FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA IN ROME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord,
for my name to be there forever. 2 CH 7:16

EZEKIEL 47:1-2,8-9,12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Living Water flows from Your Body and covers all who are plunged in the living water of Baptism. We are made children of God. As children of the Father and members of Your Body, we receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Holy Spirit are manifest in all who live holy lives conformed to the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Truth. 

Every Christian is called to witness to the Good News by our lives and when we do the life-giving waters we received at our Baptism flows from us to the whole world. We bear fruit for the Kingdom of God, fruit that will last. We attract souls for You by our joy in knowing You and being known and loved by You. All who come into the Temple of the Lord, which is Your Body will find eternal life, spiritual well-being, and a super-abundance of God's gifts which they in turn share with the world.

PSALM 46:2-3,5-6,8-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

How comforting it is for every child of God to know this truth, to have this unwavering faith and confidence that nothing we endure in this life can make us fearful or anxious because we are rooted in You. Though the boat of our life is tossed about, the winds are strong, and the waves are so high they threaten to drown us, we will be calm for we know that with You in us, with us, above and below us, around us, no harm will come to us. 

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.

We are grafted to Your Body, we belong to the City of God built high on Mt. Zion. Living Waters flow from You to us, the Living Church, and out from us flow rivers of Joy because God has saved us and the Holy Spirit dwells in us. 

You are our stronghold, our refugee, our God and we are empowered by Your Spirit to do even greater than You have done because God in His fullness makes His dwelling place in us. We are called, we are chosen, we are commissioned to build the Kingdom of God on earth may we be zealous in hastening Your coming again in glory. 

JOHN 2:13-22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We who are grafted into Your Body are also a sanctuary for You O Lord, but we have made Your dwelling place a den of thieves. We are sorry for having given ourselves over to sin and to every kind of evil and for desecrating this Holy Place that belongs to You alone. 

As the Liturgical Year draws to a close we are reminded of who we are - children of God. And as children of God and members of Your Body, we are to be holy and pure just as the Father is holy and pure but we have failed often and miserably. You are justified in Your righteous anger. You overturned the tables of the money-changers, and You drove out the cattle and sheep out of the Temple. May we give heed to the urgency of the call of the Holy Spirit and go to Confession. Thank You, Lord, for Your death and the new life that You won for us on the Cross. May we resolve to sin no more so we can enter into eternal life and receive a share in Your glorious inheritance in the Kingdom of God.