 |
St. John Lateran Basilica
by Deacon Robert Lackney, artist and architect |
Readings for the Feast
of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
[1]
Readings from the
Jerusalem Bible [2]
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 reflection is from Fr.
Njoku Canice Chukwuemeka, C.S.Sp., DMin, a Catholic Priest and a member of the
Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans).
Readings and Commentary: [3]
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 (47:1-2, 8-9, 12). Because
the presence of the Lord has returned to the Temple (following the return of
Israel itself from exile), the waters flowing from the Temple have become
life-giving in the spectacular way described – even the Dead Sea is seen as
being made to teem with fish when the waters enter it. The vision has entered
Christian imagination as a powerful symbol of the life (grace) that flows to
human beings through God’s presence in the Temple of the Church.”
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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, 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!
-------------------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------------------
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, which
you are, is holy.
-------------------------------------------
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
-------------------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------------------
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 is very radical.
By driving out the animals and money changers he is really overthrowing the
whole system of Temple worship based upon animal sacrifices that had existed
hitherto. ‘Zeal for (his) Father’s house consumes’ him in that his whole life
and teaching is one great campaign to disclose and make effective the presence
of God on a vastly wider scale than in the confines of the material Temple. His
‘zeal’ or passion for this mission will ‘consume’ him in the sense of bringing
him to his death. However, as his disciples subsequently realize, his own body
will become the new place of God’s presence, the ‘Temple’ which, through rising
from the dead, he will build ‘in three days’. Believers need not mourn the loss
of the Temple in Jerusalem (destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE). They live within
the new ‘Temple’ constituted by the body of their risen Lord.”
CCC:
Jn 2:13-14 583; Jn 2:16-17 584; Jn 2:18-22 586; Jn 2:18 575; Jn 2:19-22 994; Jn 2:21 586
-------------------------------------------
Reflection: by Fr. Canicecnjoku
I would like to
begin this brief homily with these significant and interesting words of Pope
Benedict XVI: “The beauty and harmony of Churches, destined to render praise to
God, invites us, limited beings and sinners, to form a ‘cosmos,’ a well-ordered
edifice, in communion with Jesus, who is the true Holy of Holies…Every
community, therefore, has the duty to take special care of its own sacred
buildings, which are a precious religious and historical patrimony.” (Nov 9,
2008, Feast of Lateran Basilica).
This Basilica
was built by Constantine and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324. This
feast was first observed in Rome, but later, it was extended to the universal
Latin Church. There are two important points about today’s celebration. First,
the physical building, as well as our bodies, is God’s dwelling place. Second,
both the physical church building and we are evidence and the manifestation of
God’s presence on earth. So, we must keep them holy and sacred.
Rather than St.
Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Pope’s church as the Bishop of the archdiocese of
Rome is the Lateran Basilica, which bears on its facade: “omnium urbis et orbis
ecclesiarum mater et caput” (the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and
the world).
In our first
reading, the vision of the prophet Ezekiel about the temple of Jerusalem is
presented to us most articulately and dramatically. This reminds us of God’s
ever-abiding presence within his temple.
As a sign of
God’s presence among his people, the Temple or “Church” is a place from where
the river of God’s joy flows towards us. That is, to nourish and satisfy us. It
is a place of refuge where we find eternal bliss. It is a place where our
spiritual hunger and thirst are satisfied, and most importantly, it is a place
of healing where we find Jesus, our balm of Gilead (Jer 8:22) that heals our
wounded souls.
In the second
reading, Paul takes us to the next and very important dimension of the temple
of God and that is us: “You are God’s building…did you not realize that you are
God’s temple and the Holy Spirit of God was living among you?” This is straight
and direct to the point, and this is what we are.
We are the seat
of God’s government because our hearts are the innermost sanctuaries of the
Holy Spirit. Paul reminds us of God’s special presence within us. We are God’s
living and mobile temple. Therefore, there is a special call today to keep this
temple holy, pure, and sacred, because God does not dwell in a flirty temple.
If our temple remains sacred, his spirit will continue to dwell therein.
Hence today’s
celebration reminds us that our bodies as God’s temple were purchased through
the water of baptism, and consecrated through the sacred oil of Chrism and the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit, whereas the physical church is also consecrated
by both the presence of the Trinitarian God and the presence of “God’s
priestly, holy and chosen people” (1 Peter 2:9).
Therefore, as we
commemorate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, let us joyfully acclaim
with the psalmist: “The water of the river gives joy to God’s city, the holy
place where the Most High dwells.”
Peace be with
you all.
Maranatha!
In other years: Feast of the Dedication of the
Lateran Basilica in Rome
[1]
The drawing is of St. John Lateran Basilica by
Deacon Robert Lackney, artist and architect.[2]
S.S. Commemoratio[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 republication 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.
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