When Jesus is born, he does not even have the cradle of a poor child. With his disciples, he sometimes has nowhere to lay his head. He will die stripped of all clothing, in absolute poverty; but when his lifeless body is taken down from the Cross and handed over to those who love him and follow him closely, they treat him with veneration, respect, and love. Joseph of Arimathea took care of buying a new cloth in which to wrap him, and Nicodemus provided the necessary spices. St. John, perhaps amazed, has left us the large quantity of these: about a hundred pounds, more than thirty kilograms. He was not buried in the common cemetery, but in a garden, in a new tomb, probably the one that Joseph himself had prepared for himself. And the women saw the monument and how his body was laid to rest. On their return to the city, they prepared new spices... When Jesus' body is left in the hands of those who love him, everyone strives to see who has the most love.
Jesus is alive in our tabernacles, just as he was in Bethlehem or on Calvary. He gives himself to us so that our love may care for him and attend to him as best we can, at the expense of our time, our money, our effort: our love.
Reverence and love must be manifested in generosity in all matters relating to worship. Even under the pretext of charity towards one's neighbor, one cannot fail in charity towards God, nor is generosity towards the poor, who are images of God, to be praised if it is done at the expense of decorum in the worship of God Himself, and even less so if it is not accompanied by personal sacrifice. If we love God, our love for our neighbor will grow, in deeds and in truth. It is not a question of mere price, nor can simple arithmetic calculations be applied in such matters; it is not a question of defending sumptuousness, but rather dignity and love for God, which is also expressed materially. Would it make sense to have the financial means to build places of entertainment and recreation with good, even luxurious materials, and for divine worship to find only places that are not poor, but shabby, cold, and soulless? Then the poet would be right when he says that the bareness of some churches is “the outward manifestation of our sins and defects: weakness, poverty, timidity in faith and feeling, dryness of heart, lack of taste for the supernatural...”
The Church, watching over the honor of God, does not reject solutions different from those of other eras, it blesses clean and welcoming poverty—what wonderful churches, simple but very dignified, there are in some villages with few economic resources and much faith! What is not acceptable is carelessness, bad taste, and the lack of love for God that comes from dedicating to worship environments or objects that, if possible, would not be accepted in one's own family home.
It is logical that the faithful should help in a thousand different ways to ensure that everything related to divine worship is carefully cared for and preserved. Liturgical signs, and everything related to the liturgy, enter through the eyes. The faithful should leave a liturgical ceremony strengthened in their faith, with greater joy and encouraged to love God more.
Let us ask the Blessed Virgin that we may learn to be generous with God as she was, in big and small things, in youth and in maturity... that we may know how to offer, like Abel, the best we have at every moment and in all circumstances of life.
HCD