Once the capstone is locked into the top of an arch, it keeps the segments in place together for centuries.

Wednesday, 7/3/13

The first reading congratulates us on being members of the household of God. It reminds us of how privileged we are in belonging to the Church.

Back in 1950 Rome turned against Father Henri de Lebac, confiscating the books he wrote, and forbidding him to teach or preach. Henri later became a great Vatican II scholar, and was made a cardinal; but back when he was roughly sidelined, he said that the Roman Catholic Church with her wonderful history and with all her saints remained the love of his life.  

In today’s reading from his Letter to the Ephesians, Paul compared the church to a stone archway in which each of us, along with each of the saints and ordinary members, is like one of the stone wedges on the right or the left side of the arch.

In the old days, when they were constructing one of those stone arches, they would  build up a mound of earth the shape of the arch they wanted to set up. Then, one by one they would fit each of the stone wedges up its two sides. Finally, they would cut a stone wedge that was twenty-four inches on the outside, but only eighteen inches on the inside. They would fit it in between the stones arching up the two sides; and once they had locked it in, they could remove the dome of earth, leaving the arch to stand for a thousand years.

The Bible here compares each of us to one of those stone segments in the sides of the arch. We all depend on one another, but above all, we depend on Christ the capstone that keeps us in place together through all our days.