The Ark Of Covenant Of The Lord

 

Sacred signs engage and satisfy our senses.

Reflection on Today’s Readings, Monday of 5th Week in Ordinary Time II and the Memorial of St. Agatha, February 5th, 2024
Texts: 1 Kings 8:1-7.9-13; Psalm 132:6-10; Mark 6:53-56 

Today’s readings underscore the power of sacraments. Sacraments are sacred signs through which we receive the grace of God into our souls. Hence, they are means of encounter with God. The Ark of covenant of the Lord is a sacrament to the people of Israel. It meditates the presence of God in their midst. 

It is said of the Ark thus: “There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where the  Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel.” This tells us that God has always encountered his people through sacred signs. 

Encounter with God through sacred sign is not limited to Old Testament. Today’s gospel reading tells us how people established contact with Jesus through His garment. We read, “they laid the sick in the market places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.” They received healing by touching Jesus’ garment. This affirms further that God does encounter us through sacred signs.  

Sacred signs satisfy our senses

God continues to extend His presence to all ages through sacred signs and people continue to encounter. We touch the God we cannot see through sacred signs. The invisible becomes visible to us through sacred signs. This calls to mind the need to appreciate sacred signs. Sacred signs engage and satisfy our senses - seeing, feeling and touch. They facilitate our communion with God. They are catalyst to activate our communion with the divine.  

St. Agatha, whose memorial is today, died for Christ. “She was martyred at Catania in Sicily, probably during the persecution of Decius (250-253). Devotion to her was widespread in the Church in the earliest times” (Universalis). She teaches us God is worth giving our lives. We learn from her to make sacrifices for Christ’s sake. She reminds us to stand steadfast in our faith and be chaste. Being saint has become a means of reaching God. Hence, we continue to call on her to intercede for us.  

Prayer 

May the Virgin Martyr Saint Agatha implore your compassion for us, O Lord, we pray, for she found favour with you by the courage of her martyrdom and the merit of her chastity. Amen (Collect) 

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke