Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
November 9, 2014 Cycle A
by Rev. Jose Maria Cortes, F.S.C.E.

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In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. It is the first basilica of Rome. Saint John of Lateran is the Pope’s basilica. It is the mother of all churches. As we celebrate this important feast of the Catholic Church, we meditate on the mystery of the Church.

The living body of Christ is the new temple of God that today’s first reading and Gospel talk about. The Catechism says: “Christ is the true temple of God, ‘the place where his glory dwells’; by the grace of God, Christians also become temples of the Holy Spirit, living stones out of which the Church is built” (CCC 1197).

In the second reading, Saint Paul says: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16). Every time that I celebrate a baptism, I am always very impressed by the fact that the baptized person becomes the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. We have been temples of God since the day of our baptism. In the Catechism of the Church is written: “[…] we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity: ‘If a man loves me, says the Lord, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him’” (Jn 14:23). Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, a mystic who lived this mystery in a very deep way, wrote in a prayer: “Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action.”

We are tabernacles of the indwelling God. However, this is easy for us to forget. Many other things try to occupy the place reserved only for God. Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus cleansed the temple of Jerusalem from everything that should not have been there. Jesus also wants to clean up the temple of our hearts and expel all the false idols to which we are attached. The early Christian theologian Origen says allegorically: “The sanctuary is the undisciplined soul, filled, not with animals and merchants, but with earthly and senseless attachments. Christ must expel them with the whip of his divine doctrine to make spiritual worship possible.”

In today’s first reading, the Prophet Ezekiel has a vision of a river rising from the temple. That river spreads life on the riverbanks and brings sweetness to the bitter water of the Dead Sea: “[…] for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh. Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail” (Ez 47:12).

Jesus says to the Samaritan woman: “The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14b). When Jesus is in the temple, he declares: “Let anyone who believes in me come and drink! As scripture says, ‘From his heart shall flow streams of living water’” (Jn 7:38).

If we let Jesus cleanse our hearts, we shall become fruitful. Thus, from our innermost being will flow rivers of living water. We will bear witness of Christ. We will give glory to God.

Let us pray that we may be more aware of the divine that dwells in us, in order to produce abundant fruit.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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