I was meditating today on all of these beautiful Scripture passages that have such vivid imagery attached to them. I found myself thinking of the Divine Mercy image and the prayer “O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the heart of Jesus, as a fount of mercy for us …” And all of a sudden I was flooded (pun intended!) with these images of the Holy of Holies, the river, the temple, His Body, our bodies … and us becoming the image, becoming the temple, and becoming the fresh water for a thirsty world.
Notes from Mass readings — The Dedication of The Lateran Basilica
(Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12) The water that flows from the sanctuary makes the salt water fresh and gives life to the trees for their fruit and leaves.
(Psalm 46) The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High! (The city of God is the dwelling of the Most High.)
(Cor. 3:9c-11,16-17) (You are God’s temple.) You are God’s building, His dwelling, and Jesus Christ is the foundation. The temple of God, which you are, is holy.
(Jn. 2:13-22) The sellers in the temple are driven out by Jesus, their tables overthrown. I will destroy this temple and rebuild it in three days.
* Jesus on the Cross, in the Eucharist, the Blood of salvation, the Water of new Life.
* Jesus, the Temple, destroyed and raised up. Jesus, the Foundation Stone.
* Though His kenosis — his outpouring — new life is poured into us, and we are immersed in the stream of Divine Life. All our darkness, and the darkness of the world, cannot taint that stream. That’s amazing!
* We the salty sea made fresh. We the trees that will bear fruit for the world, and medicine for its wounds. His Life in us.
* We need the water, and we become part of the stream. We need healing, and we then bring the healing.
* We the temple, we the leaven, the substantial presence of God in the world. How? Through the Holy Spirit; through the Eucharist. Our calling is to be transformed.
Transformed
Like streams Your Blood reaches me
Torrents rushing in,
As the fresh water,
To the salty sea.
Even the vast sea cannot change that fresh water.
Even the vast sea.
Wherever the river from the temple flows,
The salty water shall be made fresh,
The trees shall bear fruit,
Their leaves serve for medicine.
And I am salt water,
And barren tree.
Yet I … I am Your temple,
Flow through me.
Cast out the worldly things on the table of my heart.
Change me into You,
Oh Blood … Oh Water … Oh Love!
Is your poetry going into a book?