Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
You, The Temple Of God, Are Sacred
Liturgical Cycle: C
Introduction
Greeting:
Know that this place is holy because the Lord is here among us.
Know that we ourselves are called to be holy for we are God’s temple.
May the Lord Jesus always stay with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant:
Christians build churches to worship God. But churches have no meaning unless they point towards the Church, the body of Christ animated by his Spirit. God is present in the first place where his people are, with their faith, hope and love. We are the Church, and by the grace of God we make the Church; we are its living building stones. When we come to church, we express that we are God’s living people who build our lives on Christ.
Penitential Act
Too often, we forget to live as God’s people.
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us.
(pause)
Lord Jesus,
when we forget our responsibilities
as Christians in today’s world,
forgive us:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ,
when we do not build our life
on you as our firm foundation,
forgive us:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus,
when we do not build a community
in which you are visibly alive,
forgive us:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and forgive us all our sins.
Make us really your Church, live among us
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray that we may truly be
the Church of Jesus Christ
(pause)
God our Father,
you have called us through your Son
to be a community of faith, love, and service
built on the only firm foundation,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Fill us with his Spirit,
that we may be your Church in word and deed,
making no demands, seeking no privileges,
not trying to dominate and control.
Help us to bring joy to all,
to love without excluding anyone
and to serve without demanding gratitude.
May we thus be the living house filled with the presence of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading
Life-Giving Streams Flow From The Temple: Like life-giving streams, God’s grace flows from his Temple and makes everything healthy and fruitful. So will the water of baptism give us health and life.
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."
Responsorial Psalm
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!
Second Reading
You Are God’s Building: The Christian community itself is the building constructed in God’s honor. Each of us is a living stone of it, with Christ as our foundation. God lives in his community.
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.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord,
that my name may be there forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Christ, the True Temple: Jesus cleans the Jewish temple. It will be destroyed, for the true “house of God” where we will meet God is Jesus Christ. Are we not his body, the Church?
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.
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us pray to Jesus our Lord that his Christian community may be more aware that they are the people and temple of God, and let us also pray for the needs of all people and of all the world. Let us say: R/ Lord, build community with us.
- That in our Christian communities all may contribute time and effort toward a better, more evangelical Church, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
- That our organizations in our dioceses and parishes may cooperate better with one another so that by their teamwork and unity they become more the one body of Christ, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
- That all our Christian Churches may work toward the unity to which they are called by the Spirit of Jesus, the one Shepherd of all, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
- That the leaders of the world may seek peace in the world community and look for common solutions for common problems, while respecting each others’ rights and dignity, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
- That those living in security may welcome strangers and refugees, people without a home or a country, and show them the warmth of hospitality, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
- And finally, that this community may always be aware that it is united in faith and love, in hope and service with the pope and with the world-wide Church, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
Lord Jesus, you wanted to live among people. Make your Church more and more the space where people can meet in your name, for you are our Lord for ever. R/Amen.
Prayer Over the Gifts
Lord our God, we bring before you
these gifts of bread and wine
to remember that Jesus Christ is among us.
May he be to all of us our way, our truth, our life.
And may he become alive among us
through his Holy Spirit,
not only in these signs and this place
But in the whole wide world,
in a new, living Church,
in a new, authentic Christianity,
where he is our Lord for ever and ever. R/Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Together with Christ who is the foundation stone on which we are built as his body, we offer to our Father the worship of this Eucharist and of our lives.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
In this house of prayer
let us pray to our Father in heaven
the prayer of trust of his Son Jesus: R/ Our Father...
Introduction to the Rites of Peace and the Breaking of Bread
In the Christian community and in life
we are on the way with one another,
we seek peace and long for happiness.
Here in this house of prayer
the Lord Jesus breaks the bread of life for us.
Let us also break bread for one another
and pray for the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
The peace of the Lord he with you always. R/ And also with you.
Invitation to Communion
This is the body of Jesus the Lord.
He gives himself to us
that we may become more authentically
his body of the Church. R/ Lord, 1 am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you have filled this house and us
with the presence of your Son;
he has spoken his Word to us,
he has shared himself with us
as our food on the road of life.
May we now be your sign to the world
that your Son is alive among us.
May our search and concern for justice,
for human dignity, for love, integrity, and unity
give praise to you and proclaim to all
that we are your people
and that Jesus Christ is our Lord,
now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
It is not so much the building that counts
to honor and worship God
but Christ whom we meet here
and whose body we are.
And in us, in that body of Christ,
people should recognize the Lord
and feel his presence.
May this really become true in us,
with the blessing of Almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace and be the sign
that Christ is alive in the world of today. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTIONS
9 November 2025
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
John 2: 13-22
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the Cathedral of Rome and the “mother of all churches of the city and of the world.” This celebration is not so much about bricks and marble, but about what the Lateran represents: the unity of the whole Church in communion with the Bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter. The Basilica is a visible sign of the living Church, built not only of stone, but of people who, through baptism, become God’s dwelling place.
In the Gospel, Jesus cleanses the Temple, driving out the merchants and money changers. His actions were not simply about keeping order in a holy place. Rather, He was pointing to a deeper truth: the true temple of God is not a building, but His own Body. “Destroy this temple,” He said, “and in three days I will raise it up.” The disciples later understood that He was speaking of His Resurrection. In Christ, God’s presence is no longer confined to a single sanctuary but is revealed fully in Him. And through baptism, each of us becomes part of this living temple.
Saint Paul reminds us that “you are God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9). The Church is the spiritual house built of “living stones,” and Christ Himself is the cornerstone. This means that every Christian is called to be a true dwelling place of God. But it also carries a challenge: to be consistent in living out the faith we profess. Coherence between faith and daily life is not easy; it requires constant openness to the Holy Spirit. As Pope Francis often reminds us, a Christian is recognised not so much by words, but by actions, by the way he or she lives.
The Lateran Basilica stands as a reminder of the visible, institutional Church, but it also points us to the deeper reality: that the Church’s mission is to witness to faith through love. Structures, ministries, and pastoral programmes exist for one purpose: to bring people to Christ and to make His love visible in the world. Faith and love must always go together. Love is the expression of faith, and faith gives foundation and meaning to love.
Today’s feast also calls us to unity and communion. Just as the Lateran Basilica unites all Christians around the Bishop of Rome, so too are we called to be builders of unity in a divided world. The Church is meant to be a sign of reconciliation, a foretaste of the new humanity brought by Christ—a family of peoples reconciled in fraternity and solidarity. In our time, when indifference and enmity often separate communities, the Church must continue to build bridges of dialogue, understanding, and peace.
Let us ask the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the dwelling place of God’s Word, to help us be living temples of His love. May our lives radiate Christ’s presence, so that the Church, like the Lateran Basilica, may truly be a house of prayer for all peoples and a sign of hope for the world.
We, the Temple
Jesus of Montreal is a 1989 movie wherein actors performing a Passion play in a church begin to resemble in their real life the characters they play. In one scene, Daniel (who plays Jesus) accompanies friend Mireille (Mary Magdalene in the play) to an audition for a TV commercial. Mireille is asked to take off her clothes by the casting director. Daniel flies into a rage, overturns lights and cameras, and makes a whip out of a rope and chases everyone out: an obvious parallel to Jesus cleansing the temple. The temple was the center of faith for the Jews, for God dwelt in the temple. Jesus flies into a rage seeing how his Father’s house has been turned into a market place. He goes on to refer to his own body as the Temple, where his Father dwells. Paul reminds us that we too are the temple of God as God’s Spirit dwells in us. How great would be Jesus’ fury if he finds us desecrating the human temples, his Father’s abode!
- Reflection taken from Bible Diary 2022; written by Fr.Paulson Velyannoor, CMF