Dedication of the Lateran Basilica 9 November
John 2:13-22
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
The Gospel of the Lord ….
The Mass intention is for Anthony Fitzsimmons RIP
Wow! What a dramatic scene; furniture flying, animals running riot and pigeons – well the pigeons get their freedom presumably hitting the skies, and coins rolling in all directions up for grabs by those with quick reflexes! What a noise!
Jesus was not pleased with what was going on in the Temple precincts. It is often called the cleansing of the Temple. He was purifying this sacred space, this place of encounter with God, His Father. For Jesus what was essential is that the Temple is a place of prayer, where you can have an intimate conversation with God.
Pope Francis warns us against entering the “Lord’s House” while behaving in a way contrary to “justice, honesty and charity towards one’s neighbour.”
In this time of covid it is not always possible for everyone to attend church; perhaps we need to look at the temple within ourselves, to dig deep; listening to God’s voice in our own lives. At this time much is being cleansed of superficiality and what is truly essential is being discovered,
we are ‘temples of the Holy Spirit’, we are a sacred space, we are channels of charity to our neighbour, we are walking, talking, do-ers of prayer.
Today is the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. The Basilica is called the Mother and Head of all Churches of the City and the World it is celebrated across the Catholic Church as a sign of unity and respect to the Holy See, which as St Ignatius of Antioch wrote, presides over the whole assembly of charity.
