November 9, 2012

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome. This is not St. Peter's, but it is the Pope's cathedral. Also called the Church of Holy Savior or the Church of St. John Baptist, it was the baptism church of ancient Rome.  Read more...

Lectionary: 671

First Reading from the holy book of Ezekiel

Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12

The angel brought me
back to the entrance of the temple,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple,
south of the altar.

>>>The great Prophet Ezekiel is again having a vision.  An angel brings him to the temple from which water flows in every direction.  I believe the Temple symbolizes Jesus and the water symbolizes the Holy Spirit.

John 4:10

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the southern side.

>>>The water which symbolizes the Spirit of God, goes in every direction:

John 3:8

King James Version (KJV)

⁸ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

He said to me,
"This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.

>>>The salt waters represent the sufferings of the people.  The Holy Spirit heals them.

Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.

>>>And brings them to the abundant life:

John 10:10

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰ The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.

>>>The fruit trees represent the people of God who being grafted to the root of Jesse, will bear much fruit:

John 15

King James Version (KJV)

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

² Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."

>>>And the fruit which they bear is love for one another:

Matthew 25:31-40

King James Version (KJV)

³¹ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
³³ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Responsorial Psalm 

Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9

R. (5) The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!

God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.

R. The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!

There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.

R. The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!

The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.

R. The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!

>>>The City of God is the Catholic Church.  The rivulets or streams of living Water are the Sacraments.  The Lord is with us in the Eucharist and the Sacraments are His mighty deeds:
740 These "mighty works of God," offered to believers in the sacraments of the Church, bear their fruit in the new life in Christ, according to the Spirit. (This will be the topic of Part Three.)

Second Reading  from the first epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians

1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17

Brothers and sisters:
You are God's building.

>>>We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit:

1 Peter 2:5

King James Version (KJV)

⁵ Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

According to the grace of God given to me,
like a wise master builder I laid a foundation,
and another is building upon it.

>>>St. Paul has laid the foundation and another person is building upon it.

The other person is us.  We are the ones which, if you read the verses 10-15, build upon this foundation either with gold, wood or straw.  These things represent our works, which may be filled with love or completely selfish.  Verses 10-15 illustrate the process of cleansing in Purgatory.

But each one must be careful how he builds upon it,
for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,
namely, Jesus Christ.

>>>The only foundation that they must lay is Jesus Christ.  

Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

>>>We are the temple of God and therefore want to build upon our temple with precious materials.  Not wood or straw which will burn away.

If anyone destroys God's temple,
God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

>>>So, if anyone, we or another, destroys our temple, God will destroy us in hell:

Matthew 18:6

King James Version (KJV)

⁶ But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John

Jn 2:13-22

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

>>>I'm a firm believer that knowing the Traditions of the Church is a key to understanding the Scriptures.  I often wondered why St. John specifies, the "Passover of the Jews" in this phrase.  As far as I knew, there was only one Passover.  However, once I learned that the Mass is the Christian Passover, then I understood why St. John clarified that Jesus which Passover he was talking about.

Anyway, it was approaching time for the Passover of the Jews, which corresponds to our Easter.

He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.

>>>When Jesus went to the Temple of God to worship, He found there many people making personal profit from the God fearing people.

He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money-changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
"Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."

>>>So, in His zeal for the House of God, Jesus chased them out.

His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.

>>>His disciples recalled the words of Scripture which described the Lord's anger.

At this the Jews answered and said to him,
"What sign can you show us for doing this?"

>>>Apparently, the Jews upset at what Jesus did and they insisted upon some miraculous sign to show that Jesus was authorized to behave this way.  As though healing lepers and raising people from the dead were not enough.

Jesus answered and said to them,
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."

>>>Jesus said to them, "When you destroy this temple, I will raise it in three days, that will be your sign.

The Jews said,
"This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.

>>>They thought He was referring to the stone Temple.  But He was referring to His Body which they would crucify.

Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.

>>>And when He came back to them from the dead, His students remembered that He had said He would do so.

Sincerely,

De Maria