Homily for the First Sunday of Advent: "The Night is Passed and the Day is at Hand"

Inasmuch as God chooses to take up His abode in the hearts of the faithful, He may be said to dwell in many temples. At the same time, however, the Scriptures liken the faithful to so many “living stones” (1 Pt. 2:5) that are incorporated into the Temple of God, the Church. This same Church has Christ for its chief corner stone (Eph. 2:20), who has decided to build His Church on Kephas, the visible “Rock” (Mt. 16:18), whose faith in Christ, though tried, shall not fail — so much so, that Peter (together with his successors) is charged with confirming the brethren (Lk. 22:32); that is, when their faith falters his will be a source of strength. This same Church likewise has been built upon the foundations of the apostles (Eph. 2:20, Rev. 21:14) and, by extension, their successors through the laying on of hands. This Church is to last until the end of the world. However, we have seen how our Lord speaks of the end of the world (i.e., the cosmos) and the destruction of the Temple of the Old Covenant as if these were the same thing. What, then, are we to make of the relationship between the Temple of the New Covenant (the Church), and the cosmos? Will the Church, like the Temple of the Old Covenant, also suffer destruction?
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