Cycle B - Year I:  

November 9, 2021, Tuesday: Feast of the Dedication of Lateran Basilica 

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9.12

Second Reading:   1 Corinthians 3:913.16-17

Gospel:  Please Read  John 2:13-22 

We are God's Dwelling Place!

 TODAY, November 9, Tuesday, is the Feast of the Dedication of Lateran Basilica.  Why is this an important feast for the Church?

St. John Lateran is the cathedral in Rome and is considered the mother church of the Roman Catholic faithful.  It is Rome's oldest church. It was first given the title of Basilica of the Savior, but later on was dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and eventually called St. John Lateran.  (It is built on a land owned by the Lateran Family.)  Pope Sylvester I consecrated the basilica on November 9, 324.

Now St. John Lateran was the home of the popes and the center of the Catholic world for many years.  Twenty-eight popes were buried there.  Although our present Pope now lives at the Vatican and presides at St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope's cathedral as the Bishop of Rome is St. John Lateran. (In the Catholic church every bishop is assigned his own cathedral. The Pope is also a Bishop.)

Celebrating the Feast of the Dedication of the Pope's cathedral today shows our unity with the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on earth, as well as our love and respect for him.  It also shows that we are united with each other in the Church.  That is why the Basilica of St. John Lateran is also called "the mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world (omnium ecclesiarum Urbis et Orbis mater et caput) as a sign of love and union with the See of Peter. This unity in the Church is described by St. Paul in his first Letter to the Corinthians as the "Body of Christ". (1 Cor 12:27)

Short Reflection on the Gospel:

Jesus cleanses the temple of defilement by proclaiming in strong words:"...stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" (Jn 2:16)  This reminds of the different kinds of temples: the temple made of stones as the place we make our worship to God; the temple of Christ's Body as the Church itself; and our very own body as temple of God.  In every kind of these temples, we must keep a proper and fitting dwelling place of God deserving of due respect. So that in the example of Christ cleansing the temple of Jerusalem of "impurities" we must be ready to do the same whenever the need arises in our time.

In conclusion, the Dedication of the St. John Lateran basilica is a happy occasion in the Church because it reminds us of our beginnings, our unity.  St. John Lateran stands as a monument to God an all that God does through the Church.

A blessed Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran to all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!