20191109
THE
CHURCH AS THE LIVING TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH CHRIST AS ITS FOUNDATION
09 NOVEMBER,
2019, Saturday, Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12 ©
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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.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
45(46):2-3,5-6,8-9 ©
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The waters of a river
give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is for us a refuge and strength,
a helper close at hand, in
time of distress,
so we shall not fear though the earth
should rock,
though the mountains fall into
the depths of the sea.
The waters of a river
give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
The waters of a river give joy to God’s
city,
the holy place where the Most
High dwells.
God is within, it cannot be shaken;
God will help it at the
dawning of the day.
The waters of a river
give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
The Lord of hosts is with us:
the God of Jacob is our
stronghold.
Come, consider the works of the Lord,
the redoubtable deeds he has
done on the earth.
The waters of a river
give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
When a Feast of the
Lord falls on a weekday, there is no reading after the Psalm and before the
Gospel.
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Gospel Acclamation
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2Ch7:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I have chosen and consecrated this house,
says the Lord,
for my name to be there forever.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 2:13-22 ©
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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.
THE CHURCH AS
THE LIVING TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH CHRIST AS ITS FOUNDATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EZ 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; 1 COR 3:9-11, 16-17; JN 2:13-22 ]
The Church celebrates the Dedication of St
John Lateran Basilica in Rome today. The Basilica has been, and
is still considered as the Cathedral of Rome and therefore the seat of
the Bishop of Rome since the 4th century. By
extension, it is considered as the mother church of all the
local churches in the world. Hence, in celebrating this feast in
honour of the Lateran Basilica, it is our acknowledgment that each local church
has its origin in the mother church of Rome.
Within this context, it is opportune for
us to reflect on the nature of the Church. Whenever we celebrate
the dedication of a church, we celebrate first and foremost the
church as a dwelling place of God. For this reason, in today’s
scripture readings, the church is called the temple of God whereby the temple
signifies a place where God lives. If that is so, the Church necessarily
is the source of life and grace. This is expressed in the first reading
from the Prophet Ezekiel. Just like the trees along the river that flows
through the temple of Jerusalem that bear fruits in plenty, the Church as the
living temple of God gives life, health, wholesomeness and fecundity to those
who are baptized in the waters of baptism.
It is for this reason that the
Lateran Basilica as the mother church of the universal Church chose St
John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist to be her patrons.
This is because St John the Baptist is the symbol of the importance of
baptism. St John the Evangelist is known for his discourse on the Holy
Eucharist as the Bread of Life. The Church is aware that through
the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist, the Church becomes more
Church. Through baptism, new life is generated and through the Holy
Eucharist, the grace of union with Christ is sustained. Hence, through
both sacraments which come through the ministry of the Church, the faithful is
nurtured and strengthened in the life of Christ and become increasingly
incorporated into the Church as the body of Christ and the temple of the living
God. This intrinsic relationship between the Sacraments of Baptism and
the Holy Eucharist is described in John’s portrayal of the side of Jesus being
pierced by the lance whereby blood and water flowed, symbolizing the Sacraments
of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist which give life to the Church.
Consequently, if one were to keep
one’s faith healthy and strong, then union with the Church is
important, since it is only through the Church that one finds real
sustenance for one’s spiritual life. This necessity of being in union
with the Church, be it the local or universal Church, symbolized by the Lateran
Basilica, is important, especially when people are becoming more
individualistic today and even pride themselves for not belonging to any
particular church. It is not uncommon to hear people say, “Father, I do
not go to church on Sunday. But I would pray and read the scriptures on
my own at home. I do not see the reason for going to church. After
all, I have friends who go to church regularly but their actions are worse than
those who don’t.” These people do not understand the importance of the communion
of faith. When faith is reduced to a private, individualistic
interpretation and practice, such faith will become impoverished.
Of course, we must stress the importance
of a living faith as well. While it is true that God lives in the church,
His temple, yet the church can become truly Church only when all
members of the Church become living temples of God as well.
Precisely, our participation in the church is to make possible a deeper
indwelling of God’s presence in our lives, for God is not simply contented to live
in temples made by human hands, but wishes to live in us too.
For this reason, the stress on the
physical temple of God in the first reading of today is
balanced by the equal emphasis on the people of God as the dwelling place of
the Holy Spirit with its foundation in Christ. Indeed, if the
physical church is present, it is in order to serve the members of the Church
so that rooted in the gospel and person of Christ as the foundation, the Holy
Spirit will personally dwell in each one of us.
In order that we might
become the dwelling place of God, we must turn to Jesus, as St Paul tells us, “For the
foundation, nobody can lay any other than the one which has already been laid,
that is Jesus Christ.” Thus, the real dwelling place of God is of course
in Jesus Himself. He is the true sanctuary of God, as claimed by Jesus in
today’s gospel. In Jesus, the fullness of the Spirit of God is present in
such a way that to see Jesus is to see the Father. Jesus is that perfect
temple of God. Unless each individual believer and the whole Church
continually turn to Jesus as the foundation stone, we cannot become the temples
of the living God. Indeed, it is for this purpose that Jesus has
come. He has come to purify this temple of ours. Like the Jewish
temple, there are still many imperfections in us. We need to be swept
clean of our sinfulness which has defiled the temple of God and made it a
lesser sign of God’s presence.
Today, we need to pray
for constant purification so that as the living stones of the Church,
we can truly become a source of salvation and a sign of God’s presence to
others. This can happen only when we become living temples of the Spirit
of Christ in our lives. We are called to turn to Jesus who, as the living
temple of God, through His life, death and resurrection can transform us all
into the living temples of the Holy Spirit as well through the gift of His
Spirit given to us at our baptism.
Thus, the purification that is
called for entails that we continue to die with Jesus in our resistance to sin and
rise with Him in the new life which is given to us through the waters of
baptism as Church. When we allow the waters of baptism to take full
effect in our lives, we become spirited people who manifest God’s presence and
love in the world. At the same time, purification calls for a real
participation in the Holy Eucharist daily so that we too can die with Christ
and rise to a new life. Through the Holy Eucharist, we, as members of the
body of Christ, become more incorporated in Christ and in His body, the
Church. It is our union with Christ and His Church that truly make us
temples of the living God, because union brings about love and service.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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