Year C
Discover the deeper meaning and connections found in this week's readings, through these great commentaries written by our priests.
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The Lateran Basilica
Background: The Lateran Basilica was built by the Emperor Constantine on the Lateran Hill in Rome in about 324. The feast of its dedication has been celebrated in Rome on this date since the twelfth century. In honour of the basilica, “the mother and head of all the churches of the City and the World,” the feast was extended to the whole Roman Rite world as a sign of unity and love towards the See of Peter, which, as St Ignatius of Antioch said in the second century, “presides over the whole assembly of charity.” The Basilica is the Episcopal Seat of the Pope, and, therefore, a building that reminds us of our 'unity' and ‘oneness' in Faith and our universal ‘Communion'.
First Reading: Ezekiel was a priest whose whole life was bound up around the Temple. He conveys the sense of the holiness of God and was zealous that this sacred place, the place of God‘s presence, would be dealt with great respect and that what happened within it would be pure! He was deeply distressed when Nebuchadnezzar sieged the city in 597 and, Ezekiel, was taken into exile.
The glory of the Lord was deserted and the Temple profaned!
Nevertheless, in the eyes of Ezekiel, the Lord had not abandoned them. In 587, with the second taking of Jerusalem, the Temple was totally destroyed. All seemed lost. But God told Ezekiel that there would soon be a miraculous restoration of his people. God will bring them back to their country and will live once again in their midst in a reconstructed Temple.
The text today, of Ezekiel‘s vision, reflects the spiritual meaning of the Temple in the heavenly Jerusalem. God will deliver them from exile and give them new life.
Second Reading: Paul often revisited the Churches he founded: partly to encourage them in the faith, and other times to correct them in their understanding, and to urge them to pull back or return to his original teaching.
The Corinthians are an extraordinary disunited and disparate group (dockers, professors, magistrates, athletes, teachers and slaves). Despite being such a disparate group, he is reminding them that they form a single building on the foundation stone which is Christ himself. And because they are built on Christ, therefore a Temple of God, they have a supreme dignity. This supreme dignity invites/expects/demands them to examine their personal conduct and their relations with others. Baptism remakes every person anew, a consecrated sanctuary, in which the Spirit dwells. Whoever is conscious of this transformation brought about by baptism, and therefore divine grace, should turn away, or run away from anything that could profane or even destroy the Temple of God that this person has become.
As for those who exercise a ministry, or some other charge, within the Church, must constantly examine themselves to verify whether they are remaining truly faithful to the mission they have received. They, in their turn, should help their sisters and brothers to themselves be built up into true Temples of God, founded on Christ.
Gospel: Interestingly, all four evangelists have recorded Jesus‘ astounding action on one day at the Temple in Jerusalem (John at the beginning of Jesus' ministry; the other gospels place it as the final climax of Jesus' ministry). Despite this action, it is important to be aware of the great respect that Jesus felt for the Temple. His faithful attendance at the Temple in Jerusalem for the great pilgrimage feasts attests to this. The Temple was also the location of many of his great teachings.
It’s important to also be aware that this episode takes place in the context of the celebration of the pasch. Therefore, we need, I think, to understand this text in the light of Easter Faith!
We know that the prophets always longed for a truly holy Temple, “forever purified by every deferment, a stable sanctuary of the presence of God, a place of worship in spirit and truth, a centre for the study of law, a house of God where salvation would flow in abundance, and where the glory of the Lord would be revealed to all nations. Jesus is the realisation of this dream that always looked to the future, to the end of time.” (Days of The Lord : Vol 7)
Jesus is that Temple, and therefore so is the Church. The Church is the visible presence and guarantee, of God in our midst. These places are a responsibility on us, members of the Church, to live out our baptism, and be visible signs of God’s kingdom! The Second Vatican Council emphasised the importance of the “People of God”, united through baptism, and our liturgical gathering!
Other events on this day: Remembrance Sunday
When we celebrate the feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, it might seem we are sharing, somewhat distantly, in the festivities of another church; but that is not so. The feast is very much our own.
The Lateran Basilica was built at the command of the Christian emperor Constantine in 324. It was given to the Bishop of Rome. And just as the Pope is the visible head of the Church on earth, so the Lateran Basilica came to be called Mother and Head of all the churches of the city and the world. In some sense, all our churches celebrate their own dedication on this feast.
Like all church buildings, the Lateran Basilica is, first and foremost, a house of prayer, a place where the eucharistic assembly can gather in peace, to offer the sacrifice of praise to God.
It is also, in a sense, a house of God, a place where God has his dwelling, but theology applies this term, primarily, to the Church of living stones which we are in virtue of our baptism. The visible building is more truly a sign of the house of God which is the congregation of the faithful.
And because we are always on the way, our lives a work in progress, because the work of construction is on-going, we must look forward to the heavenly kingdom to perceive the completed edifice. The present Church which we are, is itself only a sign of the true house of God, which will appear in perfection on the day of eternity.
BIDDING PRAYERS
Let us pray for all the baptized, that as living stones, being built into the temple of Christ's Church, we may offer our lives to God as a sacrifice of praise.
Let us pray for the liberty of the Church, that God may be served as he desires, in peace.
Let us pray for all who sleep in Christ, that they may open their eyes to gaze upon the splendour of Christ reigning with his Church in glory.
Note: These hymns have been chosen from different sources.
Christ is made the sure foundation (CFE109, L456, LHON197, TCH209)
The Church's one foundation (CFE688, L830, LHON647, TCH187)
Here in this place (Gather us in) (CFE253, L475, LHON327)
Jerusalem the golden (CFE317, L991, LHON387, TCH226)
Key
CFE - Celebration Hymnal for Everyone
L – Laudate
LHON – Liturgical Hymns Old and New (Mayhew, 1999)
TCH – The Catholic Hymnbook (Gracewing)
Do you have questions about the liturgy and how we are called to participate in it? Explore how the Church councils, saints, and popes have answered this key question and many more.
Every movement of the Mass is rich in meaning but we can become over-familiar with it. Rediscover the Mass and explore how it relates to the Exodus story, where many of its rituals come from, and how it makes Jesus present to us today.
