In three days I will raise it up


Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Collect

O God, who from living and chosen stones prepare an eternal dwelling for your majesty, increase in your Church the spirit of grace you have bestowed, so that by new growth your faithful people may build up the heavenly Jerusalem. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Ezekiel 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."

The word of the Lord.

Psalm 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!

1 Corinthians 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.

The word of the Lord

R. Thanks be to God

Acclamation before the Gospel
2 Chronicles 7:16

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.
I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord,
that my name may be there forever.
℟. Alleluia, alleluia.


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.


The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection

Today the Church celebrates the Consecration of the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome. This Basilica is the cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome. Regarded as the “mother of all churches,” it is a sign of communion within the Catholic Church. On this Sunday, the liturgy invites us to reflect on the “temple,” the sacred place where God dwells. The passage chosen for us, taken from the Gospel according to St John, presents Jesus in the temple—right at the beginning of his public ministry, unlike in the Synoptic Gospels where this episode appears near the end. What message, then, does the Lord Jesus wish to convey to us today? In which temple can we truly encounter the Lord—in the temple made of stone, or in the Body of Christ, which is the Church? Indeed, Jesus is the new temple. That is why he said to the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again” (v. 19).

Jesus was speaking about himself—he would be put to death, but on the third day he would rise again. Yet the Jews did not understand him. Jesus himself is the temple where God dwells. God is not confined to a temple of stone, but is present in the living person of Jesus Christ within his Church. Jesus wanted to drive out from the temple all that was not of God. We too, through Baptism, have become members of the Body of Christ—the Church—and temples of the Holy Spirit. Are we aware of this? Jesus desires to remove from us everything that hinders us, everything that might turn his Church into a marketplace for our own interests. What are those idols and distractions that draw us away from him? What are those bad habits that stain our hearts and fail to honour the temple of God? Let us pray that the Holy Spirit may purify the Church, so that it may truly be a living presence of Christ in the world.

Prayer

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord of hosts!
My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they will praise you for ever.
Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you! (Psalm 84:1-3, 5, 13)

 

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