DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA IN ROME
I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord,
that my name may be there forever. 2 Chronicles 7:16
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-19, 12, Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9, 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17, John 2:13-22
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-19, 12
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
The old temple in Jerusalem where God's chosen people flocked from the known world once a year to worship and offer sacrifice is now no more. We have a new temple in Mt. Zion. It has You as its foundation and cornerstone, and its pillars are the 12 Apostles. The old temple had the 12 tribes of Israel, but now the old gives way to the new, the eternal, the imperishable, the indestructible.
As the Church celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, we are made aware of the new thing that God has done for us, how He has loved us, and how that love has become visible and tangible in You. The Apostles walked with You, talked to You, laughed with You, were taught by You, ate with You, shared everything with You and were You special friends. To them was given the awesome responsibility to establish the Kingdom of God in the world, and to preach the Good News to the end of the earth. This mission has been handed down faithfully in an unbroken line going back to St. Peter, and has continued through the ages and will do so until You come again in glory.
From this Church of the Apostolic See, of which the Lateran Basilica is a powerful symbol, life giving waters flow. They gush forth in torrents throughout the world and they sweeten the bitterness of our sinful world. Hopeless as our world looks at present, hope is alive as long as Your Church is in our midst.
"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."
As long as we have the Church in our midst, You are present among us, "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."
Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
The Psalmist has said it beautifully, the City of God, is where the faithful gather in the shadow of the Presence of the Most High where God lives and reigns, where He is adored, worshiped, and glorified. There is much to make is afraid in the world but You assure us that we need not be afraid for You Beloved are with us, You have triumphed, and You are victorious and we will be triumphant and victorious with You.
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.
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.
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.
1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
This is the truth that St. Paul reveals, a glorious truth. God's temple is not a facade of bricks, marble, and mortar, no matter how beautiful, God's temple is in each one who believes in You. We who are baptized into Your Body, form the Church. God's Holy Spirit makes of each one of us the dwelling place of God. Grace upon grace is granted to us as we receive the Sacraments that You instituted beginning with the Sacrament of Baptism. God our Father has laid the foundation of His Church on You and it is the Holy Spirit who builds on it. The more we yield to Your Spirit, the more we surrender to His will, the more we acknowledge that we can do nothing on our own but it is God who lives in us, moves in us, and has His way with us always, only then can God make something beautiful with our lives. The saints who have gone before us are a witness to this awesome truth.
The last words of St. Paul give the enemies of the Church a chill warning. The warning is given to us as well, for we do not belong to ourselves but to You.
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.
John 2:13-22
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
This scene in today's Gospel passage is chilling. We see you angry, distraught, filled with righteous rage as You go about overturning the tables of the sellers in the temple area who had made of the House of God a market place.
This was the temple in Jerusalem where You took a whip made of cords and drove everyone who was desecrating it out. What about the temple that is my body Beloved? How have I desecrated it? In what ways have I made myself a marketplace for buyers and sellers, and money-changers? How will You deal with me for the ways in which I have polluted the streams of life-giving water that flows from You to me and ought to flow from me into the world?
You have authority over me because You laid down Your life for me and paid the ransom for my sinful miserable life and now it is no longer mine but Your own. You challenged the authorities with these words:
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The writer of the Gospel tells us that You were not speaking of the temple but of Your Body:
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.
Grant my Beloved that I may treat this temple of my body where the Holy Spirit makes His home with great reverence for it is the dwelling place of God.
FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA IN ROME
I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord,
that my name may be there forever. 2 Chronicles 7:16
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-19, 12, Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9, 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17, John 2:13-22
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-19, 12
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
The old temple in Jerusalem where God's chosen people flocked from the known world once a year to worship and offer sacrifice is now no more. We have a new temple in Mt. Zion. It has You as its foundation and cornerstone, and its pillars are the 12 Apostles. The old temple had the 12 tribes of Israel, but now the old gives way to the new, the eternal, the imperishable, the indestructible.
As the Church celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, we are made aware of the new thing that God has done for us, how He has loved us, and how that love has become visible and tangible in You. The Apostles walked with You, talked to You, laughed with You, were taught by You, ate with You, shared everything with You and were You special friends. To them was given the awesome responsibility to establish the Kingdom of God in the world, and to preach the Good News to the end of the earth. This mission has been handed down faithfully in an unbroken line going back to St. Peter, and has continued through the ages and will do so until You come again in glory.
From this Church of the Apostolic See, of which the Lateran Basilica is a powerful symbol, life giving waters flow. They gush forth in torrents throughout the world and they sweeten the bitterness of our sinful world. Hopeless as our world looks at present, hope is alive as long as Your Church is in our midst.
"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."
As long as we have the Church in our midst, You are present among us, "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."
Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
The Psalmist has said it beautifully, the City of God, is where the faithful gather in the shadow of the Presence of the Most High where God lives and reigns, where He is adored, worshiped, and glorified. There is much to make is afraid in the world but You assure us that we need not be afraid for You Beloved are with us, You have triumphed, and You are victorious and we will be triumphant and victorious with You.
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.
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.
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.
1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
This is the truth that St. Paul reveals, a glorious truth. God's temple is not a facade of bricks, marble, and mortar, no matter how beautiful, God's temple is in each one who believes in You. We who are baptized into Your Body, form the Church. God's Holy Spirit makes of each one of us the dwelling place of God. Grace upon grace is granted to us as we receive the Sacraments that You instituted beginning with the Sacrament of Baptism. God our Father has laid the foundation of His Church on You and it is the Holy Spirit who builds on it. The more we yield to Your Spirit, the more we surrender to His will, the more we acknowledge that we can do nothing on our own but it is God who lives in us, moves in us, and has His way with us always, only then can God make something beautiful with our lives. The saints who have gone before us are a witness to this awesome truth.
The last words of St. Paul give the enemies of the Church a chill warning. The warning is given to us as well, for we do not belong to ourselves but to You.
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.
John 2:13-22
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
This scene in today's Gospel passage is chilling. We see you angry, distraught, filled with righteous rage as You go about overturning the tables of the sellers in the temple area who had made of the House of God a market place.
This was the temple in Jerusalem where You took a whip made of cords and drove everyone who was desecrating it out. What about the temple that is my body Beloved? How have I desecrated it? In what ways have I made myself a marketplace for buyers and sellers, and money-changers? How will You deal with me for the ways in which I have polluted the streams of life-giving water that flows from You to me and ought to flow from me into the world?
You have authority over me because You laid down Your life for me and paid the ransom for my sinful miserable life and now it is no longer mine but Your own. You challenged the authorities with these words:
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The writer of the Gospel tells us that You were not speaking of the temple but of Your Body:
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.
Grant my Beloved that I may treat this temple of my body where the Holy Spirit makes His home with great reverence for it is the dwelling place of God.
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