St. Michael's Lent 2026 - Reading #4 - Vigilance
Reading
Two sanctuaries, side by side — Juno’s asylum and the churches of the apostles.
"In other words, the place consecrated to so great a goddess was chosen, not that from it none might be led out a captive, but that in it all the captives might be immured. Compare now this 'asylum'--the asylum not of an ordinary god, not of one of the rank and file of gods, but of Jove's own sister and wife, the queen of all the gods--with the churches built in memory of the apostles. Into it were collected the spoils rescued from the blazing temples and snatched from the gods, not that they might be restored to the vanquished, but divided among the victors; while into these was carried back, with the most religious observance and respect, everything which belonged to them, even though found elsewhere."
One place consumed those who fled; the other protected them.
He finishes the contrast: "There liberty was lost; here preserved. There bondage was strict; here strictly excluded. Into that temple men were driven to become the chattels of their enemies, now lording it over them; into these churches men were led by their relenting foes, that they might be at liberty. In fine, the gentle Greeks appropriated that temple of Juno to the purposes of their own avarice and pride; while these churches of Christ were chosen even by the savage barbarians as the fit scenes for humility and mercy."
Which building is your house?
Reflection
Your home is one of those two buildings. That is not a metaphor to admire; it is a daily construction question. A house can be an asylum in Juno's sense — a place where things are stored and people are managed, where the strong use the weak and everyone serves the household idol of comfort or achievement or the father's temper. Or it can be a church in miniature, the fit scene for humility and mercy — a place where the vulnerable are safe precisely because Christ's name governs what happens inside.
The barbarians could tell the difference from the street. So can your children. They know whether crossing your threshold means entering a refuge or entering a holding area.
This week's watch question: what makes your house a sanctuary, actually? If the honest answer is your mortgage and your alarm system, you have built Juno's asylum. Consecrate the building. Put Christ's name on its walls, its meals, its evenings, and the refuge becomes real.