“If anyone love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will make our abode with him.”
Almighty God freely created a world for man; He freely lived in the world as a man and now lives among us under the appearance of bread and wine; but more, Almighty God desires not only to dwell with men, He desires to dwell in them.  And although Almighty God created the world and became a man without our help, He is helpless to dwell in men unless they help Him.  

We will speak on the indwelling of the Trinity.

The brevairy reading for today we read from St. Gregory the Great,
“If anyone one of you were asked whether he loved God, he would feel safe in answering with complete confidence, ‘Yes.’  At the very beginning of this Gospel reading, however, you heard what Truth Himself says, “If anyone love me, he will keep my word.”  The proof of love, then, is shown in works.”

“In the letter of St. John we read the same thing, “If anyone says, ‘I love God’ and does not keep His commandments, the man is a liar.”

“We certainly do love God, that is we keep His commandments, when we keep our lusts in check.  For whoever still lets himself go in sinful desires obviously does not love God, because his will decides against God.”

We love God when we delight in the Truth; anyone who deliberately delights in sinful pleasures certainly does not love God... as St. Gregory says, “because his will decides against God.”  Anyone who commits a willful act of blasphemy, hatred towards neighbor, fraud involving much money, fornication, adultery, sodomy, or any sin of impurity,... proves that he does not love God.

But if anyone keeps the word of God, loves God in his deeds, what can he expect?

Our Savior has given us the answer, “My Father will love Him, and we will come and make our abode with Him.”  Such a man becomes a temple of God.  This is the great dignity of man... that he can be or become a temple of God.  When we lose God we lose the one thing that gives us any dignity or any right to the respect of our fellow man.

One of the frequent mysteries we should contemplate in our prayers, in our drives to work (with the radio off), or at any moment we have the opportunity, is this aspect of our spiritual life... If I am truly a friend of God, if I possess sanctifying grace, then God dwells in my soul. 

And what greater treasure could I ever posses than God in my soul?  Anything compared with God is a vanity... a void, an emptiness... a thing which has no existence.

 At home I have a safe where I put important documents, investments, heirlooms; when I leave my house to go to work or run an errand, I check every lock twice; when I park my car, I put valuables in hidden places and secure the doors. 

Every day I make sure to take my vitamins and eat healthy food.  I am careful to bathe and wear clean and mended clothes; I wash and wax my car and with regularity take it to the shop for maintenance... and perhaps even make shiny the hubcaps. 

In so many ways, I am very careful to maintain my earthly possessions... am I as careful to preserve the Guest of my soul?

Am I careful to avoid near occasions of sin?; am I assiduous in my practice daily prayer and petition my God for those graces I most need?; do I try to frequent the Sacraments; read spiritual books; say my Rosary, use holy water; examine my conscience nightly.

God forbid that I should ever commit a willful sin of impurity, fraud, blasphemy, hatred towards my neighbor... for then the divine Guest must leave my soul.  But even in lesser things, if God truly is my greatest possession then I must protect His presence with most care.

St. Gregory continues,
“Consider, dearest brethren, how great a privilege it is to have God come into one’s heart as a guest.  If a wealthy or influential friend were coming into your house, would you not hurry and tidy the house thoroughly, in order that there would be nothing offensive to his eyes when he entered?  In the same way, if you are preparing the house of your mind to receive God, remove the filth of evil deeds.

“Now look closely at what Truth Himself says, ‘We will come and make our abode with him.’  For God indeed enters certain hearts, but He does not dwell there; such persons, by contrition, gain God’s attention, but in time of temptation they forget the very acts for which they were sorry.  Accordingly, they continue to commit those sins as if they had never bewailed them.” 

At this Holy Mass, let us compare the delicate care we take to maintain our earthly body, home,  or striving to climb up some career ladder... and compare this with my striving to please the Guest of my soul or restore Him there should I have lost Him by serious sin.

Having made such an exam, let us all implore the Blessed Trinity for the grace to become a worthy or a more worthy dwelling for His presence in our souls... recalling to mind that God dwelling in my soul is the only possession I shall be eternally thankful for owning.