Scripture of the day - 09 November, 2020. Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (Feast)

1st Reading: Ezekiel (47:1-2, 8-10, 12)

Ezekiel sees life-giving river flows out from the Jerusalem temple, to bring new life to the desert

Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east, and the water was coming out on the south side.

He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh, and everything will live where the river goes. People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-Gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.

On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fails, but they will bear fresh fruit every month because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm (from Ps 45)

Resp.: The waters of the river gladden the city of God

God is for us a refuge and strength,

a helper close at hand, in time of distress:

so we shall not fear though the earth should rock,

though the mountains fall into the depths of the sea. (R./)

The waters of a river give joy to God’s city,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within, it cannot be shaken;

God will help it at the dawning of the day... (R./)

The Lord of hosts is with us:

the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Come, consider the works of the Lord,

the redoubtable deeds he has done on the earth.. (R./)

Gospel: John (2:13-22)

Jesus sees his own Body as a Temple which will be destroyed, but then raised up from the dead

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

Reflections - A House of Prayer

Today we recall the Basilica Saint John of Lateran, the Pope’s own church, the Cathedral of Rome. The Lateran was chosen as the Cathedral Rome long before Saint Peter’s was built. It is where the papacy was housed for centuries before moving across the Tiber to where Vatican City now stands. The gospel about the purification of the temple of Jerusalem is apt for today’s feast. The Jerusalem temple serves as a symbol of the Church of today, in the twenty-first century. It conveys both the idea of the temple’s sacredness and also the need for constant purification of the structures of our Church.

“In the temple, he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers at their business.” Today it is not in our churches that trade, business, and commerce of all kind are conducted; but they take place outside, including on Sundays. Our concentration on material things often makes us forget to go to church. On Sundays, instead of the believers gathering in the church, we see them elsewhere, going about their business. “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Can we let ourselves be consumed, like Christ, with enthusiasm for worshipping God? My desire to fill the house of God fill our hearts! May this church where we are gathered be the place of prayer, and not one of the trade! May the universal Church which unites all believers be a community of humble worship, led by pastors deeply imbued with the spirit of Christ.

Saint of the Day for November 9 | St. John Lateran

Most Catholics think of St. Peter’s as the pope’s main church, but they are wrong. St. John Lateran is the pope’s church, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome where the Bishop of Rome presides.

The first basilica on the site was built in the fourth century when Constantine donated land he had received from the wealthy Lateran family. That structure and its successors suffered fire, earthquake, and the ravages of war, but the Lateran remained the church where popes were consecrated. In the 14th century when the papacy returned to Rome from Avignon, the church and the adjoining palace were found to be in ruins.

Pope Innocent X commissioned the present structure in 1646. One of Rome’s most imposing churches, the Lateran’s towering facade is crowned with 15 colossal statues of Christ, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, and 12 doctors of the Church. Beneath its high altar rest the remains of the small wooden table on which tradition holds Saint Peter himself celebrated Mass.

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