We are made holy by our sharing in Christ's body and blood

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

On Monday of the Twenty-Eight Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of the book of the prophet Haggai (2:11-24) entitled “Future blessings. A promise to Zerubbabel”. Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise against Fabianus by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, bishop.

Saint Fulgentius was a follower of Saint Augustine‘s ideal of life and a student of Saint Augustine’s theological teachings. Saint Fulgentius was a north African Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Ruspe and was a theological writer in modern-day, Tunisia, during the fifth and sixth century who defended orthodoxy against Arianism. He is known for his “heroic sanctity”.

This reading tells us that we are made holy by sharing in the offering of the holy sacrifice of the mass and by sharing in Christ body in blood in the Eucharist. It is used in the Roman Catholic office of readings for Monday in the 28h week in ordinary time with the accompanying biblical reading taken from the prophet Haggai 2:11. When we offer the sacrifice the words of our Savior are fulfilled just as the blessed Apostle Paul reported them.

The book of Haggai consists of four sections that summarize Haggai’s message given to the people of Jerusalem over the course of four months. He opens in by accusing the people of misplaced priorities. Sure, they’ve come back to Jerusalem, but they’re spending all their time and resources rebuilding their own fancy houses while the temple still lies in ruins from its destruction nearly 70 years ago. Haggai asks, “Are your own houses really more important than your allegiance to God? This neglect is tantamount to the covenant rebellion of their ancestors. This is why the land is unproductive and they’re struck with famine and drought. They are repeating the folly of their forefathers, which is why Haggai echoes the list of covenant curses of Deuteronomy. Haggai’s words are followed by a story about the people's response, similar to Ezra. We’re told that Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the remnant of Israel were provoked by Haggai’s message and were motivated to start rebuilding the temple.