By Father Christopher Kubat
“Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors! That the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors! Who is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!”
These beautiful words are taken from Psalm 24:7-10 and describe the entrance of Almighty God into the temple, which ultimately means the temple of our souls.
We are temples of the Holy Spirit. Our souls were created to hold or contain God Himself. Because of Original Sin, we are deprived of this indwelling presence of God in our souls. With the sacrament of baptism, the gates of our souls are opened. Of course, the key to keeping this gate open is the virtue of humility, which is the realization that there is a God and we are not Him. The key to shutting the gates to our souls is the vice of pride, in which we make ourselves, in some sense, our own god and the arbiter of what is true.
We are currently in our eighth year at St. Gianna Women’s Homes. This program includes a 24-unit home for women escaping domestic violence and abortion with their children, staffed by the Marian Sisters. In addition, we have a talented staff of female volunteers who assist the sisters in the mission of keeping the ladies and children at St. Gianna’s safe and sound.
Of course in addition to this, we are ultimately interested in the spiritual well-being of the women and their children. Since opening, we have had women and some of the children enter the Church. We have had baptisms, first confessions, first communions, and confirmations. We also have a talented group of ladies run the Endow program (a Catholic organization dedicated to educating on the nature and dignity of women).
Currently, we have a few women enrolled in an RCIA class. It is particularly rewarding witnessing what is happening to them as they open the gates to their souls and the effects of the Holy Spirit in their lives. To see seeds of faith grow in a soul is a privileged thing to watch.
At one particular class, one of the ladies learned that she has a guardian angel. She has been talking and praying to her guardian angel since learning this and has already shared several stories in which her angel has helped and assisted her.
Please pray for the success of our present RCIA class at St. Gianna’s, and the overall success of our mission in helping the women by providing a safe place for them and their children, while at the same time helping them grow closer to God.
“Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors! That the King of glory may come in!”
