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| St. John Lateran Basilica, Photographer and Date was not cited. |
On this feast it is my
tradition to offer you the reflections of others within the universal Church.
Today’s reading commentary comes from Brendan Byrne SJ. The Homily is by Fr. Tommy
Lane (www.frtommylane.com), Professor of Sacred Scripture at
Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland, USA (Note: Fr Lane also recently published an interesting book showing the biblical evidence for Catholic priesthood and further details are on his website.)
Reading 1: Ezekiel 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Their fruit shall serve for
food, and their leaves for medicine.”
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Commentary on Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
The scriptural offerings
begin with a first reading taken from a (somewhat truncated) excerpt from
Ezekiel’s vision of the renewed Temple in Jerusalem Temple
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
R. (5) The waters of the river gladden the city of
God
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!
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Commentary on Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9*
Psalm 46 is a hymn of praise. In this passage we see the analogy
presented in the reading from Ezekiel referenced (Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12) as the Lord
is praised for supporting the people with his strength and creation.
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Reading II: 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17
Brothers and sisters:
You are God’s building.
According to the grace of God
given to me,
like a wise master builder I
laid a foundation,
and another is building upon
it.
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.
Do you not know that you are
the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God’s
temple,
God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God
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Commentary on 1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17
In the second
reading, 1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17, St Paul moves from speaking of the
Christian community at Corinth in terms of a ‘plantation’ to that of a
‘building’, and finally a ‘holy building’ or temple, in which God’s Spirit
dwells. Christian ministers, such as he and his co-workers, are the builders
who are bringing this holy building to completion. The essential foundation
that Paul has laid is Christ. As is necessary for the success of any building
operation, all subsequent builders must ensure that their work is rightly
aligned upon the foundation. The image of the community as a holy building or
temple was something early Christianity derived from Judaism. It communicates
the sense that even when absent from a physical place of worship the gathered
community is already itself a holy building (temple) in which the Lord is
present. The physical building is the outward, local, visible expression of the
Christian conviction that it is God’s delight to dwell among human beings – a
presence made vastly more accessible through the Incarnation of the Son,
extended to all times and places through the sacramental life of the Church.
CCC: 1
Cor 3:9 307, 755, 756; 1 Cor 3:11 756; 1 Cor 3:16-17 797
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Gospel: John 2:13-22
Since the Passover of the
Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem
He found in the temple area
those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers
seated there.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
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Commentary on Jn 2:13-22
The Gospel, John
2:13-22, adds a christological crown to this rich scriptural offering. In
John’s account, Jesus’ ‘cleansing’ of the Temple
in Jerusalem Temple Temple Temple in Jerusalem Temple
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Homily[4]
by Fr. Tommy Lane
We celebrate today the Dedication of
the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome because it is the head and mother
church of all churches in the world. On the façade of the basilica there is an
inscription in Latin which reads, “the mother and mistress of all churches of
Rome and the world.” One might think St. Peter’s Basilica is the head of all
the churches but in fact it is the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Every bishop
has a cathedral and the Pope’s cathedral is the Basilica of St. John Lateran
not the Basilica of St. Peter.
You may ask “Why is the Basilica of St.
John Lateran the Pope’s cathedral and not the Basilica of St. Peter since he
lives next to St. Peter's Basilica?” History gives us the answer. In the early
centuries Christianity was outlawed in Rome and many Christians in Rome
suffered martyrdom. The Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and the
famous Edict of Milan in 313 AD allowed Christians to practice their religion
in public. Constantine had been given the palace in Rome that belonged to the
Laterani and after his conversion to Christianity he gave it to the Pope. The
Lateran Palace was then adapted to become a church and was dedicated on
November 9th 324 and the Pope then lived in the Lateran Palace, as it was
called, for the next 1000 years and the basilica was his cathedral. It was
first called the Basilica of the Savior but later was also dedicated to St.
John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist and so it acquired the name
Basilica of St. John Lateran. When the Papacy transferred to Avignon for about
a century, the condition of the Lateran deteriorated so much that when the
Papacy returned to Rome the Pope lived in two other locations before finally
settling adjacent to St. Peter’s Basilica where he now lives.
Perhaps we could say that the many
times the Basilica suffered destruction of some kind is a symbol of the attacks
on the Church and the hatred of some for the Church. The Basilica was attacked
by the Vandals twice in 408 and 455. It was almost totally destroyed by an
earthquake in 896 and it was destroyed by fire in 1308 and 1360. The Basilica
is visited by huge numbers of pilgrims every year also symbolizing the love of
so many people for the Church.
Those who visit the Basilica on
pilgrimage visit it not just because it is the head of all churches and the
Pope’s cathedral. The wooden altar on which St. Peter celebrated Mass while in
Rome is inside the main altar. The heads of Sts. Peter and Paul were once
believed to be inside busts above the main altar. Part of the table on which the
Last Supper was celebrated is said to be behind a bronze depiction of the Last
Supper. At one time the Holy Stairs which is nearby was also in the Lateran,
the stairs in Pilate’s house on which Jesus is said to have walked during his
trial. It is a marble stairs and is now covered with wood to protect it.
Pilgrims ascend the stairs on their knees contemplating Jesus’ Passion and on
the way up drops of blood may be seen on the marble stairs beneath protective
glass. The stairs was brought to Rome by Constantine’s mother St. Helena.
Celebrating the dedication of the
Pope’s cathedral today shows our unity with the Pope and our love and respect
for him. Not only that, but it shows that we are united with each other in the
Church. St. Paul described this unity in the Church in his first letter to the
Corinthians as the Body of Christ.
For as with the human body which is a
unity although it has many parts – all the parts of the body, though many,
still making up one single body – so it is with Christ. We were baptized into
one body in a single Spirit, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as free
men, and we were all given the same Spirit to drink. (1 Cor 12:12-13)…Now
Christ’s body is yourselves, each of you with a part to play in the whole. (1 Cor
12:27)
In our first reading today we heard
Ezekiel’s vision of a river flowing from the Temple in Jerusalem and bringing
life everywhere it went (Ezek 47). We could see it as a vision of the Church
receiving life-giving grace from Jesus. In the Letter to the Ephesians we read,
You are built upon the foundations of
the apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. Every
structure knit together in him grows into a holy temple in the Lord; and you
too in him are being built up into a dwelling-place of God in the Spirit. (Eph
2:19-21)
In our second reading today we have a similar
idea, “You are God’s building…the foundation…is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 3:9,11)
These passages from Scripture remind us to make Jesus the foundation stone and
corner stone of our lives because there is a life-giving river flowing from him
to fill us with his grace.
As we celebrate today the dedication of
the “the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world” let us pray
also for those who have got lost going through life that they may find the
Church as a true mother and that Jesus may become the foundation stone and
corner stone of their lives.
In other years: Wednesday of the Thirty-second Week in
Ordinary Time
[1]
The photograph is of St. John Lateran Basilica,
Photographer and Date was not cited.
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
* Brendan Byrne SJ did
not write a commentary on the Psalm, this commentary is my own.
[4]
Fr. Tommy Lane, S.S.L., S.T.D,
Professor of Sacred Scripture at Mount St.
Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland, USA
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