the heart. Christ dwells in our hearts, he is with us in all the pain, sorrow and joy that we experience in life. He is at the center of our hearts. He is also our King. To recognize His reign is not simply to keep His commands externally, but to have our very hearts transformed and conformed to the law of love, which is the reign of Christ.

[quote]And if we can retreat into the silence of our hearts to adore the Holy Spirit, can we not also adore the Trinity? Or is all of this just figurative? [/quote]
God is in you heart, so all Three Persons of the Trinity are involved. Ultimately in and through Christ we are brought into communion with the Most Holy Trinity. If you search the depths of your soul you will encounter this reality. There is a special privledge given to those who have ascended to the heights of the spiritual life which is a unique vision of the Holy Trinity.