Why are church buildings blessed?
When the Jewish people wandered in the desert, God wanted a place set aside for Himself, where He could reveal His plans to Moses and respond to the Israelites' requests. The Lord explained to Moses even the small details for the construction they should undertake: the ark, the tabernacle, the altar of holocausts, and the lampstand. These were visible signs by which He made known to His people that He dwelled among them and was always ready to listen to their pleas and care for them at every moment.
The God who made heaven and earth desires churches dedicated to His worship to show visibly that He is continually present among men and to make it easier to approach Him.
The material building consecrated to God symbolizes the Church, represented on earth by the living stones, your chosen people, that is, Christians. It also symbolizes the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church triumphant in heaven, where human buildings will no longer exist; its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. When the heavens and the earth are renewed at the end of the world, the heavenly tabernacle will be the one true sanctuary, where God will dwell with all the just who have gloriously risen, being their light and life.
Since Christ's coming to earth, the church is truly the place of God's presence among men. The Son of God has chosen to dwell in every tabernacle. The center of our churches is a tabernacle that men could never have imagined. Christ Himself is really present in the sacrament of the Eucharist, with His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Moreover, on the altars of our churches, the sacrifice of the new and everlasting covenant is renewed in the unbloody immolation of the sole victim of Calvary.
Each church is a place dedicated to public worship. It is the house of God; Jesus is there, sacramentally present. It is not surprising, therefore, that we make every effort to adorn our churches in the most dignified way possible. To reach God, we need to use our senses and emotions. Therefore, we need images to aid our devotion, and everything should be clean and attractive. St. Josemaría writes, “Sacred art should lead us to God and respect holy things. Its goal must be to foster piety and devotion. For many centuries, religious art was the best art because it followed that rule, respecting its intrinsic purpose. Some modernistic images are often caricatures. They are as bad as the 'sugar-coated' images. What is ugly and disrespectful is just as bad as what is unctuous and in bad taste."
A Christian can find God anywhere, because he always bears Him within himself. His soul in grace is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Thus, we must always show great refinement and love towards Jesus in the tabernacle, where He has chosen to remain hidden, waiting for us like an eternal lover.
We ask our Lady to teach us how to show Jesus the same refinement and love that she showed Him in Bethlehem, at Nazareth, and throughout her whole life.
Pic: Apse of St John Lateran, in Rome. Nov 9 Sun