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| St. John Lateran Basilica, Photographer and Date was not cited. |
On this feast it is my tradition to offer you the reflections of others within the universal Church. Today’s reading commentary comes from Brendan Byrne SJ. The Homily is by Fr. Tommy Lane (www.frtommylane.com), Professor of Sacred Scripture at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland, USA (Note: Fr Lane also recently published an interesting book showing the biblical evidence for Catholic priesthood and further details are on his website.)
Commentary:
Reading 1: Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
Commentary on Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
The scriptural offerings begin with a first reading taken from a (somewhat truncated) excerpt from Ezekiel’s vision of the renewed Temple in Jerusalem Temple
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
R. (5) The waters of the river gladden the city of God
Commentary on Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9*
Psalm 46 is a hymn of praise. In this passage we see the analogy presented in the reading from Ezekiel referenced (Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12) as the Lord is praised for supporting the people with his strength and creation.
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Reading II: 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17
Commentary on 1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17
In the second reading, 1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17, St Paul moves from speaking of the Christian community at Corinth in terms of a ‘plantation’ to that of a ‘building’, and finally a ‘holy building’ or temple, in which God’s Spirit dwells. Christian ministers, such as he and his co-workers, are the builders who are bringing this holy building to completion. The essential foundation that Paul has laid is Christ. As is necessary for the success of any building operation, all subsequent builders must ensure that their work is rightly aligned upon the foundation. The image of the community as a holy building or temple was something early Christianity derived from Judaism. It communicates the sense that even when absent from a physical place of worship the gathered community is already itself a holy building (temple) in which the Lord is present. The physical building is the outward, local, visible expression of the Christian conviction that it is God’s delight to dwell among human beings – a presence made vastly more accessible through the Incarnation of the Son, extended to all times and places through the sacramental life of the Church.
CCC: 1 Cor 3:9 307, 755, 756; 1 Cor 3:11 756; 1 Cor 3:16-17 797
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Gospel: John 2:13-22
Commentary on Jn 2:13-22
The Gospel, John 2:13-22, adds a christological crown to this rich scriptural offering. In John’s account, Jesus’ ‘cleansing’ of the Temple in Jerusalem Temple Temple Temple in Jerusalem Temple
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Homily[4]
by Fr. Tommy Lane
We celebrate today the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome because it is the head and mother church of all churches in the world. On the façade of the basilica there is an inscription in Latin which reads, “the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world.” One might think St. Peter’s Basilica is the head of all the churches but in fact it is the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Every bishop has a cathedral and the Pope’s cathedral is the Basilica of St. John Lateran not the Basilica of St. Peter.
You may ask “Why is the Basilica of St. John Lateran the Pope’s cathedral and not the Basilica of St. Peter since he lives next to St. Peter's Basilica?” History gives us the answer. In the early centuries Christianity was outlawed in Rome and many Christians in Rome suffered martyrdom. The Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and the famous Edict of Milan in 313 AD allowed Christians to practice their religion in public. Constantine had been given the palace in Rome that belonged to the Laterani and after his conversion to Christianity he gave it to the Pope. The Lateran Palace was then adapted to become a church and was dedicated on November 9th 324 and the Pope then lived in the Lateran Palace, as it was called, for the next 1000 years and the basilica was his cathedral. It was first called the Basilica of the Savior but later was also dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist and so it acquired the name Basilica of St. John Lateran. When the Papacy transferred to Avignon for about a century, the condition of the Lateran deteriorated so much that when the Papacy returned to Rome the Pope lived in two other locations before finally settling adjacent to St. Peter’s Basilica where he now lives.
Perhaps we could say that the many times the Basilica suffered destruction of some kind is a symbol of the attacks on the Church and the hatred of some for the Church. The Basilica was attacked by the Vandals twice in 408 and 455. It was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake in 896 and it was destroyed by fire in 1308 and 1360. The Basilica is visited by huge numbers of pilgrims every year also symbolizing the love of so many people for the Church.
Those who visit the Basilica on pilgrimage visit it not just because it is the head of all churches and the Pope’s cathedral. The wooden altar on which St. Peter celebrated Mass while in Rome is inside the main altar. The heads of Sts. Peter and Paul were once believed to be inside busts above the main altar. Part of the table on which the Last Supper was celebrated is said to be behind a bronze depiction of the Last Supper. At one time the Holy Stairs which is nearby was also in the Lateran, the stairs in Pilate’s house on which Jesus is said to have walked during his trial. It is a marble stairs and is now covered with wood to protect it. Pilgrims ascend the stairs on their knees contemplating Jesus’ Passion and on the way up drops of blood may be seen on the marble stairs beneath protective glass. The stairs was brought to Rome by Constantine’s mother St. Helena.
Celebrating the dedication of the Pope’s cathedral today shows our unity with the Pope and our love and respect for him. Not only that, but it shows that we are united with each other in the Church. St. Paul described this unity in the Church in his first letter to the Corinthians as the Body of Christ.
For as with the human body which is a unity although it has many parts – all the parts of the body, though many, still making up one single body – so it is with Christ. We were baptized into one body in a single Spirit, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as free men, and we were all given the same Spirit to drink. (1 Cor 12:12-13)…Now Christ’s body is yourselves, each of you with a part to play in the whole. (1 Cor 12:27)
In our first reading today we heard Ezekiel’s vision of a river flowing from the Temple in Jerusalem and bringing life everywhere it went (Ezek 47). We could see it as a vision of the Church receiving life-giving grace from Jesus. In the Letter to the Ephesians we read,
You are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. Every structure knit together in him grows into a holy temple in the Lord; and you too in him are being built up into a dwelling-place of God in the Spirit. (Eph 2:19-21)
In our second reading today we have a similar idea, “You are God’s building…the foundation…is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 3:9,11) These passages from Scripture remind us to make Jesus the foundation stone and corner stone of our lives because there is a life-giving river flowing from him to fill us with his grace.
As we celebrate today the dedication of the “the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world” let us pray also for those who have got lost going through life that they may find the Church as a true mother and that Jesus may become the foundation stone and corner stone of their lives.
In other years: Wednesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
[1] The photograph is of St. John Lateran Basilica, Photographer and Date was not cited.
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
* Brendan Byrne SJ did not write a commentary on the Psalm, this commentary is my own.
[4] Fr. Tommy Lane, S.S.L., S.T.D, Professor of Sacred Scripture at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland, USA
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