THEOSISBeda Venerabilis
The Book of Leviticus provides a more detailed account of these matters (See Lev. 23:34-43). It is also written that these practices were established to commemorate the lengthy journey in which the Lord guided His people out of Egypt, ensuring they lived in tents during their forty years in the wilderness, while revealing His commandments through Moses each day. It was decreed that these tabernacles, known as skenopegia in Greek, should be set up annually for seven days, specifically from the fifteenth to the twenty-second day of the seventh month.
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A thoughtful reflection on the sacrament associated with this institution, especially in light of the Gospel where the Lord graced this festival with His presence and spoke His sacred words to the gathered congregation (See John 7:2-14), merits our attention. Like our ancestors, who were liberated from Egyptian bondage by the blood of a lamb and led through the wilderness for four decades to reach the promised land, the world was also redeemed from the grip of the devil through the suffering of the Lord. The apostles gathered the early Church, guiding it as if through the wilderness for forty years until it arrived at the promised land of heaven. Emulating the forty days of fasting observed by Moses, Elijah, and the Lord Himself (cf. Exod. 24:18, 34:28; Deut. 9:9; 3 Kings 19:8; Matt. 4:2), the early Church adopted a way of life characterized by significant abstinence, yearning for its heavenly homeland while remaining detached from worldly temptations, filling each day with contemplation of the divine law. To honor these moments, we too must dwell in temporary shelters, leaving behind our homes and the distractions and pleasures of this world. We must acknowledge our journey through this life and our true homeland in heaven, striving to reach it with urgency. On the holy day of the seventh month, illuminated by the joy of heaven, our hearts are imbued with the grace of the Holy Spirit, who, as the prophet indicates, possesses seven distinct qualities (See Isaiah 11:2-3). We are instructed to inhabit these shelters for seven days, reminding ourselves throughout our earthly existence that we are, like our ancestors, sojourners in the eyes of the Lord.