Sermon Blog
The Risen Body, Temples of the Holy Spirit
April 6, 2026
Man thinks little of life after death and even less of the resurrection of the body. As much as bodily pleasures are sought on earth, the body itself is often looked down upon, especially in illness or old age. The doctrine of the resurrection of the body can seem far-fetched and elusive.
The Church has always taught otherwise. In a short reflection on the Resurrection of the Body, St. John Henry Newman considers first the Incarnation of Christ and his Resurrection, and then our own future resurrection.
Jesus is not only our Savior and the divine Mediator between God and man — he is the Way to the Father. To approach his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, we must begin with the mystery of his Incarnation.
Newman explains that the Incarnation is the eternal condescension of God. The infinite, eternal God permanently bound himself to a material, created body — a union so complete that even death could not corrupt it. “Thy Body – he prays – has part in Thy power, rather than Thou hast part in its weakness.”
Newman continues: “For this reason, my God, it was, that Thou couldst not but rise again, if Thou wast to die — because Thy Body, once taken by Thee, never was or could be separated from Thee, even in the grave.”
For Newman, our body’s destiny is revealed through the Resurrection. Because Christ assumed and glorified a human body, our own bodies — however degraded they appear now — are destined for resurrection and immortality, something no human philosophy could have imagined without divine revelation. “I know, base and odious as it is at present, that it will one day, if I be worthy, be raised incorruptible and altogether beautiful and glorious.”
Newman invites us to an act of faith, reminding us that if we live worthily, our very flesh will rise again — raised incorruptible and glorious.
While we await that future share in God’s glory, we have already become, here on earth, temples of the Holy Spirit. For Newman, this dignity demands holiness.
Idolatry of the body, sensuality, and intemperate use of food and drink are contrary to this dignity of our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. Consideration of these truths awakens us from such worldliness.
Since God feeds and inhabits our bodies sacramentally — through the Eucharist and the indwelling Spirit — we are called to live with deep reverence for the flesh, seeking purification through union with Christ. “Pierce Thou my flesh with Thy fear; crucify my soul and body in all that is sinful in them, and make me pure as Thou art pure.”
St. John Henry Newman asks God for the grace to live with an awareness of the great dignity of our bodies, and to partake worthily of his Body and Blood — the very source of our holiness.
As we rejoice in Christ’s glorious resurrection we are reminded that where the Head goes the body must follow.
