Walking with Jesus on the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

For Sunday, November 9, 2025

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17; John 2:12-22


While I’m sure all of us have visited many churches in our lifetimes, the one that probably remains most vividly in our memory is the church of our youth or one that was special because it's where we were baptized, received our first communion or confirmation, were married there, or our parents’ or loved ones’ funerals were there. Special places, special events that signify the loving presence of Jesus through the sacraments. Many of us have traveled and seen magnificent churches: basilicas like St. Peter’s in Rome, Notre Dame in Paris, Our Lady of Nock in Ireland, and many other famous worshipping, faith-filled churches. Many of these are cathedrals. “Cathedral” is the Latin word for chair. We call the church in which the bishop’s chair is located a cathedral. Each diocese has only one cathedral and it is the mother church of that diocese. If I asked you to name the “mother church” of Catholic Christianity, your response likely would be St. Peter’s in Rome. And you'd be wrong.

In addition to being the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church, the pope also holds the office of bishop of Rome — and like other bishops, he has his own chair. So where is the pope’s chair? St. Peter’s? Wrong again. His chair and the church in which it is located have a special importance unmatched by others cathedrals anywhere in the world. It is in St. John Lateran Cathedral in Rome, making it the Mother Church of Catholic Christianity. It was named after St. John the Baptist. The cathedral was once owned by the Lateran family who gave it to the emperor Constantine aroung 324 A.D. Pope Innocent X rebuilt the church in the 17th century and Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) enlarged it. Most of the papal liturgies take place in St. Peter’s because it is the largest Catholic Church in the world and because it is in Vatican City, the pope’s residence, and it can accommodate enormous crowds.

So today we acknowledge Pope Leo as the Bishop of Rome and spiritual leader of the Catholic Church and we pray for him and those who advise him on matters affecting the Church. At the same time it is good to remember and review in our minds and imaginations the special churches that have brought us closer to the Lord and nourished us through the sacraments that lead us to a closer relationship with Him. Let the Lord love each of us today — He has led us and continues to show us His glory and love while leading us to our true home, heaven.

Ezekiel recounts a vision of the temple that was granted to him. He is brought to the door of the temple where he is able to observe a stream of water flowing from the doorway and growing in force until it is a mighty river. Because it is a vision, the waters that flow from the doorway miraculously purify the surrounding stagnant waters, allowing living creatures to live within them and thrive. Plants grow in abundance too. The saving power goes out through the water to the animals and plants just as the waters of God's love radiate through us to all.

Psalm 46 employs various metaphors to encourage each person to trust in God. In one, mountains are symbols of strength and stability — but if they suffer total damage like an earthquake, they can break into pieces and fall into the sea. God offers a different kind of refuge, one that is not subject to a stronger force. Just look at His enormous victories or the works of creation. And look at each of us: We are the temple of God; God is in us and we are holy. Am I living the holy, loving part or the sinful, hurting part?

Paul characterizes his most favorite community at Corinth as the temple of God. Paul has laid its foundation through his preaching, and the foundation is Jesus. Are the Corinthians living out the presence of the Spirit of God that makes His new temple holy? The temple is holy … the people are holy. It is up to the Corinthians to keep it holy by living love. Writes Paul: “If I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.” [I Corinthians 13:1-13]

In John’s temple scene, though Jesus initially appears as one among many pilgrims who have come to the temple at Passover time, His actions quickly distinguish Him. He is no mere pilgrim but the Son in His Father’s House. The people who are selling goods and the money changers are not a stain on the temple that had to be “cleansed” — they practice their trades in designated places. Jesus is showing the crowd that He is uniquely concerned with the temple, so much so that it requires interpretation. Observing His continual zeal and the Jewish leaders claiming prophetic authority to Him, all want a sign. And Jesus gives it: His resurrection, promising life forever and His constant presence in each of us. Do I want this?

So I reflect on:

• Who are the money changers and sacrifice sellers that separate me from God?
• “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in me?”

Sacred Space 2025 states:

“There are two kinds of anger. One is a righteous anger at encountering injustices that we see being done to people. The other is a vengeful anger that wants to punish those who have hurt us, and this can lead us to fail to love all. Let us pray for discernment in this.

“In this passage, notice that Jesus uses a whip of cords to drive out the sellers of animals and the money-changers but He simply speaks to the less well-off sellers of doves and tells them to remove them from the temple.”