November 9 2010
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
By Beth DeCristofaro
The angel brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out...Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live. (Ezekiel 47: 1, 9)
Brothers and sisters: You are God’s building. (1 Corinthians 1)
(Jesus said) “stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me’. At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:16-19)
Piety
My God, I thank you and praise you for you are my refuge and my strength. (from Psalm 46)
Study
Today on the feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, considered the “cathedral” of Rome and the Pope’s church, it is a perfect time to remember that each one of us is God’s Building. Cursillo reminds us of this during our weekend as we learn that orienting our lives to Christ calls for us not only to realize how precious we are to God but that we are, if we choose it, are called to commit to a personal relationship with Christ and to be living, working members of the church community we joined at our baptism.
On this feast in 2008, Pope Benedict explained “The Word of God during this Solemnity recalls an essential truth: the stone temple is the symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, that the Apostles Peter and Paul had, in their Letters, already understood as a "spiritual building", constructed by God with the "living stones" that are the Christians, upon the one foundation that is Jesus Christ, who is in turn compared to the "cornerstone" cf. 1 Cor 3: 9-11, 16-17; 1 Pt 2: 4-8; Eph 2: 20-22). "Brethren,... you are God's building", St Paul writes, and he adds, "God's temple is holy, and you are that temple" (1 Cor 3: 9c, 17). The beauty and the harmony of churches, destined to render praise to God, invites us human beings too, though limited and sinful, to convert ourselves to form a "cosmos", a well-ordered construction, in close communion with Jesus, who is the true Holy of Holies. This reaches its culmination in the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the "ecclesia" that is, the community of baptized finds itself again united to listen to the Word of God and nourish itself on the Body and Blood of Christ. Dear friends, (he went on)…today's feast celebrates an ever current mystery: that God desires to build himself a spiritual temple in the world, a community that adores him in spirit and truth.” http://www.wf-f.org/JohnLateran%20dedic.html
Action
In what way are you a strong, vital living stone in close communion with Jesus and supportive of others in your local and global community? Treat yourself and attend a Mass during the week if you are not generally able to do so. If you often attend daily Mass, spend some time with Jesus in a new, different way. Perhaps you can practice lectio divina with today’s gospel or prayerfully imagine yourself in the scene as Jesus clears the temple. What do his actions and words mean to you, today?
