Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 11-09-09, Feast, Dedication-Lateran Basilica in Rome

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 11-09-09 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

November 9, 2009

Feast of the Dedication of the                                     Lateran Basilica in Rome

Reading 1 Responsorial Psalm Reading 2 Gospel

Reading 1
Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12

The angel brought me
back to the entrance of the temple,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the southern side.
He said to me,
“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.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9

R. (5) 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.
R.        The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!
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.
R.        The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!
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.
R.        The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!

Reading II
1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17

Brothers and sisters:
You are God’s building.
According to the grace of God given to me,
like a wise master builder I laid a foundation,
and another is building upon it.
But each one must be careful how he builds upon it,
for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,
namely, Jesus Christ.

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.

Gospel
Jn 2:13-22

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money-changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews said,
“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?”
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.

[Salvation]

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

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Alleluia Ping!

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Alleluia Ping List.

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An hour ago I thought my computer crashed. I unplugged everything and plugged it all back in. But it took some time. Anyone have any idea what might have happened?

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Catholic Word of the Day: ST. JOHN LATERAN, 05-26-09

Solemn Mass in the Usus Antiquior (TLM) at the Lateran [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Pontiff Reflects on the Last Supper During Mass at St. John Lateran
THE DEDICATION OF THE CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOUR - ST JOHN LATERAN)
[Bishop of Rome -- Pope Benedict XVI]to be installed at St. John Lateran, the Pope's cathedral
75th Anniversary of the Lateran Pacts

[Salvation]

Vatican Aide: Priest Vocations Up in 20 Countries (England and Wales among them)
The Experience of ‘The Call’ (Discerning a Call to the Priesthood or Religious Life)

Priesthood Sunday - October 25, 2009
Health Care Council Letter to Priests, "A Priest at the Bedside of a Sick Person Represents Christ"
A Vocation to Be a Priest?
Do You Appreciate Your Priest? (with a touch of humor)
In India, Holy Orders

A priest’s chalice
Christ for Us: The Year for Priests [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
On Mary, Mother of Priests
Bishop Olmsted on the Devil and John Vianney
Catholic Caucus: Prayer for Our Priests (Year of the Priest)

Benedict reflects on Mary and the priesthood [Catholic Caucus]
The Priesthood — A Priceless Gift
Forming Those Who Form Priests: The Gift of Purity of Heart
Spiritual Mothers of Priests: Your Questions [Year of the Priest]
Eucharistic Season in the Year of the Priesthood

Pope's Address at Audience With New Archbishops: "Carry Deeply in Your Hearts Your Priests"
No Matter What, He Always "Acts Like a Priest" [Ecumenical]
On Priestly Identity
What Can I Do For the Year of the Priest?
The Rosary for the Year of the Priest [Catholic Caucus]

Pope Notes His Goal for Year for Priests
On the Year for Priests
WHY A YEAR FOR PRIESTS?
Curé d'Ars: Model Priest [Year of the Priest]
ZENIT Launches Column on Priesthood

[Justin] Cardinal Rigali on the Year for Priests
Church Being Given Chance to Rediscover Priesthood [Year of the Priest]
Celebrating the Year of the Priesthood
St. John Vianney's Pastoral Plan
LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI PROCLAIMING A YEAR FOR PRIESTS [Catholic Caucus]

Year of the Priest Letter (Media immediately scrutinize its contents for controversy)
Year of the Priest [Catholic Caucus]
The Year for Priests [Catholic Caucus]
Year of the Priest Begins Friday
U.S. bishops launch website for Year for Priests

[Salvation]

 

Jesus. High Priest

 

The Year of the Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

[Salvation]

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

1.  Sign of the Cross:  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

2.  The Apostles Creed:  I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3.  The Lord's Prayer:  OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary:  HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be:  GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer.  Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

 

The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Joyful Mysteries
(Mondays and Saturdays)
1. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) [Spiritual fruit - Humility]
2. The Visitation (Luke 1: 39-56) [Spiritual fruit - Love of Neighbor]
3. The Nativity (Luke 2:1-20) [Spiritual fruit - Poverty of Spirit]
4. The Presentation (Luke 2:21-38) [Spiritual fruit - Purity of mind & body]
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) [Spiritual fruit - Obedience ]

[Salvation]

~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
 Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we  humbly pray,
 and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
 by the power of God,
 Cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
 Amen
+

[Salvation]

Prayer Campaign Started to Convert Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians to Pro-Life

[Catholic Caucus] One Million Rosaries

[Salvation]

November Devotion: The Holy Souls in Purgatory

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. As a reminder of our duty to pray for the suffering faithful in Purgatory, the Church has dedicated the month of November to the Holy Souls. The Holy Souls are those who have died in the state of grace but who are not yet free from all punishment due to their unforgiven venial sins and all other sins already forgiven for which satisfaction is still to be made. They are certain of entering Heaven, but first they must suffer in Purgatory. The Holy Souls cannot help themselves because for them the night has come, when no man can work (John 9:4). It is our great privilege of brotherhood that we can shorten their time of separation from God by our prayers, good works, and, especially, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

INVOCATION Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY My Jesus, by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine agony in the Garden, in Thy scourging and crowning with thorns, in the way to Calvary, in Thy crucifixion and death, have mercy on the souls in purgatory, and especially on those that are most forsaken; do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure; call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in paradise. Our Father, Hail Mary, Eternal rest, etc.

FOR ALL THE DECEASED By Thy resurrection from the dead, O Christ, death no longer hath dominion over those who die in holiness. So, we beseech Thee, give rest to Thy servants in Thy sanctuary and in Abraham's bosom. Grant it to those, who from Adam until now have adored Thee with purity, to our fathers and brothers, to our kinsmen and friends, to all men who have lived by faith and passed on their road to Thee, by a thousand ways, and in all conditions, and make them worthy of the heavenly kingdom. Byzantine Liturgy

DE PROFUNDIS The psalmist is crying out here from the depression that grips him because of his sense of sin. He tells God that no man could be forgiven should strict justice be demanded; but, since God is forgiving and merciful, the psalmist (Israel) will hope for redemption from iniquities. We, who know the mercy of God far better than the g Israelites, may pray this psalm with even greater trust in God. The Church uses this psalm in the liturgy as her official prayer for the souls in Purgatory. Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my, voice! Let Your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication: If You, O Lord, mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand? But with You is forgiveness, that You may be revered. I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in His word. My soul waits for the Lord more than sentinels wait for the dawn. More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the Lord, For with the Lord is kindness and with Him is plenteous redemption; And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities. Psalm 130

THE MISERERE This psalm is a marvelous act of contrition, confession, and supplication by a repentant sinner. It was composed by David after his sin with Bethsabee. In reparation David promises to lead others back to God by telling them of the ways of divine justice. Instead of offering God an external sacrifice which he knows He will not accept, he offers instead the sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart, a sacrifice that will always be most pleasing in the eyes of God. Have mercy on me, 0 God, in Your goodness; in the greatness of Your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always: "Against You only have I sinned, and done what is evil in Your sight"-- That You may be justified in Your sentence, vindicated when You condemn. Indeed, in guilt was I born, and in sin my mother conceived me; Behold, You are pleased with sincerity of heart, and in my inmost being You teach me wisdom. Cleanse me of sin with hyssop, that I may be purified; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness; the bones You have crushed shall rejoice. Turn away Your face from my sins, and blot out all my guilt. A clean heart create for me, 0 God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from Your presence, and Your holy spirit take not from me. Give me back the joy of Your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall return to You. Free me from blood guilt, 0 God, my saving God; then my tongue shall revel in Your justice. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim Your praise. For You are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a holocaust, You would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, 0 God, You will not spurn. Be bountiful, O Lord, to Sion in Your kindness by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem; Then shall You be pleased with due sacrifices, burnt offerings and holocausts; then shall they offer up bullocks on Your altar. Psalm 50

FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY O Lord, who art ever merciful and bounteous with Thy gifts, look down upon the suffering souls in purgatory. Remember not their offenses and negligences, but be mindful of Thy loving mercy, which is from all eternity. Cleanse them of their sins and fulfill their ardent desires that they may be made worthy to behold Thee face to face in Thy glory. May they soon be united with Thee and hear those blessed words which will call them to their heavenly home: "Come, blessed of My Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

 

 Repeat these prayers every seven days during the month of November for the Poor Souls in Purgatory

SUNDAY

O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Blood, which Your divine Son Jesus shed in the Garden, deliver the souls in purgatory, and especially that one which is the most forsaken of all, and bring it into Your glory, where it may praise and bless You for ever.    Amen.

Say here:  one Our Father and one Hail Mary

CONCLUDING PRAYERS

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.    Amen.

Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us.   As we renew our faith in Your Son, whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in His resurrection, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.    Amen.

 

MONDAY

O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Blood, which Your divine Son Jesus shed in His cruel scourging, deliver the souls in purgatory, and among them all, especially that soul which is nearest to its entrance into Your glory, that it may soon begin to praise You and bless You for ever.    Amen.

Say here:  one Our Father and one Hail Mary

CONCLUDING PRAYERS

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.    Amen.

Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us.   As we renew our faith in Your Son, whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in His resurrection, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.    Amen.

 

TUESDAY

O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Blood of Your divine Son Jesus that was shed in His bitter crowning with thorns, deliver the souls in purgatory, and among them all, particularly that soul which is in the greatest need of our prayers, in order that it may not long be delayed in praising You in Your glory and blessing You for ever.    Amen.

Say here:  one Our Father and one Hail Mary

CONCLUDING PRAYERS

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.    Amen.

Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us.   As we renew our faith in Your Son, whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in His resurrection, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.    Amen.

 

WEDNESDAY

O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Blood of Your divine Son Jesus that was shed in the streets of Jerusalem while He carried on His sacred shoulders the heavy burden of the Cross, deliver the souls in purgatory and especially that one which is richest in merits in Your sight, so that, having soon attained the high place in glory to which it is destined, it may praise You triumphantly and bless You for ever.    Amen

Say here:  one Our Father and one Hail Mary

CONCLUDING PRAYERS

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.    Amen.

Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us.   As we renew our faith in Your Son, whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in His resurrection, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.    Amen.

 

THURSDAY

O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Body and Blood of Your divine Son Jesus, which He Himself on the night before His Passion gave as meat and drink to His beloved Apostles and bequeathed to His Holy Church to be the perpetual Sacrifice and life-giving nourishment of His faithful people, deliver the souls in purgatory, but most of all, that soul which was most devoted to this Mystery of infinite love, in order that it may praise You therefore, together with Your divine Son and the Holy Spirit in Your glory for ever.    Amen.

Say here:  one Our Father and one Hail Mary

CONCLUDING PRAYERS

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.    Amen.

Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us.   As we renew our faith in Your Son, whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in His resurrection, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.    Amen.

 

FRIDAY

O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Blood which Jesus Your divine Son did shed this day upon the tree of the Cross, especially from His sacred Hands and Feet, deliver the souls in purgatory, and particularly that soul for whom I am most bound to pray, in order that I may not be the cause which hinders You from admitting it quickly to the possession of Your glory where it may praise You and bless You for evermore.    Amen

Say here:  one Our Father and one Hail Mary

CONCLUDING PRAYERS

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.    Amen.

Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us.   As we renew our faith in Your Son, whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in His resurrection, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.    Amen.

 

 

 

SATURDAY

O Lord God omnipotent, I beseech You by the Precious Blood which gushed forth from the sacred Side of Your divine Son Jesus in the presence and to the great sorrow of His most holy Mother, deliver the souls in purgatory and among them all especially that soul which has been most devout to this noble Lady, that it may come quickly into Your glory, there to praise You in her, and her in You through all the ages.    Amen.

Say here:  one Our Father and one Hail Mary

CONCLUDING PRAYERS

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.    Amen.

Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us.   As we renew our faith in Your Son, whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in His resurrection, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.    Amen.

 

To Trace All Souls Day (Protestants vs Catholics)

November 2 -- All Souls Day
On November: All Souls and the "Permanent Things"
"From the Pastor" ALL SAINTS & ALL SOULS
Praying for the Dead [All Souls Day] (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
To Trace All Souls Day [Ecumenical]

All Souls Day [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
The Roots of All Souls Day
The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
During Month of Souls, Recall Mystic, St. Gertrude the Great
All Saints and All Souls

All Saints, All Souls and the Four Last Things
The Feast of All Saints - What are the origins of All Saints Day and All Souls Day?
All Saints and All Souls
All Souls Day and final destinations
Ideas for Sanctifying Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day

[Salvation]

Holy Father's Prayer Intentions For November 2009

General: That all the men and women in the world, especially those who have responsibilities in the field of politics and economics, may never fail in their commitment to safeguard creation.

Mission: That believers in the different religions, through the testimony of their lives and fraternal dialogue, may clearly demonstrate that the name of God is a bearer of peace.

[Salvation]

From: Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12

The Spring in the Temple

---

[1] Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and behold, water was
issuing 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. [2] Then he brought me out by way
of the north gate, and led me round on the outside to the outer gate, that faces
toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side.

[8] And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes
down into the Arabah; and when it enters the stagnant waters of the sea, the
water will become fresh. [9] And wherever the riven goes every living creature
which swarms will live, and there will be very many fish; for this water goes
there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live
where the river goes.

[12] And 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 fail, 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.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

47:1-12. The vision of the spring revitalizing everything it meets on its flowing
from the southern end of the way, is one of the most striking images temple and
ending up in the Dead Sea, in the book. Its content is reminiscent of the vision of
the bones (37:1-14): there, it was the Spirit that gave life to the dry bones; here,
the water refreshes the dead waters. The image of the river reminds one of how in
paradise (Gen 2:10-14) the four branches of the river make the whole garden beau-
tiful; here, a single river actually gives life. Although the vision contains references
to actual places, such as the oasis of En-gedi (v. 10), the Dead Sea or the Arabah,
it is symbolic and what it shows is that the renewal of the temple and its worship
will bring all sorts of advantages to the whole people.

There is an echo of this vision in the New Testament in the words of Jesus recor-
ded by St John: “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes
in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water’”
(Jn 7:37). Early Christian tradition links this text of St John with Ezekiel’s vision,
seeing in the spring in the temple the waters of Baptism that flow from Christ who
is life, or from Christ’s side on the altar of the cross: We go down to the water’s
edge steeped in our sins and impurity, and we walk out of the water, our hearts
filled with grace, fear of the Lord and hope in Jesus” (”Epistula Barnabae” 11, 10).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

[Salvation]

From: 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17

Apostolic Ministry (continuation)

---

[9] (For we are God’s) building.

[10] According to the commission of God given to me, like a skilled master
builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. [11] For no
other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

[16] Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in
you? [17] If any one destroy’s God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s
temple is holy, and that temple you are.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

9. “God’s field, God’s building”. The Second Vatican Council uses these images
to describe the inner nature of the Church: “The Church is a cultivated field, the
tillage of God (cf. 1 Cor 3:9). on that land the ancient olive tree grows whose holy
roots were the prophets and in which the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles has
been brought about and will be brought about again (Rom 11:13-26). That land,
like a choice vineyard, has been planted by the heavenly cultivator (Mt 21:33-43;
cf. Is 5:1f). Yet the true vine is Christ who gives life and fruitfulness to the bran-
ches, that is, to us, who through the Church remain in Christ without whom we
can do nothing (Jn 15:1-5).

“Often, too, the Church is called the building of God (1 Cor 3:9). The Lord com-
pared himself to the stone which the builders rejected, but which was made into
the cornerstone (Mt 21:42; cf. Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:7; Ps 117:22). on this founda-
tion the Church is built by the Apostles (cf. 1 Cor 3:11) and from it the Church
receives solidity and unity. This edifice has many names to describe it—the
house of God in which his family dwells; the household of God in the Spirit (Eph
2:19:22); the dwelling-place of God among men (Rev 21:3); and, especially, the
holy temple. This temple, symbolized in places of worship built out of stone, is
praised by the Fathers and, not without reason, is compared in the liturgy to the
Holy City, the New Jerusalem. As living stones we here on earth are built into it
(1 Pet 2:5). It is this holy city that is seen by John as it comes down out of hea-
ven from God when the world is made anew, prepared like a bride adorned for
her husband (Rev 21:1f)” (”Lumen Gentium”, 6).

The Lord wants Christians to be living stones in this building and has associated
them in the redemptive task of saving all mankind, so that in the course of their
own redemption they might also be co-redeemers with him, completing “what is
lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col
1:24): “Jesus has wanted every person to cooperate freely in the work of redemp-
tion [...]. The work of salvation is still going on, and each one of us has a part in
it [...]. It is worth while putting our lives on the line, giving ourselves completely,
so as to answer to the love and the confidence that God has placed in us. It is
worth while, above all, to decide to take our Christian faith serious-
ly” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 129).

10-11. With a solemn introduction (” According to the commission of God given
to me”, which equipped him for his ministry), St Paul identifies what holds to-
gether the community at Corinth and its individual members — Jesus Christ, the
essential basis for every spiritual building. Christ, as St Peter reminds us, is “the
stone which was rejected by you builders, but hich has become the head of the
corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under
heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12).

Therefore, all genuine catechesis must be Christ-centered; it must all be focused
on Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect man, and on his teachings. Catechesis,
says John Paul II, means “to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of God’s
eternal design reaching fulfillment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the
meaning of Christ’s actions and words and of the signs worked by him, for they
simultaneously hide and reveal his mystery. Accordingly, the definitive aim of
catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with
Jesus Christ; only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make
us share in the life of the Holy Trinity [...]. We must therefore say that in cate-
chesis it is Christ, the Incarnate Word and Son of God, who is taught—everything
else is taught with reference to him — and it is Christ alone who teaches—anyone
else teaches to the extent that he is Christ’s spokesman, enabling Christ to teach
with his lips” (”Catechesi Tradendae”, 5-6).

Also, reflection on the fact that Jesus Christ is the foundation of the spiritual
building, leads to the conclusion that a Christian “needs to be not only linked to
Jesus Christ,” St John Chrysostom points out, “but to adhere to him, to be finally
attached to him: to be separated from him to the least degree is to be lost [...].
Notice all the comparisons the Apostle makes to explain this intimate unity:
Jesus Christ is the head, we the body, for there can be no gap between head and
ody. He is the foundation, we the building; he is the vine, we the branches; he the
spouse, we the bride; he is the shepherd, we the flock; he is the way along which
we are to travel; we are the temple, and God dwells therein; he is the first-born,
we his brethren; he is the heir and we co-heirs; he is life and we have life through
him; he is the resurrection and we men are raised up; he is the light by which our
darkness is dispelled” (”Hom. on 1 Cor”, 8, “ad loc.”).

16-17. These words apply to the individual Christian, and to the Church as a
whole (cf. note on 1 Corinthians 3:9). The simile of the Church as God’s temple,
frequently used by St. Paul (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:16), shows
that the Holy Trinity dwells in the soul in grace. As [Pope] Leo XIII reminds us, by
means of grace God dwells in the just soul as in a temple, in a special and inti-
mate manner” (”Divinum Illud Munus” 10). Although this indwelling is attributed to
the Holy Spirit (cf. John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19), it really comes about through
the presence of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, because all actions of
God which terminate outside God Himself (activities “ad extra”) are to be seen
as actions of the one, unique divine nature.

This sublime mystery which we could never have suspected, was revealed by
Jesus Christ Himself: “The Spirit of truth [...] dwells with you, and will be in you
[...]. If a man loves me, he will keep My word and My Father will love him, and
We will come to him, and make Our home with him” (John 14:17-23). Although
this is a matter which we never plumb in this life, some light is thrown on it if we
remember that “the Divine Persons are said to inhabit as much as they are pre-
sent to intellectual creatures in a way that transcends human comprehension,
and are known and loved (cf. “Summa Theologiae”, I, q. 43, a. 3) by them, yet
in a way that is unique, purely supernatural, and in the deepest sanctuary of the
soul” (Pius XII, “Mystici Corporis, Dz-Sch”, 35).

Reflection on this wonderful fact will help us to realize how extremely important
it is to live in the grace of God, and to have a horror of mortal sin, which “dest-
roys God’s temple,” depriving the soul of God’s grace and friendship.

Moreover, through this indwelling a human being begins to receiving an inkling of
what the Beatific Vision—Heaven—will be like, for “this admirable union [of indwel-
ling] differs only by virtue of man’s [present] condition and state from union where-
by God fills the blessed [in Heaven]” (”Divinum Illud Munus”, 11).

The presence of the Trinity in the soul in grace invites the Christian to try to have
a more personal and direct relationship with God, whom we can seek at every
moment in the depths of our souls: “Get to know the Holy Spirit, the Great Stran-
ger, on whom depends your sanctification. Don’t forget that you are God’s temple.
The Advocate is in the center of your soul: listen to Him and be docile to His in-
spirations” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 57).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

[Salvation]

From: John 2:13-22

The Cleansing of the Temple

---

[13] The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
[14] In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons,
and the money-changers at their business. [15] And making a whip of cords, he
drove them all, with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple; and he poured out
the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. [16] And he told
those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; you shall not make my
Father’s house a house of trade.” [17] His disciples remembered that it was writ-
ten, “Zeal for thy house will consume me.” [18] The Jews then said to him, “What
signs have you to show us for doing this?” [19] Jesus answered them, “Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” [20] The Jews then said, “It has
taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”
21] But he spoke of the temple of his body. [22] When therefore he was raised
from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed
the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

13. “The Passover of the Jews”: this is the most important religious feast for the
people of the Old Testament, the prefiguring of the Christian Easter (cf. note on
Mt 26:2). The Jewish Passover was celebrated on the fourteenth day of the month
of Nisan and was followed by the festival week of the Azymes (unleavened bread).
According to the Law of Moses, on those days every male Israelite had to “appear
before the Lord God” (Ex 34:23; Deut 16:16)—hence the pious custom of making
a pilgrimage to the temple of Jerusalem for these days, hence the crowd and all
the vendors to supply the needs of the pilgrims; this trading gave rise to abuses.

“Jesus went up to Jerusalem”: by doing this Jesus publicly shows that he ob-
serves the Law of God. But, as we shall soon see, he goes to the temple as the
only-begotten Son who must ensure that all due decorum is observed in the
House of the Father: “And from thenceforth Jesus, the Anointed of God, always
begins by reforming abuses and purifying from sin; both when he visits his
Church, and when he visits the Christian soul” (Origen, “Hom. on St John”, 1).

14-15. Every Israelite had to offer as a passover sacrifice an ox or a sheep, if he
was wealthy; or two turtle-doves or two pigeons if he was not (Lev 5:7). In addi-
tion he had to pay a half shekel every year, if he was twenty or over. The half
shekel, which was the equivalent of a day’s pay of a worker, was a special coin
also called temple money (cf. Ex 30:13); other coins in circulation (denarii, drach-
mas, etc.) were considered impure because they bore the image of pagan rulers.
During the Passover, because of the extra crowd, the outer courtyard of the tem-
ple, the court of the Gentiles, was full of traders, money changers etc., and inevi-
tably this meant noise, shouting, bellowing, manure etc. Prophets had already
fulminated against these abuses, which grew up with the tacit permission of the
temple authorities, who made money by permitting trading. Cf. notes on Mt 21:
12-13 and Mk 11:15-18.

16-17. “Zeal for thy house will consume me”—a quotation from Psalm 69:10.
Jesus has just made a most significant assertion: “You shall not make my
Father’s house a house of trade.” By calling God his Father and acting so ener-
getically, he is proclaiming he is the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus’ zeal for
his Father’s glory did not escape the attention of his disciples who realized that
what he did fulfilled the words of Psalm 69.

18-22. The temple of Jerusalem, which had replaced the previous sanctuary
which the Israelites carried around in the wilderness, was the place selected by
God during the Old Covenant to express his presence to the people in a special
way. But this was only an imperect anticipation or prefiguring of the full expres-
sion of his presence among men—the Word of God became man. Jesus, in whom
“the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col 2:9), is the full presence of God
here on earth and, therefore, the true temple of God. Jesus identifies the temple
of Jerusalem with his own body, and by so doing refers to one of the most pro-
found truths about himself—the Incarnation. After the ascension of the Lord into
heaven this real and very special presence of God among men is continued in
the sacrament of the Blessed Eucharist.

Christ’s words and actions as he expels the traders from the temple clearly
show that he is the Messiah foretold by the prophets. That is why some Jews
approach him and ask him to give a sign of his power (cf. Mt 16:1; Mk 8:11; Lk
11:29). Jesus’ reply (v. 20), whose meaning remains obscure until his resurrec-
tion, the Jewish authorities try to turn into an attack on the temple—which merits
the death penalty (Mt 26:61; Mk 14:58; cf. Jer 26:4ff); later they will taunt him
with it when he is suffering on the cross (Mt 27:40; A 15:29) and later still in their
case against St Stephen before the Sanhedrin they will claim to have heard him
repeat it (Acts 6:14).

There was nothing derogatory in what Jesus said, contrary to what false witnes-
ses made out. The miracle he offers them, which he calls “the Sign of Jonah” (cf.
Mt 16:4), will be his own resurrection on the third day. Jesus is using a metaphor,
as if to say: Do you see this temple? Well, imagine if it were destroyed, would it
not be a great miracle to rebuild it in three days? That is what I will do for you as
a sign. For you will destroy my body, which is the true temple, and I will rise
again on the third day.

No one understood what he was saying. Jews and disciples alike thought he was
speaking about rebuilding the temple which Herod the Great had begun to con-
struct in 19-20 B.C. Later on the disciples grasped what he really meant.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

[Salvation]

Scripture readings taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd

Mass Readings

First reading

Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12 ©

The angel brought me to the entrance of the Temple, where a stream came out from under the Temple threshold and flowed eastwards, since the Temple faced east. The water flowed from under the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. He took me out by the north gate and led me right round outside as far as the outer east gate where the water flowed out on the right-hand side. He said, ‘This water flows east down to the Arabah and to the sea; and flowing into the sea it makes its waters wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water goes it brings health, and life teems wherever the river flows. Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month, because this water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 45:2-3,5-6,8-9

Second reading

1 Corinthians 3:9-11,16-17 ©

We are fellow workers with God; you are God’s farm, God’s building. By the grace God gave me, I succeeded as an architect and laid the foundations, on which someone else is doing the building. Everyone doing the building must work carefully. For the foundation, nobody can lay any other than the one which has already been laid, that is Jesus Christ. Didn’t you realise that you were God’s temple and that the Spirit of God was living among you? If anybody should destroy the temple of God, God will destroy him, because the temple of God is sacred; and you are that temple.

Gospel

John 2:13-22 ©

Just before the Jewish Passover Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and in the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting at their counters there. Making a whip out of some cord, he drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers’ coins, knocked their tables over and said to the pigeon-sellers, ‘Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.’ Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture: Zeal for your house will devour me. The Jews intervened and said, ‘What sign can you show us to justify what you have done?’ Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this sanctuary: are you going to raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the words he had said.

[Salvation]

Monday, November 9, 2009
The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (Feast)

First Reading: Psalm: Second Reading: Gospel:

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17 John 2:13-22 The soul united to God and transformed in him draws from within God a divine breath, much like the most high God himself. And God, abiding in the soul, breathes forth the life of the soul as its exemplar. This I take to be what Paul meant when he said: because you are children of God, God has sent to the Spirit of his Son into your heart's crying, Abba, Father; this is what takes place in those who have achieved perfection. -- St. John of the Cross

[Salvation]

The Angelus 

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: 
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen. 

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. 

Hail Mary . . . 

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. 

Hail Mary . . . 

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Let us pray: 

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen. 

[Salvation]

Prayer for Those Who Are Terminally Ill

 

Lord Jesus, you healed so many people during your public ministry. I bring before you now, in prayer, all those who are terminally ill -- those afflicted with cancer, AIDS, and other illnesses.

 

Look lovingly and compassionately upon them. Let them feel the strength of your consolation. Help them and their families to accept this cross they are asked to carry.  Protect them from euthanasia, Lord.

 

Let them see you carrying their cross with them, at their side, as you once carried yours to Calvary. May Mary be there, too, to comfort them. 

 

Lord Jesus, I know and believe that, if it is your will, you can cure those I pray for (especially N.). I place my trust in you. I pray with faith, but I also pray as you did in Gethsemane: your will be done. 

 

Bless us, Lord, and hear my prayer. Amen.

 

Reprinted from "Queen of Apostles Prayerbook" with permission of copyright holder, Pauline Books & Media,

[Salvation]

Office of Readings and Invitatory Psalm

Office of Readings

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.

– O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen. Alleluia.

---

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 23 (24)

The Lord comes to his temple

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors.

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,

  the world and all who live in it.

He himself founded it upon the seas

  and set it firm over the waters.

Who will climb the mountain of the Lord?

  Who will stand in his holy place?

The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,

  who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.

He will receive the blessing of the Lord

  and be justified by God his saviour.

This is the way of those who seek him,

  seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,

  and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of might and power.

  The Lord, strong in battle.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,

  and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of hosts

 – he is the king of glory.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors.

---

Psalm 83 (84)

Longing for the Lord's temple

How delightful is your dwelling-place, Lord of hosts!

How delightful is your dwelling-place, Lord of hosts!

  My soul is weak with longing for the courts of your palace.

  My heart and my body rejoice in the living God.

Even the sparrow finds itself a home,

  the swallow a nest to raise her young –

  in your altars, O Lord,

  Lord of strength, my king and my God.

Blessed are they who dwell in your house:

  they will praise you for ever.

Blessed the man whose help comes from you,

  who has set his heart on climbing to you.

They pass through the valley of thirst

  and make a spring there:

  the morning rain will cover it with blessings.

They will go from strength to strength:

  they will see the God of gods, in Zion.

Lord God of hosts, listen to my prayer;

  hear me, O God of Jacob.

Take notice of us, God our protector,

  and look on the face of your anointed one.

One day in the courts of my God

  is worth more than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be at the doorstep of the house of my God

  than live in the dwellings of sinners.

For the Lord my God is my sun and my shield.

  The Lord gives grace and glory.

He will not deny his good things

  to those who walk in purity.

Blessed is he who trusts in you,

  O Lord of hosts.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

How delightful is your dwelling-place, Lord of hosts!

---

Psalm 86 (87)

Jerusalem, mother of all nations

Glorious things are said of you, city of God.

Its foundations are set on the sacred mountains –

  the Lord loves the gates of Zion

  more than all the tents of Jacob.

Glorious things are said of you, city of God!

I shall count Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me.

  The Philistines, Tyrians, Ethiopians –

  all have their birthplace here.

Of Zion it will be said “Here is the birthplace of all people:

  the Most High himself has set it firm.”

The Lord shall write in the book of the nations:

  “Here is their birthplace.”

They will sing as in joyful processions:

  “All my being springs from you.”

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

Glorious things are said of you, city of God.

---

I will bow down before your holy temple,

– and proclaim your name, O Lord.

---

Reading

1 Peter 2:1-17 ©

Be sure, then, you are never spiteful, or deceitful, or hypocritical, or envious and critical of each other. You are new born, and, like babies, you should be hungry for nothing but milk – the spiritual honesty which will help you to grow up to salvation – now that you have tasted the goodness of the Lord.   He is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house. As scripture says: See how I lay in Zion a precious cornerstone that I have chosen and the man who rests his trust on it will not be disappointed. That means that for you who are believers, it is precious; but for unbelievers, the stone rejected by the builders has proved to be the keystone, a stone to stumble over, a rock to bring men down. They stumble over it because they do not believe in the word; it was the fate in store for them.   But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people at all and now you are the People of God; once you were outside the mercy and now you have been given mercy.   I urge you, my dear people, while you are visitors and pilgrims to keep yourselves free from the selfish passions that attack the soul. Always behave honourably among pagans so that they can see your good works for themselves and, when the day of reckoning comes, give thanks to God for the things which now make them denounce you as criminals.   For the sake of the Lord, accept the authority of every social institution: the emperor, as the supreme authority, and the governors as commissioned by him to punish criminals and praise good citizenship. God wants you to be good citizens, so as to silence what fools are saying in their ignorance. You are slaves of no one except God, so behave like free men, and never use your freedom as an excuse for wickedness. Have respect for everyone and love for our community; fear God and honour the emperor.

---

Reading	A sermon of St Caesarius of Arles
Baptism makes every one of us into a temple of God.
My fellow Christians, today is the birthday of this church, an occasion for celebration and rejoicing. We, however, ought to be the true and living temple of God. Nevertheless, Christians rightly commemorate this feast of the church, their mother, for they know that through her they were reborn in the spirit. At our first birth, we were vessels of God’s wrath; reborn, we became vessels of his mercy. Our first birth brought death to us, but our second restored us to life.   Indeed, before our baptism we were sanctuaries of the devil; but after our baptism we merited the privilege of being temples of Christ. And if we think more carefully about the meaning of our salvation, we shall realise that we are indeed living and true temples of God. God does not dwell only in things made by human hands, nor in homes of wood and stone, but rather he dwells principally in the soul made according to his own image and fashioned by his own hand. Therefore, the apostle Paul says: The temple of God is holy, and you are that temple.   When Christ came, he banished the devil from our hearts, in order to build in them a temple for himself. Let us therefore do what we can with his help, so that our evil deeds will not deface that temple. For whoever does evil, does injury to Christ. As I said earlier, before Christ redeemed us, we were the house of the devil, but afterward, we merited the privilege of being the house of God. God himself in his loving mercy saw fit to make of us his own home. My fellow Christians, do we wish to celebrate joyfully the birth of this temple? Then let us not destroy the living temples of God in ourselves by works of evil. I shall speak clearly, so that all can understand. Whenever we come to church, we must prepare our hearts to be as beautiful as we expect this church to be. Do you wish to find this basilica immaculately clean? Then do not soil your soul with the filth of sins. Do you wish this basilica to be full of light? God too wishes that your soul be not in darkness, but that the light of good works shine in us, so that he who dwells in the heavens will be glorified. Just as you enter this church building, so God wishes to enter into your soul, for he promised: I shall live in them, I shall walk through their hearts.

---

Hymn

Te Deum

God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you! You, the Father, the eternal – all the earth venerates you. All the angels, all the heavens, every power – The cherubim, the seraphim – unceasingly, they cry: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts: heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!” The glorious choir of Apostles – The noble ranks of prophets – The shining army of martyrs – all praise you. Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you. – Father of immeasurable majesty, – True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship, – Holy Spirit, our Advocate. You, Christ: – You are the king of glory. – You are the Father’s eternal Son. – You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb. – You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you. – You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father. – You will come, so we believe, as our Judge. And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood. Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory. Bring your people to safety, Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance. Rule them and lift them high for ever. Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever. Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us. Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you. In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame.

---

Concluding Prayer

Almighty and ever-living God, remove the obstacles that stand in our way,

  so that unimpeded in body and soul

  we may freely devote ourselves to your service.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

  God for ever and ever.

Amen.

[Salvation]

Dedication of Saint John Lateran Basilica in Rome

Dedication of Saint John Lateran
Basilica in Rome
Feast Day
November 9th

The Basilica of Saint John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome. It was built during Constantine's reign and was consecrated by Pope Saint Sylvester I in 324. This feast was later made a universal celebration in honor of the basilica called "the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world" (omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput) as a sign of love for and union with the See of Saint Peter.

Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003

 

Collect:
Father,
each year we recall the dedication of this Church
to your service.
Let our worship always be sincere
and help us to find your saving love in this Church.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading: Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9, 12
Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the 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 round on the outside to the outer gate, that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side. And he said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the stagnant waters of the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes every living creature which swarms will live, and there will be very many fish; for this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. And 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 fail, 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".

Second Reading: I Co 3:9-11,16-17
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are.

Gospel Reading: John 2:13-22
The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple He found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers at their business. And making a whip of cords, He drove them all, with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple; and He poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And He told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; you shall not make My Father's house a house of trade". His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for thy house will consume Me". The Jews then said to Him, "What sign have You to show us for doing this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up". The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But he spoke of the temple of His body. When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

[Salvation]

[Pyro7480]

From earlier in 2009: Solemn Mass in the Usus Antiquior at the Lateran [Update] There are some absoulutely gorgeous pictures at the link!

[annalex]

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 2
13.	And the pasch of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.	Et prope erat Pascha Judæorum, et ascendit Jesus Jerosolymam :	και εγγυς ην το πασχα των ιουδαιων και ανεβη εις ιεροσολυμα ο ιησους
14.	And he found in the temple them that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting.	et invenit in templo vendentes boves, et oves, et columbas, et numularios sedentes.	και ευρεν εν τω ιερω τους πωλουντας βοας και προβατα και περιστερας και τους κερματιστας καθημενους
15.	And when he had made, as it were, a scourge of little cords, he drove them all out of the temple, the sheep also and the oxen, and the money of the changers he poured out, and the tables he overthrew.	Et cum fecisset quasi flagellum de funiculis, omnes ejecit de templo, oves quoque, et boves, et numulariorum effudit æs, et mensas subvertit.	και ποιησας φραγελλιον εκ σχοινιων παντας εξεβαλεν εκ του ιερου τα τε προβατα και τους βοας και των κολλυβιστων εξεχεεν το κερμα και τας τραπεζας ανεστρεψεν
16.	And to them that sold doves he said: Take these things hence, and make not the house of my Father a house of traffic.	Et his qui columbas vendebant, dixit : Auferte ista hinc, et nolite facere domum patris mei, domum negotiationis.	και τοις τας περιστερας πωλουσιν ειπεν αρατε ταυτα εντευθεν μη ποιειτε τον οικον του πατρος μου οικον εμποριου
17.	And his disciples remembered, that it was written: The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up.	Recordati sunt vero discipuli ejus quia scriptum est : Zelus domus tuæ comedit me.	εμνησθησαν δε οι μαθηται αυτου οτι γεγραμμενον εστιν ο ζηλος του οικου σου καταφαγεται με
18.	The Jews, therefore, answered, and said to him: What sign dost thou shew unto us, seeing thou dost these things?	Responderunt ergo Judæi, et dixerunt ei : Quod signum ostendis nobis, quia hæc facis ?	απεκριθησαν ουν οι ιουδαιοι και ειπον αυτω τι σημειον δεικνυεις ημιν οτι ταυτα ποιεις
19.	Jesus answered, and said to them: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.	Respondit Jesus, et dixit eis : Solvite templum hoc, et in tribus diebus excitabo illud.	απεκριθη ιησους και ειπεν αυτοις λυσατε τον ναον τουτον και εν τρισιν ημεραις εγερω αυτον
20.	The Jews then said: Six and forty years was this temple in building; and wilt thou raise it up in three days?	Dixerunt ergo Judæi : Quadraginta et sex annis ædificatum est templum hoc, et tu in tribus diebus excitabis illud ?	ειπον ουν οι ιουδαιοι τεσσαρακοντα και εξ ετεσιν ωκοδομηθη ο ναος ουτος και συ εν τρισιν ημεραις εγερεις αυτον
21.	But he spoke of the temple of his body.	Ille autem dicebat de templo corporis sui.	εκεινος δε ελεγεν περι του ναου του σωματος αυτου
22.	When therefore he was risen again from the dead, his disciples remembered, that he had said this, and they believed the scripture, and the word that Jesus had said.	Cum ergo resurrexisset a mortuis, recordati sunt discipuli ejus, quia hoc dicebat, et crediderunt scripturæ et sermoni quem dixit Jesus.	οτε ουν ηγερθη εκ νεκρων εμνησθησαν οι μαθηται αυτου οτι τουτο ελεγεν και επιστευσαν τη γραφη και τω λογω ω ειπεν ο ιησους

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13. And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

BEDE; He did not stay many days there, on account of the Passover, which was approaching: And the Jews' passover was at hand.

ORIGEN; But what need of saying, of the Jews, when no other nation had the rite of the Passover? Perhaps' because there are two sorts of Passover, one human, which is celebrated in a way very different from the design of Scripture; another the true and Divine, which is kept in spirit and in truth. To distinguish it then from the Divine, it is said, of the Jews.

ALCUIN. And He went up to Jerusalem. The Gospels mention two journeys of our Lord to Jerusalem, one in the first year of His preaching, before John was sent to prison, which is the journey now spoken of; the other in the year of His Passion. Our Lord has set us here an example of careful obedience to the Divine commands. For if the Son of God fulfilled the injunctions of His own law, by keeping the festivals, like the rest, with what holy zeal should we servants prepare for and celebrate them?

ORIGEN; In a mystical sense, it was meet that after the marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the banquet and wine, our Lord should take His mother, brethren, and disciples to the land of consolation (as Capernaum signifies ) to console, by the fruits that were to spring up and by abundance of fields, those who received His discipline, and the mind which had conceived Him by the Holy Ghost; and who were there to be holpen. For some there are bearing fruit, to whom our Lord Himself comes down with the ministers of His word and disciples, helping such, His mother being present. Those however who are called to Capernaum, do not seem capable of His presence long: that is, a land which admits lower consolation, is not able to take in the enlightenment from many doctrines; being capable to receive few only.

ALCUIN. Or Capernaum, we may interpret "a most beautiful village," and so it signifies the world, to which the Word of the Father came down.

BEDE; But He continued there only a few days, because he lived with men in this world only a short time.

ORIGEN; Jerusalem, as our Savior Himself said, is the city of the great King, into which none of those who remain on earth ascend, or enter. Only the soul which has a certain natural loftiness, and clear insight into things invisible, is the inhabitant of that city. Jesus alone goes up thither. But His disciples seem to have been present afterwards. The zeal of Your house has eaten me up. But it is as though in every one of the disciples who went up, it was Jesus who went up.

14. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
15. And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;
16. And said to them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise.
17. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of your house has eaten me up.

BEDE; Our Lord on coming to Jerusalem, immediately entered the temple to pray; giving us an example that, wheresoever we go, our first visit should be to the house of God to pray. And He found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep, and doves, and the changers of money sitting.

AUG. Such sacrifices were prescribed to the people, in condescension to their carnal minds; to prevent them from turning aside to idols. They sacrificed sheep, and oxen, and doves.

BEDE; Those however, who came from a distance, being unable to bring with them the animals required for sacrifice, brought the money instead. For their convenience the Scribes and Pharisees ordered animals to be sold in the temple, in order that, when the people had bought and offered them afterwards, they might sell them again, and thus make great profits. And changers of money sitting; changers of money sat at the table to supply change to buyers and sellers. But our Lord disapproving of any worldly business in His house, especially one of so questionable a kind, drove out all engaged in it.

AUG. He who was to be scourged by them, was first of all the scourger; and when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple.

THEOPEHYL. Nor did He cast out only those who bought and sold, but their goods also: The sheep, and the oxen and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables, i.e. of the money changers, which were coffers of pence.

ORIGEN; Should it appear something out of the order of things, that the Son of God should make a scourge of small cords, to drive them out of the temple? We have one answer in which some take refuge, viz. the divine power of Jesus, Who, when He pleased, could extinguish the wrath of His enemies however innumerable, and quiet the tumult of their minds: The Lord brings the counsel of the heathen to nought. This act indeed exhibits no less power, than His more positive miracles; nay rather, more than the miracle by which water was converted into wine: in that there the subject-matter was inanimate, here, the minds of so many thousands of men are overcome.

AUG. It is evident that this was done on two several occasions; the first mentioned by John, the last by the other three.

ORIGEN; John says here that He drove out the sellers from the temple; Matthew, the sellers and buyers. The number of buyers was much greater than of the sellers: and therefore to drive them out was beyond the power of the carpenter's Son, as He was supposed to be, had He not by His divine power put all things under Him, as it is said.

BEDE; The Evangelist sets before us both natures of Christ: the human in that His mother accompanied Him to Capernaum; the divine, in that He said, Make not My Father's house an house of merchandise

CHRYS. Lo, He speaks of God as His Father, and they are not angry, for they think He means it in a common sense. But afterwards when He spoke more openly, and showed that He meant equality, they were enraged. In Matthew's account too, on driving them out, He says, You have made it (My Father's house) a den of thieves. This was just: before His Passion, and therefore He uses severer language. But the former being at the beginning of His miracles, His answer is milder and more indulgent.

AUG. So that temple was still a figure only, and our Lord cast out of it all who came to it as a market. And what did they sell? Things that were necessary for the sacrifice of that time. What if He had found men drunken? If the house of God ought not to be a house of merchandise, ought it to be a house of drunkenness?

CHRYS. But why did Christ use such violence? He was about to heal on the Sabbath day, and to do many things which appeared to them transgressions of the Law. That He might not appear therefore to be acting contrary to God, He did this at His own peril; and thus gave them to understand, that He who exposed Himself to such peril to defend the decency of the house, did not despise the Lord of that house. For the same reason, to show His agreement with God, He said not, the Holy house, but, My Father's house.

It follows, And His disciples remembered what was written; The zeal of your house has eaten me up.

BEDE; His disciples seeing this most fervent zeal in Him, remembered that it was from zeal for His Father's house that our Savior drove the ungodly from the temple.

ALCUIN. Zeal, taken in a good sense, is a certain fervor of the Spirit, by which the mind, all human fears forgotten, is stirred up to the defense of the truth.

AUG. He then is eaten up with zeal for God's house, who desires to correct all that he sees wrong there; and, if he cannot correct, endures and mourns. In your house you busy yourself to prevent matters going wrong; in the house of God, where salvation is offered, ought you to be indifferent? Have you a friend? admonish him gently; a wife? coerce her severely; a maid-servant? even compel her with stripes. Do what you are able, according to your station.

ALCUIN. To take the passage mystically, God enters His Church spiritually every day, and marks each one's behavior there. Let us be careful then, when we are in God's Church, that we indulge not in stories, or jokes, or hatreds, or lusts, lest on a sudden He come and scourge us, and drive us out of His Church.

ORIGEN; It is possible even for the dweller in Jerusalem to incur guilt, and even the most richly endowed may stray. And unless these repent speedily, they lose the capacity wherewith they were endued. He finds them in the temple, i.e. in sacred places, or in the office of enunciating the Church's truths, some who make His Father's house an house of merchandise; i.e. who expose to sale the oxen whom they ought to reserve for the plough, lest by turning back they should become unfit for the kingdom of God: also who prefer the unrighteous mammon to the sheep, from which they have the material of ornament; also who for miserable gain abandon the watchful care of them who are called metaphorically doves, without all gall or bitterness. Our Savior finding these in the holy house, makes a scourge of small cords, and drives them out, together with the sheep and oxen exposed for sale, scatters the heaps of money, as unbeseeming in the house of God, and overthrows the tables set up in the minds of the covetous, forbidding them to sell doves in the house of God any longer. I think too that He meant the above, as a mystical intimation that whatsoever was to be performed with regard to that sacred oblation by the priests, was not to be performed after the manner of material oblations, and that the law was not to be observed as the carnal Jews wished. For our Lord, by driving away the sheep and oxen, and ordering away the doves, which were the most common offerings among the Jews, and by overthrowing the tables of material coins, which in a figure only, not in truth, bore the Divine stamp, (i.e. what according to the letter of the law seemed good,) and when with His own hand He scourged the people, He as much as declared that the dispensation was to be broken up and destroyed, and the kingdom translated to the believing from among the Gentiles.

AUG. Or, those who sell in the Church, are those who seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ. They who will not be bought, think they may sell earthly things. Thus Simon wished to buy the Spirit, that he might sell Him: for he was one of those who sell doves. (The Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove.) The dove however is not sold, but is given of free grace; for it is called grace.

BEDE; They then are the sellers of doves, who, after receiving the free grace of the Holy Spirit, do not dispense it freely , as they are commanded, but at a price: who confer the laying on of hands, by which the Holy Spirit is received, if not for money, at least for the sake of getting favor with the people, who bestow Holy Orders not according to merit, but favor.

AUG. By the oxen may be understood the Apostles and Prophets, who have dispensed to us the holy Scriptures. Those who by these very Scriptures deceive the people, from whom they seek honor, sell the oxen; and they sell the sheep too, i.e. the people themselves; and to whom do they sell them, but to the devil? For that which is cut off from the one Church, who takes away, except the roaring lion, who goes about every where, and seeks whom he may devour?

BEDE; Or, the sheep are works of purity and piety, and they sell the sheep, who do works of piety to gain the praise of men. They exchange money in the temple, who, in the Church, openly devote themselves to secular business. And besides those who seek for money, or praise, or honor from Holy Orders, those too make the Lord's house a house of merchandise, who do not employ the rank, or spiritual grace, which they have received in the Church at the Lord's hands, with singleness of mind, but with an eye to human recompense.

AUG. Our Lord intended a meaning to be seen in His making a scourge of small cords, and then scourging those who were carrying on the merchandise in the temple. Every one by his sins twists for himself a cord, in that he goes on adding sin to sin. So then when men suffer for their iniquities, let them be sure that it is the Lord making a scourge of small cords, and admonishing them to change their lives: which if they fail to do, they will hear at the last, Bind him hand and foot.

BEDE; With a scourge then made of small cords, He cast them out of the temple; for from the part and lot of the saints are cast out all, who, thrown externally among the Saints, do good works hypocritically, or bad openly. The sheep and the oxen too He cast out, to show that the life and the doctrine of such were alike reprobate. And He overthrew the change heaps of the money-changers and their tables, as a sign that, at the final condemnation of the wicked, He will take away the form even of those things which they loved. The sale of doves He ordered to be removed out of the temple, because the grace of the Spirit, being freely received, should be freely given.

ORIGEN; By the temple we may understand too the soul wherein the Word of God dwells; in which, before the teaching of Christ, earthly and bestial affections had prevailed. The ox being the tiller of the soil, is the symbol of earthly affections: the sheep, being the most irrational of all animals, of dull ones; the dove is the type of light and volatile thoughts; and money, of earthly good things; which money Christ cast out by the Word of His doctrine, that His Father's house might be no longer a market.

18. Then answered the Jews and said to him, What sign show you to us, seeing that you do these things?
19. Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and will you rear it up in three days?
21. But he spoke of the temple of his body.
22. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them: and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

THEOPHYL. The Jews seeing Jesus thus acting with power, and having heard Him say, Make not My Father's house a house of merchandise, ask of Him a sign; Then answered the Jews and said to Him, What sign show You to us, seeing that You do these things?

CHRYS. But were signs necessary for His putting a stop to evil practices? Was not the having such zeal for the house of God, the greatest sign of His virtue? They did not however remember the prophecy, but asked for a sign; at once irritated at the loss of their base gains, and wishing to prevent Him from going further. For this dilemma, they thought, would oblige Him either to work miracles, or give up His present course.

But He refuses to give them the sign, as He did on a like occasion, when He answers, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet; only the answer is more open there than here. He however who even anticipated men's wishes, and gave signs when He was not asked, would not have rejected here a positive request, had He not seen a crafty design in it. As it was, Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

BEDE; For inasmuch as they sought a sign from our Lord of His right to eject the customary merchandise from the temple, He replied, that that temple signified the temple of His Body, in which was no spot of sin; as if He said, As by My power I purify your inanimate temple from your merchandise and wickedness; so the temple of My Body, of which that is the figure, destroyed by your hands, on the third day I will raise again.

THEOPHYL. He does not however provoke them to commit murder, by saying, Destroy; but only shows that their intentions were not hidden from Him. Let the Arians observe how our Lord, as the destroyer of death, says, I will raise it up; that is to say, by My own power.

AUG. The Father also raised Him up again; to Whom He says, Raise You me up, and I shall reward them. But what did the Father do without the Word? As then the Father raised Him up, so did the Son also: even as He said below, I and My Father are one.

CHRYS. But why does He give them the sign of His resurrection? Because this was the greatest proof that He was not a mere man; showing, as it did, that He could triumph over death, and in a moment overthrow its long tyranny.

ORIGEN. Both those, i.e. both the Body of Jesus and the temple, seem to me to be a type of the Church, which with lively stones is built up into a spiritual house, into an holy priesthood; according to St. Paul, You are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And though the structure of stones seem to be broken up, and all the bones of Christ scattered by adversities and tribulations, yet shall the temple be restored, and raised up again in three days, and established in the new heaven and the new earth. For as that sensible body of Christ was crucified and buried, and afterward rose again; so the whole body of Christ's saints was crucified with Christ, (each glorying in that cross, by which He Himself too was crucified to the world,) and, after being buried with Christ, has also risen with Him, walking in newness of life. Yet have we not risen yet in the power of the blessed resurrection, which is still going on, and is yet to be completed. Whence it is not said, On the third day I will build it up, but, in three days; for the erection is being in process throughout the whole of the three days.

THEOPHYL. The Jews, supposing that He spoke of the material temple, scoffed: Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and will You rear it up in three days?

ALCUIN. Note, that they allude here not to the first temple under Solomon, which was finished in seven years, but to the one rebuilt under Zorobabel. This was forty-six years building, in consequence of the hindrance raised by the enemies of the work.

ORIGEN. Or some will reckon perhaps the forty and six years from the time that David consulted Nathan the Prophet on the building of the temple. David from that time was busy in collecting materials. But perhaps the number forty may with reference to the four corners of the temple allude to the four elements of the world, and the number six, to the creation of man on the sixth day.

AUG. Or it may be that this number fits in with the perfection of the Lord's Body. For six times forty-six are two hundred and seventy-six days, which make up nine months and six days, the time that our Lord's Body was forming in the womb; as we know by authoritative traditions handed down from our fathers, and preserved by the Church. He was, according to general belief, conceived on the eighth of the Kalends of April, the one which He suffered, and born on the eighth of the Kalends of January. The intervening time contains two hundred and seventy-six days, i.e. six multiplied by forty.

AUG. The process of human conception is said to be this. The first six days produce a substance like milk, which in the following nine is converted into blood; in twelve more is consolidated, in eighteen more is formed into a perfect set of limbs, the growth and enlargement of which fills up the rest of the time till the birth. For six, and nine, and twelve, and eighteen, added together are forty-five, and with the addition of one (which stands for the summing up, all these numbers being collected into one) forty-six. This multiplied by the number six, which stands at the head of this calculation, makes two hundred and seventy-six, i.e. nine months a and six days. It is no unmeaning information then that the temple was forty and six years building; for the temple prefigured His Body, and as many years as the temple was in building, so many days was the Lord's Body in forming.

AUG. Or thus, if you take the four Greek words, anatole, the east; dysis, the west; arctos, the north; and mesembria, the south; the first letters of these words make Adam. And our Lord says that He will gather together His saints from the four winds, when He comes to judgment. Now these letters of the word Adam, make up, according to Greek figuring, the number of the years during which the temple was building. For in Adam we have alpha, one; delta, four; alpha again, one; and forty; making up together forty-six. The temple then signifies the body derived from Adam; which body our Lord did not take in its sinful state, but renewed it, in that after the Jews had destroyed it, He raised it again the third day. The Jews however, being carnal, understood carnally; He spoke spiritually. He tells us, by the Evangelist, what temple He means; But He spoke of the temple of His Body.

THEOPHYL. From this Apollinarius draws an heretical inference: and attempts to show that Christ's flesh was inanimate, because the temple was inanimate. In this way you will prove the flesh of Christ to be wood and stone, because the temple is composed of these materials. Now if you refuse to allow what is said, Now is My soul troubled; and, I have power to lay it (My life) down, to be said of the rational soul, still how will you interpret, Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend My spirit? you cannot understand this of an irrational soul: or again, the passage, You shall not leave My soul in hell.

ORIGEN. Our Lord's Body is called the temple, because as the temple contained the glory of God dwelling therein, so the Body of Christ, which represents the Church, contains the Only-Begotten, Who is the image and glory of God.

CHRYS. Two things there were in the mean time very far removed from the comprehension of the disciples: one, the resurrection of our Lord's Body: the other, and the greater mystery, that it was God who dwelt in that Body: as our Lord declares by saying, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

And thus it follows, When therefore He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them: and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

ALCUIN. For before the resurrection they did not understand the Scriptures, because they had not yet received the Holy Ghost, Who was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. But on the day of the resurrection our Lord appeared and opened their meaning to His disciples; that they might understand what was said of Him in the Law and the Prophets. And then they believed the prediction of the Prophets that Christ would rise the third day, and the word which Jesus had spoken to them: Destroy this temple, &c.

ORIGEN. But (in the mystical interpretation) we shall attain to the full measure of faith, at the great resurrection of the whole body of Jesus, i.e. His Church; inasmuch as the faith which is from sight, is very different from that which sees as through a glass darkly.

Catena Aurea John 2

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The driving of the merchants from the Temple

Chludov Psalter, ca. 850

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: November 09, 2009
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: God our Father, from living stones, your chosen people, you built an eternal temple to your glory. Increase the spiritual gifts you have given to your Church, so that your faithful people may continue to grow into the new and eternal Jerusalem. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

ACTIVITIES

• Death and Burial
• November and the Holy Souls
• Practical Suggestions for Christian Living (Anointing of the Sick)
• Praying for the Dead and Gaining Indulgences During November
• Prepare for Death
• Preparing for Heaven
• Religion in the Home for Elementary School: November
• Religion in the Home for Preschool: November
• Teaching About Death
• Teaching Children About Sickness and Death

PRAYERS

• November Devotion: The Holy Souls in Purgatory
• Little Litany of the Holy Souls
• Prayer for Pope Benedict XVI
• Prayer for Troops
• Prayer for a Happy Death
• Daily Acceptance of Death

  9th

Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran Old Calendar: Dedication of the Archbasilica of Our Holy Savior; St. Theodore, martyr

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome. This is not St. Peter's, but it is the Pope's cathedral. Also called the Church of Holy Savior or the Church of St. John Baptist, it was the baptism church of ancient Rome. It was built in the time of Constantine and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324. This feast became a universal celebration in honor of the basilica called "the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world" (omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput) as a sign of love for and union with the See of Peter.

According to the Roman Missal of 1962 this is also the commemoration of St. Theodore, a Christian soldier and martyr of Asia Minor.

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The Temple of Stones is a Symbol of the Living Church
Today the liturgy celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, called “mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world.” In fact, this basilica was the first to be built after Emperor Constantine’s edict, in 313, granted Christians freedom to practice their religion.

The emperor himself gave Pope Miltiades the ancient palace of the Laterani family, and the basilica, the baptistery, and the patriarchate, that is, the Bishop of Rome’s residence — where the Popes lived until the Avignon period — were all built there. The basilica’s dedication was celebrated by Pope Sylvester around 324 and was named Most Holy Savior; only after the 6th century were the names of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist added, and now is typically denominated by these latter.

Initially the observance of this feast was confined to the city of Rome; then, beginning in 1565, it was extended to all the Churches of the Roman rite. The honoring of this sacred edifice was a way of expressing love and veneration for the Roman Church, which, as St. Ignatius of Antioch says, “presides in charity” over the whole Catholic communion (Letter to the Romans, 1:1).

On this solemnity the Word of God recalls an essential truth: the temple of stones is a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, which in their letters the Apostles Peter and Paul already understood as a “spiritual edifice,” built by God with “living stones,” namely, Christians themselves, upon the one foundation of Jesus Christ, who is called the “cornerstone” (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17; 1 Peter 2:4-8; Ephesians 2:20-22). “Brothers, you are God’s building,” St. Paul wrote, and added: “holy is God’s temple, which you are” (1 Corinthians 3:9c, 17).

The beauty and harmony of the churches, destined to give praise to God, also draws us human beings, limited and sinful, to convert to form a “cosmos,” a well-ordered structure, in intimate communion with Jesus, who is the true Saint of saints. This happens in a culminating way in the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the “ecclesia,” that is, the community of the baptized, come together in a unified way to listen to the Word of God and nourish themselves with the Body and Blood of Christ. From these two tables the Church of living stones is built up in truth and charity and is internally formed by the Holy Spirit transforming herself into what she receives, conforming herself more and more to the Lord Jesus Christ. She herself, if she lives in sincere and fraternal unity, in this way becomes the spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God.

Dear friends, today’s feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God’s desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Every community therefore has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which are a precious religious and historical patrimony. For this we call upon the intercession of Mary Most Holy, that she help us to become, like her, the “house of God,” living temple of his love.

— Benedict XVI, Angelus Address, November 9, 2008

Things to Do:

• Learn more about St. John Lateran;

• This basilica represents the place of baptism, so it would be a good time to renew your baptismal promises;

• It also represents heaven, so we can meditate on the joys of heaven and God's generosity in giving us sufficient graces to be saved;

• Since St. John Lateran is the Pope's church, say a prayer for our Holy Father;

• From the Catholic Culture Library: Mother Church of the World.

---

St. Theodore
St. Theodore was a Christian soldier who set on fire the temple of the mother-goddess Cybele at Amasea (303 A.D.). The prefect of the legion promised mercy if he repented his act and renounced the Christian faith. Theodore persevered bravely; accordingly he was cast into prison and his flesh ripped by iron hooks so that his ribs were exposed. In the midst of indescribable torture he sang joyfully, "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise will ever be in my mouth" (Ps. 33).

Praying and singing the glories of Christ, he was burned alive on November 9. A panegyric by St. Gregory of Nyssa on his virtues is extant. Theodore's head has been venerated at Cajeta since the Middle Ages. In ancient times, particularly among the Greeks, this soldier-martyr was honored as patron of armies. During the seventh century a church was dedicated to him in Rome, and his picture appears upon the apse mosaic in the church of Sts. Cosmas and Damian.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Symbols: Post and iron hooks; white horse; temple of Cybele in flames; crown of thorns; cross; Roman armour; sword.

Things to Do:

• Well might we marvel at the heroic courage St. Theodore showed in the midst of pain. While suffering horribly he sang songs of praise! And we are so frightened by the smallest ache and become uncomfortable at the very mention of suffering! God does not ask such suffering from us as He did from Theodore, yet He asks that we accept some troubles patiently. If we have any discomfort today, let us offer it up without complaint;

• Also, remember our soldiers and say a prayer for them;

• Read what St. Gregory of Nyssa wrote about St. Theodore.

[Salvation]

Lauds -- Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

Introduction

O God, come to my aid.

  O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen. Alleluia.

---

A suitable hymn may be inserted here.

Psalm 62 (63)
Thirsting for God

My house shall be called a house of prayer.

O God, you are my God, I watch for you from the dawn.

My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you.

I came to your sanctuary,

  as one in a parched and waterless land,

  so that I could see your might and your glory.

My lips will praise you, for your mercy is better than life itself.

Thus I will bless you throughout my life,

  and raise my hands in prayer to your name;

my soul will be filled as if by rich food,

  and my mouth will sing your praises and rejoice.

I will remember you as I lie in bed,

  I will think of you in the morning,

for you have been my helper,

  and I will take joy in the protection of your wings.

My soul clings to you; your right hand raises me up.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

My house shall be called a house of prayer.

---

Canticle	Daniel 3

All creatures, bless the Lord

Blessed are you, Lord, in your holy temple.

Bless the Lord, all his works,

  praise and exalt him for ever.

Bless the Lord, you heavens;

  all his angels, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, you waters above the heavens;

  all his powers, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, sun and moon;

  all stars of the sky, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, rain and dew;

  all you winds, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, fire and heat;

  cold and warmth, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, dew and frost;

  ice and cold, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, ice and snow;

  day and night, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, light and darkness;

  lightning and storm-clouds, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, all the earth,

  praise and exalt him for ever.

Bless the Lord, mountains and hills;

  all growing things, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, seas and rivers;

  springs and fountains, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, whales and fish;

  birds of the air, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, wild beasts and tame;

  sons of men, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, O Israel,

  praise and exalt him for ever.

Bless the Lord, his priests;

  all his servants, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, spirits and souls of the just;

  all who are holy and humble, bless the Lord.

Ananias, Azarias, Mishael, bless the Lord,

  praise and exalt him for ever.

Let us bless Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

  praise and exalt them for ever.

Bless the Lord in the firmament of heaven,

  praise and glorify him for ever.

Blessed are you, Lord, in your holy temple.

---

Psalm 149
The saints rejoice

Praise the Lord in the assembly of the saints.

Sing a new song to the Lord,

  his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Let Israel rejoice in its maker,

  and the sons of Zion delight in their king.

Let them praise his name with dancing,

  sing to him with timbrel and lyre,

for the Lord’s favour is upon his people,

  and he will honour the humble with victory.

Let the faithful celebrate his glory,

  rejoice even in their beds,

the praise of God in their throats;

  and swords ready in their hands,

to exact vengeance upon the nations,

  impose punishment on the peoples,

to bind their kings in fetters

  and their nobles in manacles of iron,

to carry out the sentence that has been passed:

  this is the glory prepared for all his faithful.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

Praise the Lord in the assembly of the saints.

---

Short reading	Isaiah 56:7 ©

I will bring them to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

---

Short Responsory

The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised.

– The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised.

In the city of our God, on his holy mountain.

– The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised.

---

Canticle	Benedictus

The Messiah and his forerunner

‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. ‘Today salvation has come to this house.’

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

  for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.

He has raised up the sign of salvation

  in the house of his servant David,

as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones,

  his prophets through the ages:

to rescue us from our enemies

  and all who hate us,

to take pity on our fathers,

  to remember his holy covenant

and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,

  that he would give himself to us,

that we could serve him without fear

 – freed from the hands of our enemies –

in uprightness and holiness before him,

  for all of our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:

  for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,

to let his people know their salvation,

  so that their sins may be forgiven.

Through the bottomless mercy of our God,

  one born on high will visit us

to give light to those who walk in darkness,

  who live in the shadow of death;

  to lead our feet in the path of peace.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. ‘Today salvation has come to this house.’

---

Prayers and Intercessions

Christ the Lord is our day and our sunlight, shining on all men and never setting. Let us praise him, saying:

– O Lord, you are our life and our salvation!

Creator of the stars, we offer you in gratitude the first-fruits of this day,

  and we commemorate your resurrection.

– O Lord, you are our life and our salvation!

May your Spirit guide us today to do what is pleasing to you:

  may your Wisdom lead us always.

– O Lord, you are our life and our salvation!

Let us join together with joy at Mass this Sunday,

  at the table of your word and your Body and Blood.

– O Lord, you are our life and our salvation!

Our souls give you thanks

  for your immeasurable kindness.

– O Lord, you are our life and our salvation!

---

Our Father, who art in Heaven,

  hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

  thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

  and forgive us our trespasses

  as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

  but deliver us from evil.

---

O God, you have made us guardians and cultivators of the earth, you have sent the sun to shine on us and help us.

  Grant that today we may work for your glory

  and for the good of our neighbour.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

  God for ever and ever.

Amen.

---

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

A M E N

[Salvation]

Dedication of St. John Lateran

Dedication of St. John Lateran

November 9th, 2009 by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.

As a rebellious teenager, I thought that Catholics should stop wasting their money on expensive churches.  We ought to sell them all and buy food for the poor, I argued.

Funny thing.  Jesus, who cared much for the poor, did not have this attitude.  As an adolescent he yearned to spend time in Herod’s sumptuous Temple (Luke 2).   As an adult, he defended its integrity against the moneychangers (John 2).  Francis of Assisi, who gave away all his possessions, begged for money to buy materials to restore ruined churches which he rebuilt with his own hands.

Why this high regard for church buildings?  Ezekiel 47 gives us one important reason.  Because the liturgical worship that goes on inside, most especially the Eucharist, is the “source and summit” of our entire Christian life.

The world is a dusty, tiring place that often beats us down.  The Church building is a haven, a quiet refuge, a place to encounter God.  Here we drink deeply of the life-giving waters of word and sacrament that revive our drooping spirits (Psalm 23).  The grace that flows from the altar bears us back into the world, changed, and able to change others, bringing healing and bearing fruit.

Paul, in I Corinthians 3, gives us another reason to honor churches.  George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, concluded from this passage that if we Christians are the Church, we should call our places of worship “steeple-houses.”  To call buildings “churches” obscures the fact that we are the Church.

The Judeo-Christian Tradition sees it differently.  The church building is a mirror that, held up before us, reminds us of who we are.  The world tells us that we are consumers, employees and voters, and flashes a constant stream of icons at us every day to remind us of this. The Church building is an icon that reminds us of our deepest identity.  As we gather for Sunday worship, we who were scattered by diverse loyalties, professions, and life-styles, are now united as the Body of Christ and dwelling place of the Spirit.

How does a person enter the Church?  Through the cleansing waters of baptism.  Maybe that’s why there are holy water fonts at the doors of most Catholic churches.  Maybe those statues of saints are there to remind us that we are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the family of God” (Ephesians 2:19f).

So what about all the expensive treasures of architecture, painting, sculpture, and stained glass?  Sell them all and use the proceeds to buy food for the poor?  When that food had been consumed, what then would the poor have?

In Texas, we have a homestead law that seeks to guarantee that no matter what financial misfortunes might befall people, they will not lose their homes.  The loss of one’s home is a loss of one’s dignity.  Our churches, from the local chapel to St. Peter’s Basilica, belong not to the hierarchy, but to the whole family.  They have been given to us by the hard work and contributions of our forebears to remind us of our dignity as sons and daughters of the living God.

The Lateran Basilica, whose dedication we celebrate every November, was donated to the Church by Constantine soon after he legalized Christianity in 313AD.  Ever since, it has served as the official cathedral of the Pope, the mother church of all Christendom, the cathedral of the world.

It is there that the most powerful pope of the middle ages, Innocent III, had a dream of a magnificent church breaking apart only to be shored up by a poor man in a beggar’s robe.  Soon afterwards, a group of beggars from Assisi arrived, led by a man named Francis, asking for his approval for their lifestyle and work.  Prepared by his dream, he recognized the hand of God, and encouraged a movement that renewed the Church.

As we meditate on this feast, let us allow zeal for his house to consume us as it did Jesus and Francis, that we may embrace the task of purification, renewal and rebuilding given us by the Council that met in another great Roman basilica some forty years ago.

 

Dr. D'Ambrosio studied under Avery Cardinal Dulles for his Ph.D. in historical theology and taught for many years at the University of Dallas. He now directs www.crossroadsinitiative.com, which offers Catholic resources for RCIA and adult and teen faith formation, with a special emphasis on the Eucharist, the Theology of the Body, the early Church Fathers, and the Sacrament of Confirmation.

(This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor and is used by permission of the author.)

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: 1 Corinthians 3:9-11,16-17

The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

According to the Latin inscription on its façade, the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome is “the mother and head of all the churches of the city and of the world.” Because it is the cathedral of the bishop of Rome, the pope, it has come to be seen as a symbol of unity: our unity as members of the body of Christ, the church.

But our unity in Christ is more than just a grand idea carved in a cathedral. It is meant to be a living reality. Looking at the church, we can see how much we still need to work toward this unity. People are divided over liturgical issues such as what kind of music to use at Mass. They are allowing their political disagreements to color the way they view each other and to weaken their sense of brotherhood with each other. They are divided over whether or not they like their local pastor, and these divisions make it hard for people to celebrate Mass together as one body.

We may have different approaches to the way we live out our faith, but that doesn’t mean that we have to dislike each other or treat each other as the enemy. In fact, such thinking goes against the truth that in Christ, there is no room for division. There is only the call to love. We should always try our best to look upon everyone in our church community with respect, honoring them as chosen and beloved children of God.

Practically, what can we do to help bring about greater unity? We can start with our speech. We can avoid talking about other people behind their backs, whether we have a major disagreement with them or are just annoyed with them. We should strive to cast each other in the best possible light, trusting that God will help us resolve our differences in a way that gives him glory and builds his kingdom.

Jesus told us that our love for one another will be the greatest way we can witness to his kingdom (John 13:34-35). May we all strive to conform ourselves to the heart of Christ—a heart of love—so that this fragmented world can be healed!

“Jesus, you want your people to become one. Help me to be aware of all the opportunities I will have today to work for unity.”

Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12; Psalm 46:2-3,5-6,8-9; John 2:13-22

[Salvation]

Secret Harbor ~ Portus Secretioris

09 November 2009

The Interior House of Prayer

For this Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, found in the writings of the fourteenth century Byzantine writer and mystic, Nicholas Cabasilas, are instructions concerning a house of prayer not built by human hands, that is, the heart and soul of man. This is written as a reflection of the Gosepl story of Jesus casting out those who sold and bought in the temple. Nicholas Cabasilas writes:

"Virtuous men keep prompt vigilance against the roots of evil and resist it from the outset; guarding their heart for God alone, dedicating it to Him as a temple, a remembrance of God. They know, in fact, that this sacred place should not be exposed to folly. They know that nothing equals the sacred soul that is consecrated to God. It must be very impenetrable to those who sell and buy, and be free from hawkers and moneychangers. For him who prays, this house of prayer must be free from turmoil. Truthfully, the term 'house of prayer' was not always present in the temple of Jerusalem where at times no one was praying. Instead, the expression 'house of prayer' well suits Christians, who according to the prescription of Saint Paul (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:17), must be constantly devoted to union with God through constant prayer."

Nicholas Cabasilas continues by the explaining that the imagery of Christ driving them out with a scourge of little cords was “not to enforce the temple which He knew would be destroyed, but to emphasize to all of His faithful in which He promised to dwell,” that His Indwelling should keep us “free from worries and concerns.” He continues by writing that Jesus also “uses the whip to symbolize the boldness of our passions, and therefore there is much need of a strong heart and soul, of a sober mind and of maintaining vigilance, and above all that the intervening Hand of the Savior, for those who do not accept Him as such, cannot drive out the tumult of the soul. For anyone who lives in Christ, it is very important to maintain purity of soul from every disorder."

As this teaching continues, Nicholas Cabasilas writes about grace in the soul of the believer which comes through the sacraments; and that “grace, which dwells in the believer, is the Spirit of the Son of God crying out in our hearts: ‘Abba, Father.’ Scripture says that it is not right for us to leave the Word of God and serve tables" (cf. Acts 6:2). Nicholas Cabasilas explains that there are three reasons for this: "First, nothing is perpended ahead of God; next, because everything comes from the Supreme Distributor of every good; and finally, because the True God has promised those who seek first the Kingdom of heaven, to give the remainder in addition” (cf. Luke 12:31).

To close out his reflection on the interior house of prayer, Nicholas Cabasilas writes that Jesus “does not want us to tire ourselves fruitlessly. It takes the soul away from the remembrance of God and obscures the intellect.”

by Jeffrey S. J. Allan at 12:04

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

Haec est domus Domini

By

Father Mark

 on November 9, 2009 8:11 AM |

The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Cross the threshold of the Lateran Basilica, enter the nave, stand in the midst of it and, with eyes wide open to things visible, contemplate the invisible: the mystery of the Church, Bride of Christ and Mother of His faithful. To do this, one need not take oneself off to Rome. It is enough, and more than enough, to enter into the wealth of antiphons, responsories, readings, hymns, and prayers that make up the splendour of today's liturgy.

God is in His Holy Place

The liturgy summons us to make a pilgrimage of the heart. It is full of mysterious archetypes: thresholds and doors, stones and ladders, pillars and gates, fires and storms, trumpet blasts and mountains, water and blood. All of these resonate to the great central affirmation of the liturgy of the Dedication of a Church: "God is in his holy place" (Ps 67:6).

When we cross the threshold of a dedicated church, we pass into a mystic enclosure containing the uncontainable. We pass over into the space and time of God: a space filled by Him whom the heavens themselves cannot encompass, a time transcending the mean measurements of clocks and calendars.

House of God and Gate of Heaven

Our God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of David and of Solomon, the God of Jesus Christ is not the distant God of a remote "there and then"; He is the God of "here and now." This is the wondrous realization that, dawning upon Jacob, caused him to cry out, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Gen 28:17).

The Temple of His Body

Today the Church professes the abiding and objective presence of God in the new and indestructible Temple, which is the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord challenges his critics, saying: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up"; Saint John, ever the theologian, takes great care to add for our sakes, "But he spoke of the temple of his body" (Jn 2:19-21).

The Body of Christ is our Temple. To be in the Temple is to be in Christ. There we are certain of finding the Father; there we are certain of being overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. There are we surrounded by "innumerable angels in festal gathering" and by "the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven" (Heb 12:22-23). To dwell in the Temple is to share in the mystery of Our Lord's priesthood, a priesthood which, like the Temple of his risen and ascended Body, endures forever. Baptized into Christ, we have crossed the threshold of the Temple. Even more, we are that Temple.

Divine Hospitality

The Temple of Christ's Body is not the stage of great spectacle. It is the home of the little and of the poor. There, beggar and priest, harlot and levite, mingle and touch, held in the embrace of the Divine Gospitality. The sound that fills the living Temple is the immense symphony of the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind (Lk 14:13), all clothed in their wedding garments -- garments royal and priestly -- woven by the Holy Spirit to adorn the Body of Christ in the presence of the Father. Here, the sacred is familiar, and the familiar, sacred. "Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at thy altars, O Lord of hosts" (Ps 84:3-4).

The Gate of Heaven Upon Earth

Listen to Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914), a son of the Archbishop of Canterbury and celebrated convert to Catholic Church. He describes the Church I love: the Church he came to love:

Her arms are as open to those who would serve God in silence and seclusion, as to those who dance before him with all their might. . . . There is nothing to fear for those who stand where we stand; there are no precipices to be climbed any more and no torrents to be crossed; God has made all easy for those He has admitted through the Gate of Heaven that he has built upon the earth; the very River of Death itself is no more than a dwindled stream, bridged and protected on every side; the shadow of death is little more than twilight for those who look on it in the light of the Lamb.

[Salvation]

Vespers -- Evening Prayer

Vespers (Evening Prayer)

Introduction

O God, come to my aid.

  O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen. Alleluia.

---

A suitable hymn may be inserted here.

Psalm 45 (46)
God, our refuge and our strength

The Lord has sanctified his dwelling-place. God is within it and it cannot be shaken.

The Lord is our refuge and our strength,

  a true help in our troubles.

Therefore we do not fear,

  even when the earth is shaken and mountains fall into the depths of the sea,

the waves roar and foam

  and rise up to shake the mountains.

The streams of the river give joy to the city of God,

  the holy dwelling-place of the Most High.

God is within it, it will not be shaken;

  God will give help as the day dawns.

The nations are in turmoil and kingdoms totter:

  at the sound of his voice, the earth flows like water.

The Lord of strength is with us,

  the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Come and see the works of the Lord,

  who has done wonders on the earth.

He puts an end to wars over all the world:

  he tramples the bow, shatters weapons, and burns the shields with fire.

Stop and see that I am God:

  I will be exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.

The Lord of strength is with us,

  the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

The Lord has sanctified his dwelling-place. God is within it and it cannot be shaken.

---

Psalm 121 (122)
Jerusalem, the holy city

We shall go rejoicing into the house of the Lord.

They filled me with joy when they said,

  “We will go to the house of the Lord.”

Now our feet are standing

  within your gates, Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, built as a city,

  whole and self-contained:

there the tribes have gone up,

  the tribes of the Lord –

the witness of Israel,

  to praise the Lord’s name.

For there are the thrones of justice,

  the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

  “Safety for those who care for you,

peace inside your walls,

  security within your ramparts!”

For my brethren and those near to me I will say

  “Peace be upon you.”

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

  I will call blessings upon you.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

We shall go rejoicing into the house of the Lord.

---

Canticle	(Apocalypse 19)

The wedding of the Lamb

Sing praise to the Lord our God, all his saints.

Alleluia.

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

  because his judgements are true and just.

Alleluia.

Alleluia.

Praise our God, all his servants,

  and you who fear him, small and great.

Alleluia.

Alleluia.

For the Lord reigns, our God, the Almighty:

  let us rejoice and exult and give him glory.

Alleluia.

Alleluia.

The marriage of the Lamb has come,

  and his spouse has made herself ready.

Alleluia.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

Sing praise to the Lord our God, all his saints.

---

Short reading	Apocalypse 21:1,2-3,22,27 ©

I saw a new heaven and a new earth; I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, ’You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God.’ I saw that there was no temple in the city since the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were themselves the temple. Nothing unclean may come into it: no one who does what is loathsome or false, but only those who are listed in the Lamb’s book of life.

---

Short Responsory

Happy are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

– Happy are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

They will praise you for ever and ever.

– Happy are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– Happy are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

---

Canticle	Magnificat

My soul rejoices in the Lord

The Lord has sanctified his dwelling-place. This is the house of the Lord, this is the place where his name is invoked, as it is written: ‘My name shall be there, says the Lord.’

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

  and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation.

For he has shown me such favour –

  me, his lowly handmaiden.

Now all generations will call me blessed,

  because the mighty one has done great things for me.

His name is holy,

  his mercy lasts for generation after generation

  for those who revere him.

He has put forth his strength:

  he has scattered the proud and conceited,

  torn princes from their thrones;

  but lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things;

  the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel,

  he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers,

  to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

The Lord has sanctified his dwelling-place. This is the house of the Lord, this is the place where his name is invoked, as it is written: ‘My name shall be there, says the Lord.’

---

Prayers and Intercessions

Let us pray humbly to Jesus, who does not abandon those who hope in him:

– Jesus our God, hear us.

Christ our Lord, fill your Church with your light:

  make her preach you to the nations, the deep mystery of our religion made visible in the flesh.

– Jesus our God, hear us.

Help the priests and ministers of the Church:

  as they have preached to others, so may they themselves be faithful in your service.

– Jesus our God, hear us.

By shedding your blood you brought peace to the world:

  keep us free from the sin of discord and the scourge of war.

– Jesus our God, hear us.

Give married couples an abundance of your grace

  to make them a more perfect symbol of your marriage with your Church.

– Jesus our God, hear us.

Grant all the dead forgiveness of their sins:

  in your mercy bring them to new life with the saints.

– Jesus our God, hear us.

---

Our Father, who art in Heaven,

  hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

  thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

  and forgive us our trespasses

  as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

  but deliver us from evil.

---

Stay with us, Lord Jesus, for dusk is falling.

  Accompany us on our road, revive our hearts, take pity on us and fill us with hope,

  so that with our brethren we may recognise you in the Scriptures and in the breaking of bread.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

  God for ever and ever.

Amen.

---

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

A M E N

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

The Indestructible Temple

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Monday, 32nd week, OT

Father Steven Reilly, LC

John 2: 13-22
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.

Introductory Prayer:Lord, I believe that you are here with me, and I hope in your boundless mercy and love. Thank you for watching over me and keeping me in your friendship. Thank you for the precious gift of our Mother, the Church.

Petition:Lord, increase my zeal!

1. The Indestructible Temple Today we celebrate the dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica, known as the “mother and head of all the churches.” Going to Rome and visiting this wonderful church, now some seventeen centuries old, one gets a sense of the durability of Catholicism. The Catholic Church has been around for a long time, and it will be around for a lot longer — until judgment day, to be exact. No matter how hard the world has tried, it hasn’t been able to destroy the temple of the Church. This should give us a deep confidence that the Lord is with us as we journey through history.

2. Purification Being indestructible doesn’t mean, however, that the Catholic Church does not need constant purification. When our Lord arrived to the temple in Jerusalem, he found many things that marred the spirit of prayer and devotion that was to characterize that sacred building. His vigorous reaction serves to underline the high vocation of holiness that God had given to the Chosen People. We Catholics have inherited that call; yet all too often, the ways of the world creep into our souls. Each one of us needs to submit to the Lord’s purification. He will challenge us in our conscience, and sometimes that will sting like the whip of cords. But if we are sincere in our desires, we accept this with humility, aware that our souls must be living temples of God’s presence.

3. Consuming Zeal When the apostles contemplated our Lord’s action in the temple, “zeal” was the word that summed it all up. Jesus is zealous because he doesn’t accept the status quo of entrenched mediocrity. The day he arrives it is no longer business as usual: His Father’s house WILL be respected. Too often we let the barnacles of laziness and the accretions of apathy weigh down and extinguish our zeal. Every day we must pray that the Lord will once again “enkindle in our hearts the fire of his love.” Our zeal in living the faith is part of the way God works to make this temple of his Church indestructible. Don’t we want to cooperate with his love, so that the “gates of hell will not prevail?”

Conversation with Christ:Lord, I love your Church. I thank you for the priceless gift of my Catholic faith. Protect the Church from all her enemies and help me to be an effective apostle filled with authentic zeal.

Resolution:I will offer myself to collaborate in a parish ministry or other Catholic apostolate out of love for the Church.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

What Kind of Places Are You Making

November 9th, 2009 by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran

Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 / 1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17 / Jn 2:13-22

On a February morning in the year 1513, 25 cardinals gathered in Rome and elected a new pope, a 32-year old layman, a playboy, Giovanni de’Medici, Leo X. As fast as he could get himself ordained, consecrated and crowned, Leo gathered his relatives to celebrate and spoke his famous, cynical words, “The papacy is ours. Let us enjoy it!” And enjoy it he did, so much so that he was dead in eight years at the age of 40!

+     +     +

The event we’re celebrating, the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, occurred 1200 years before Leo’s election, and unlike that later disastrous event, it was real cause for rejoicing for the whole church and not just one decadent family. For three centuries Christians had been outcasts, aliens on the fringes of society. And then suddenly, with the stroke of Constantine’s pen they were legal and the emperor himself built their very first church, the Lateran Basilica. Finally, a place of their own! So they moved into their new home and celebrated: November 9, 324 A.D.

+     +     +

Whether we notice it or not, every day each of us is busy making places for people to be, though not usually with hammers and saws. The woman who lays out the breakfast table makes a place for her family. The family that sits at that table helps make that place too. What they say, how they look at one another, what they don’t say, make it a good or a bad place for their little while together.

And so it goes all day, at the office, the school or church, or on the golf course. Wherever we go, we’re constantly making places, if only for a moment; we’re constantly changing the living space of those around us. Most of the time, we do it without even noticing. And that spells trouble, because too often what we’re doing isn’t adding to that place; it’s taking away, taking something that doesn’t belong to us. And you know what that’s called? Stealing! Stealing the joy or quiet, the hopefulness or contentment, or whatever, that belongs to somebody else.

The grouch at the breakfast table is stealing joy from his own family. The sour pessimist is stealing other peoples’ hopes. The gardener with the blower is stealing someone’s peace and quiet. The driver who throws the beer cans out the window is stealing a tiny bit of the beauty of someone’s neighborhood. The person who doesn’t look for a chance to say “Attaboy, good job!” is stealing life from someone else’s spirit. All this stealing by good people like us who don’t notice what they’re doing. We mustn’t let this go on!

As we mark this 168st anniversary of our ancestors moving into their first church-home, God is calling us to open our eyes and see what kinds of places we’re making for one another. Are we good builders or just robbers?

God has blessed us with so many gifts, everything from the capacity for great insights to a special knack for giving simple pats on the back — so many things that people need, so many things that we can use to make better moments and better places.

And so we pray: May this day and every day be fuller and richer because we were here. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

<< Monday, November 9, 2009 >>

Dedication of Lateran Basilica in Rome Saint of the Day

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17
View Readings

Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
John 2:13-22

"VIVA IL PAPA"

"Zeal for Your house consumes Me." —John 2:17

 

Today we celebrate the anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral Church of the pope. Why do we celebrate our unity with the pope and his church? It is because our unity with the pope gives us strength and power. Those united to the pope have an anointing from God that cannot be obtained any other way. Furthermore, our unity with the pope protects us from deception and confusion.

This will become even more significant as we near the mass apostasy at the end of the world (2 Thes 2:3). In His love, the Lord has not only given us brothers and sisters, but also a spiritual father, the pope, who helps us grow together and stay together as God's family. The pope is a special gift from the Lord to us, His Church. We rejoice in this gift. We thank the Lord for the opportunity to submit ourselves to Him by obeying the leaders He sends into our lives, especially the pope. We thank the Lord for our pope today, Benedict XVI. He has spent and risked his life for the Lord and for us. We will pray for him daily and obey him.

 

Prayer: Father, thank You for each part of the body of Christ, especially for Pope Benedict XVI.

Promise: "The temple of God is holy, and you are that temple." —1 Corinthians 3:17

Praise: Dr. Bill, principal of a Catholic high school, requires all his teachers to sign a pledge of fidelity to the pope and the magisterium before he will allow them to teach at his school.

[Salvation]

Compline -- Night Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer)

Introduction

O God, come to my aid.

  O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen. Alleluia.

---

This is an excellent moment for an examination of conscience. In a communal celebration of Compline, one of the penitential acts given in the Missal may be recited.

---

Hymn

Christ, thou who art the light and day,

Who chasest nightly shades away,

Thyself the Light of Light confessed,

And promiser of radiance blest:

O holy Lord, we pray to thee,

Throughout the night our guardian be;

In thee vouchsafe us to repose,

All peaceful till the night shall close.

O let our eyes due slumber take,

Our hearts to thee forever wake:

And let thy right hand from above

Shield us who turn to thee in love.

O strong defender, hear our prayers,

Repel our foes and break their snares,

And govern thou thy servants here,

Those ransomed with thy life-blood dear.

Almighty Father, this accord

Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord,

Who with the Holy Ghost and thee

Doth reign through all eternity.

---

Psalm 85 (86)
A poor man's prayer in time of trouble

Lord God, you are full of mercies, patient and true.

Turn your ear to me, Lord, and hear me,

  for I am poor and destitute.

Keep my life safe, for I am faithful;

  O God, save your servant, who trusts in you.

Take pity upon me, O Lord,

  for I call to you all the day long.

Make your servant’s heart glad,

  for to you, O Lord, I have raised it.

For you, Lord, are gentle and mild:

  you are kind to all those who call on you.

Let your ears hear my prayer, O Lord!

  Turn to the voice of my pleading!

In my time of trouble I call on you,

  for you, O Lord, will hear me.

No other god is like you, O Lord,

  and nothing compares with your works.

All people – all nations you made –

  will come and worship before you;

  they will give glory to your name.

For you are great, you work wonders:

  you alone are God.

O Lord, teach me your paths,

  and I will come to your truth.

Make my heart simple and guileless,

  so that it honours your name.

I will proclaim you, Lord my God,

  and give you praise with all my heart.

I will give glory to your name for ever,

  for your great kindness is upon me:

  you have rescued me from the deepest depths.

O God, the proud rise against me,

  in the meetings of the powerful they seek my life:

  they do not keep you in their sight.

And you, Lord, are a God of compassion,

  full of mercies, patient and true.

Look upon me, have mercy upon me,

  give your strength and protection to your servant:

  your servant, the child of your handmaid.

Give me a sign of your goodness,

  let my enemies see it and be confounded;

because you, O Lord, have helped me and given me comfort.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

Lord God, you are full of mercies, patient and true.

---

Reading	1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

God chose that we should receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us; so that, asleep or awake, we should still live with him.

---

Short Responsory

Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

You have redeemed us, Lord, God of faithfulness.

– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

---

Canticle	Nunc Dimittis

Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.

Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace.

  You have fulfilled your promise.

My own eyes have seen your salvation,

  which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.

A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness;

  the glory of your people Israel.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.

---

Let us pray.

Give our bodies rest, Lord, to restore them; and let the seeds sown by our labours today grow and yield an eternal harvest.

Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

---

May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.

A M E N

	Salve Regina

Hail to you, O Queen, mother of loving kindness,

  our life, our happiness, our hope.

Hear us cry out to you,

  children of Eve in our exile.

Hear as we sigh, with groaning and weeping

  in this life, this valley of tears.

Come then, our Advocate, turn towards us

  the gaze of your kind and loving eyes.

And show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of your womb,

  when at last our exile here is ended.

[Ciexyz]

Prayers offered up for those in need of healing.