Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

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.”

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. The cathedral church of Rome, known as the mother church, was dedicated by Pope Sylvester in 324. The church was dedicated after Emperor Constantine’s Edit of Milan, which gave religious freedom to Christians. In the Gospel reading, Jesus makes clear through his words and actions that the temple is a sacred place, not to be desecrated by being made into a marketplace. But Jesus’ zeal is not for physical buildings but for the temple of his Body, the foundation on which Jesus builds the Church. As Saint Paul says in the second reading, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God” and that “the temple of God, which you are, is holy.”

Help me understand, Lord, the sanctity of my body through the Spirit of God who dwells in me, which is constantly nourished by the sacraments. I am your building, built by you. Let me accept this body and spirit as your pure gift allowing me to live a life that will bring me to you, forever praising your name in the company of saints and angels.

Spirit of God, dwell in me today to make me holy. I know you love me with perpetual care; I know also that I will look away from you today. Keep me in your care, Lord, and let me see you in the people and opportunities you set before me today. Thank you, God, for your goodness!

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.

Readings

Tuesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus said to the Apostles, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’ ”

In the the first reading from Paul taken together with today’s Gospel reading, the Scriptures provide a guidance on how to live and what attitude to take toward life. Do all you can, Jesus suggests, and think little of what you were obliged to do. Addressing men and women, Paul says, “For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ.” Still, to hear the words of Jesus—that we are unprofitable servants—seems harsh and hard to accept. What more is there that Jesus says to me in these words?

God, help me understand that everything I have in this life—my all—is yours. Acknowledging that, my only recourse is to give back to you what is yours for your glory. Any other way to live is an exercise in self-glorification and a lie. Even as I consider this, I test it to see if it is true. Help me, Lord, to learn truth from you, doing what I am obliged to do by acting on your Divine Will. The words of Saint Paul give sound guidance in carrying this out as we await the blessed hope: “be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and endurance.”

Come to me, Lord, and stay with me every minute of this day. Since I am certain to forget that you are with me, rouse me through the breath of the Holy Spirit to take heart. Give me the grace and quiet consolation to know you are near and the ears to hear your still small voice. I know that you delight in me; let my delight be to please you and be, as Paul says, “a model of good deeds in every respect.” Thank you, Lord, for all the gifts you give me every day.

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.

Readings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0CYfJg8-Jw

Monday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.”

What catches my attention immediately from today’s Gospel reading is Jesus’ acknowledgment of the inevitability that things lead to sin. As people in constant need of God’s forgiveness, I feel relieved that Jesus recognizes the inevitability of fallen human nature. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the slate is wiped clean through contrition and the forgiveness of the priest, who absolves sins in persona Christi. To those who cause others to sin, however, Jesus says, “It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” Hearing and believing that, I want to put myself in check whenever an opportunity comes to cause others to sin. Jesus then tells the Apostles to forgive those who hurt you—over and over forgive them. Just as in the Our Father, forgiveness from God comes with a spirit that cooperates with his will in forgiving others. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Lord, you say to me, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur.” Let me consider further these words in relation to the Our Father. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” The word us prompts us to consider that this prayer embraces others—our family, the community, and larger spheres of interaction. Keep me, Lord, from causing others to sin, and let me pray that you deliver them from the same. For this, Lord, the Apostles said to you, “Increase our faith.”

God, you take the little faith I have and assure me that astounding things can happen. Today, when I am troubled at the tasks I face, help me remember that you call me back to sit still and rest in you and forgive those who wrong me. Through your grace and my humility to receive it, keep me from being a people pleaser for the sake of pride. Instead, work in me today to accomplish all that is fully pleasing to 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.

Readings

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

“The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.”

The words of Jesus from this Sunday’s Gospel reading are difficult to hear for couples who have been blessed throughout life with a sacramental marriage. Jesus himself says there will be no marriage or marrying in heaven. He also says we will be like angels, the children of God, and the ones who will rise. He says this in response to a challenging question from the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection. For the sake of disproving the resurrection of the dead, they tried to trap Jesus with a question about which of the seven husbands a woman will be married to in heaven.

God, help me understand that the Sadducees were playing a game with Jesus that drew attention away from the truth: namely, the ones who are deemed worthy through the way they live their life will attain everlasting life in heaven as your children. Jesus speaks of the coming age and the resurrection of the dead. I am not certain, but I take that to mean the coming age as life after death and the resurrection as fulfillment of the Second Coming of Christ. In the second reading, Saint Paul says that the Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father encourage our hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word. “That the dead will rise,” says Jesus, “even Moses made known . . . and [God] is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for the ultimate gift of hope, the hope of the resurrection. God of all that is seen and unseen, you sent your Son to live among a people shrouded in death to be the first to rise to new life. Let that hope and realization sink deep into my soul so that in the coming age and in the resurrection, I may see your face, the living God.

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

Readings