Monday, 09 November 2009

The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome – Feast

Today the Church celebrates : Dedication of St. John Lateran (Feast)

See commentary below or click here
Saint Augustine : The holy Temple, the Body of Christ

Book of Ezekiel 47:1-2.8-9.12.

Then he 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 facade 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.”

Psalms 46(45):2-3.5-6.8-9.

God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.
Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea,
Streams of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be shaken; God will help it at break of day.
The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. Selah
Come and see the works of the LORD, who has done fearsome deeds on earth;

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 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.

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB

Commentary of the day :

Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermon on Psalm 130, § 1-2

The holy Temple, the Body of Christ

The apostle Paul says: «The Temple of God, which you are, is holy» (1Cor 3,17), that is to say: all you who believe in Christ, believing even to loving… All who thus believe are the living stones of which God’s temple is built (1Pt 2,5); they are like the imperishable wood of which the ark was built that the flood could not overwhelm (Gn 6,14). This temple – the people of God, human persons themselves – is the place where God answers those who pray. People who pray to God outside this temple cannot have their prayers for the peace of the Jerusalem above answered even though they are answered regarding particular material things that God grants even to pagans… But it is an altogether different thing to have one’s prayers answered in the matter of eternal life. This is only granted to those who pray inside God’s temple.

For someone who prays within God’s temple prays within the peace of the Church, in the unity of Christ’s body, since the Body of Christ is built up of the multitude of believers spread over all the world… And someone who prays in the peace of the Church prays «in spirit and in truth» (Jn 4,23) of which the former Temple was only a symbol. In fact it was for our instruction that our Lord cast out of the Temple those men who were only seeking their own interest and who only went there to buy and sell. If that first Temple had to undergo this purification then it is clear that the Body of Christ too, the true temple, also contains buyers and sellers among those who pray there, that is to say, people only seeking «their own interests and not those of Jesus Christ» (Phil 2,21)… But the time will come when the Lord will cast out all those sins.

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st book of Kings 17:10-16.
He left and went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, “Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.”
She left to get it, and he called out after her, “Please bring along a bit of bread.”
“As the LORD, your God, lives,” she answered, “I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.”
“Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son.
For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'”
She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well;
The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.

Psalms 146:7.8-9.10.
Secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free;
the LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD protects the stranger, sustains the orphan and the widow, but thwarts the way of the wicked.
The LORD shall reign forever, your God, Zion, through all generations! Hallelujah!

Letter to the Hebrews 9:24-28.
For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf.
Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own;
if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice.
Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment,
so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 12:38-44.
In the course of his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces,
seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.
They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”
He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”
Commentary of the day : Saint Anselm
“She has contributed all she had”

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Saturday of the Thirty-first week in Ordinary Time
Letter to the Romans 16:3-9.16.22-27.
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus,
who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles;
greet also the church at their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ.
Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners; they are prominent among the apostles and they were in Christ before me.
Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord.
Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.
) (
Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.)

Psalms 145(144):2-3.4-5.10-11.
Every day I will bless you; I will praise your name forever.
Great is the LORD and worthy of high praise; God’s grandeur is beyond understanding.
One generation praises your deeds to the next and proclaims your mighty works.
They speak of the splendor of your majestic glory, tell of your wonderful deeds.
All your works give you thanks, O LORD and your faithful bless you.
They speak of the glory of your reign and tell of your great works,

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 16:9-15.
I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him.
And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.
Commentary of the day : Saint Clement of Alexandria
“You cannot serve God and mammon”