Destroy This Temple

                       The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica 

                   

 

       

It is unusual to have a feast day dedicated to a church building. In fact, there is only one such day in the Church calendar, and that is today’s feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. The Lateran Basilica is one of the most important churches in Christendom. Its original construction early in the third century after Christ marked the advent of toleration of Christianity in the pagan Roman Empire by the Emperor Constantine.

 

Constantine’s edict of toleration came right after one of the most large-scale and brutal persecutions of the Church by Constantine’s predecessor Diocletian. In that persecution practically every Christian church had been vandalized or destroyed. Constantine signaled a change of policy by granting land on Rome’s Lateran hill for the construction of a new church. From that time to today the Lateran Basilica has been the seat or cathedral of the Pope in his capacity as Bishop of Rome.

 

Despite the Lateran’s importance, the Church takes the opportunity in today’s readings to make an even more important point. In the first reading from the Prophet Ezekiel we see that a stream of water flows from the Temple, and that the water will irrigate or give life to the whole land. The Temple is the House of God, and the water is a symbol of the Spirit of God that gives life to us all. Some commentators even see the water as a symbol of the water that flowed from the side of Christ after He had been pierced by the centurion’s lance at the Crucifixion.

 

In today’s gospel we see that Jesus identifies himself with the Temple. It is that famous scene that takes place almost at the beginning of the gospel of John where Jesus drives the moneychangers and sellers of sacrificial animals out of the Temple. Jesus is shocked by the desecration of the Temple and in a rare display of anger; he literally drives the offenders out and tells then to take their animals with them.

 

Take these out of here,

And stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.

 

The onlookers take offense at his disruption of this business that everyone regarded as normal and traditional. They ask him for a sign that might explain or justify his seemingly rash action. Jesus usually ignores requests for miraculous signs but in this case, he gives a shocking and mysterious answer. 

 

Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.

 

He calls Himself a Temple, and even though the onlookers misunderstood, we understand that he was referring to his own death and resurrection. Like the Temple in the Prophet Ezekiel’s vision, Jesus will be the source of the living water that will irrigate the world. He will prove it by his Resurrection three days after he is put to death.

 

In today’s second reading from his first letter to the newly converted Christians in Corinth, St. Paul says something even more amazing. 

 

Brothers and sisters:

You are God’s building….

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.

 

Jesus referred to Himself as a Temple, and St. Paul goes a step further and claims that the Christian community, no matter how big or small, is also a Temple in which the Spirit of God dwells. It is not so much the building or structure but the people who come together there to worship with Jesus that is the temple from which the living waters flow.

 

This concept was incredible and revolutionary in the time of Jesus and St. Paul, and is still revolutionary today. A building, no matter how magnificent or beautiful, is just an artifact or historical monument without a congregation of believers. Jesus did say, “where ever two or more of you are gathered together in my name, there I am among you.”

 

If we are the Temple of God, then we are also called to be the living waters that flow from the Temple. It is up to us in our own little way to renew the face of the earth.

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Reading 1. Ezekiel 47: 1-2, 8-9, 12 

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 3: 9c-11, 16-17

Gospel. John 2: 13-22 (Cleansing of the Temple)

All Saints and All Souls

 

                                    All Saints Day

                                   

Rose Window
Assumption Church
Fairfield, CT

The month of November is sometimes called the month of the dead. As we look around we see the leaves falling from the trees, the sun riding lower in the sky and setting earlier and earlier. Animals are preparing for the long cold winter. The Church year also follows the cycle of nature. We begin this month with the great feast of All Saints, and then remember all the departed on All Souls day. Throughout the month we will remember our beloved departed and at the end of the month we will celebrate the feast of Christ the King where we will come face to face with the end of the world and the Last Judgment.

This weekend’s two great feasts deal not with death, however, but with triumph over death. The first reading for All Saints day is taken from the Book of Revelation. In his vision John sees an angel who holds off the powers about to destroy the world.

Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees

Until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.

John numbers these servants as 144000 but who takes time in a vision to count. Twelve is the mystical number that signifies completeness and 12 times 12 equals 144, as if to say completeness squared. Multiply 144 times 1000 and we realize that the vision includes a multitude. John says as much in the next verse,

After this I had a vision of a great multitude,

Which no one could count,

From every nation, race, people, and tongue.

The gospel for All Saints is the account of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus identifies the Blessed who will inherit the Kingdom. The are the poor in spirit, they who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

The second reading for All Saints is from the first Letter of John. John identifies the saints not as marble or plaster statues but as the children of God. He says “we are God’s children,” and as such holds out the hope that we all can become like our Father in Heaven.

High up on the wall in the back of many churches, we can observe a great stained glass window that is often called a rose window because it is shaped like a flower with a central core with twelve petals surrounding the core. In the core there will be either the figure of the resurrected Jesus, or the symbolic Lamb of God. Symbols of each of the twelve Apostles will be found in the petals. There is that number 12 again signifying that the Apostles represent all the saints. Like the Apostles the saints were ordinary men and woman who by the grace of God were able to overcome their weaknesses, and become good and faithful servants.

In a small chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome the great painter Caravaggio portrayed two of these ordinary men across from each other. He portrayed St. Peter about to be crucified at the end of his mission, and St, Paul at his conversion, the start of his mission. He portrayed them as ordinary human beings like us or our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted even today all over the world. 

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PS. Halloween has become a huge secular holiday today but the name just means "the Eve of All Hallows" or the evening before the feast of All Saints. Hallows, like in hallowed, is an old english word that means good or saintly. All Souls Day follows All Saints Day, and the readings are equally beautiful.

All Saints.

Reading 1. Revelations 7: 2-4, 9-14

Reading II. 1 John 3: 1-3

Gospel. Matthew 5: 1-12a (Blessed are the…)

All Souls.

Reading 1. Romans 5: 5-11

Reading II. 6: 3-9

Gospel. John 6: 37-40 (I shall raise him...)

Pride

                   30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  C cycle

 

 

Last week we heard the parable about the widow whose prayers were answered because of her persistence. Today, we also deal with the question of whose prayers will be answered. In today's first reading from the Book of Sirach we are told that God "hears the cry of the oppressed." "The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest until it reaches its goal." How unlike our own society where the largest donors are the ones who get the most attention from our leaders.

 

In today's passage from St. Luke, our Lord addresses a parable "to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else." It is the famous story of the Pharisee and the tax collector who went up to the temple to pray. Let's look at the Pharisee's prayer first.

 

      O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity--

      greedy, dishonest, adulterous--or even like this tax collector.

      I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.

 

I'm not a big fan of video games but I know that some games require the player to get past a number of obstacles of increasing difficulty before reaching the treasure or final goal. However, at the very end there is often a obstacle or monster that can't be passed or killed. Just when you're almost home, you're zapped or killed and you have to start all over again. 

 

These games are very much like life itself. For just like the Pharisee we can spend a lifetime overcoming obstacles. Look how he got past obstacles like greed, dishonesty, and adultery. He's even disciplined himself by self sacrifice. He fasts and gives a large part of his wealth to support the temple. Still, he is faced with the greatest obstacle, the unpassable monster, Pride. He is not an evil man. He is a good man. But his success in overcoming all these little hurdles has made him proud or self-righteous.

 

It's really sad when we see such pride in our leaders, whether they be politicians, businessmen, educators, entertainers, or athletes. It's even sadder when we see it in our religious leaders who should know better. However, pride is not just limited to the high and mighty. How many ordinary families have been torn apart by a word or gesture that hurt someone's feelings. Once the wound has been inflicted and the backs have stiffened, pride sets in and prevents any reconciliation.

 

How often do we see ordinary Christians, for example, acting as if they were better than anyone else?  Isn't it easy for us churchgoers to say, like the Pharisee, "thank God, I'm not like the rest of men." 

 

A parable is not a true story. Our Lord just uses parables to make a point. Remember that tax collectors were despised by the Jews. It wasn't just a natural aversion to taxes. It was common knowledge that tax collectors enriched themselves unfairly and dishonestly. Moreover, they were regarded as traitors since they were doing the dirty work of the hated Romans. Here is what our Lord says about the prayer of the tax collector:

 

      But the tax collector stood off at a distance

      and would not even raise his eyes to heaven

      but beat his breast and prayed,

      'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'

 

How many of us say this kind of prayer? I don't mean that we have to consider ourselves evil like Hitler. I just mean that in the words of the immortal Clint Eastwood, "we have to know our limitations." We have to realize that we are fallible, not infallible--that our ideas and opinions might be wrong or in need of correction. In fact, the great antidote to pride is humility and the practice of obedience is the best way to achieve humility.

 

For children obedience to parents is a necessary first step in developing humility. There is nothing worse to see than a prideful, willful child who treats his or her parents with contempt. Just think how much nicer life would be if teenagers practiced humility and obedience. How many of today's marriages break up because husbands and wives cannot defer to each others authority. Finally, even our senior citizens find it hard to surrender their authority to their children who must take care of them in their old age.

 

It might seem that in today's second reading St. Paul is showing a little bit of pride.  We must know that when he wrote the letter to Timothy, Paul was in a Roman prison awaiting his impending execution. He is looking back on his life and says in all humility that if he has achieved anything, it was all due to the Lord "who stood by me and gave me strength." This is one of my favorite passages in scripture. Paul affirms that he has given his own life in doing the Lord's work. 

 

      I am already being poured out like a libation,

      and the time of my departure is at hand.

      I have competed well; I have finished the race;

       I have kept the faith."

 

Hopefully, Paul's words will be ours when we look back on our lives.

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Reading 1. Sirach 35: 12-14

Reading II. 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18

Gospel. Luke 18: 9-14 (Pharisee and the Publican).

Persistence

 

                                                                                    

                  29th  Sunday in Ordinary Time

                        C cycle

 

 

There was no more deadly enemy of the Jews at the time of the Exodus than Amalek and his tribe. In those difficult days of wandering in the desert it was either kill or be killed. Perhaps that explains the bloody and warlike tone of today's first reading. However, we have this reading today because it provides us with an example of persistency in prayer which coincides with today's Gospel account from St. Luke.

 

Today's parable, as St. Luke tells us, is about "the necessity to pray always without becoming weary." Earlier translations talk about the necessity of praying so as not  "to lose heart." Our Lord makes it clear that if even dishonest and evil people give in to persistence, why wouldn't we expect our heavenly Father to hear our prayers?

 

      Will not God then secure the rights of His chosen ones

      who call out to Him day and night?  

 

What does our Lord mean by prayer? A few weeks ago the disciples asked, "Lord, teach us how to pray." We know that Jesus cautioned us to avoid useless multiplication of words in prayer. He seemed to like his prayers short and to the point. 

 

Scholars tell us that even the "Lord's Prayer" is a condensation of a number of much longer Hebrew prayers into their real essence. In it we begin by recognizing our right relationship with God. We pray that God's will  be done--not ours. When we pray for our daily bread, we acknowledge that everything we have comes from our Father in Heaven. We ask forgiveness for our wrongs and promise to forgive those who have wronged us. Finally, we ask for help in avoiding temptation and evil. 

 

Of course, Jesus always makes it clear that it is the faith of the person and not the words that makes a prayer effective.

 

In the last few weeks He has given us a number of examples of short but effective prayers. Two weeks ago He said, 

 

      When you have done all you have been commanded,

      say, 'We are unprofitable servants;

      we have done what we were obliged to do.'

 

Believe it or not, this is a prayer. In it we recognize our dependence on God and recognize our obligations to Him and our fellow man.

 

Last week the ten lepers only had to cry out, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" to be cured of their horrible disease. To the one leper who returned to thank Him, He said, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." Next week, we will hear the famous story of the tax collector who went to the temple to pray.

 

      But the tax collector stood off at a distance

      and would not even raise his eyes to heaven

      but beat his breast and prayed,

      'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'

 

We will see next week that our Lord makes it clear that it was the attitude of humility expressed by the words of the tax collector which caused his prayer to be answered.

 

Faith is the primary ingredient in prayer but St. Paul in his letter to Timothy insists that faith is based on the Word of God.  Timothy was ordained by Paul and put in charge of his own local community. This letter is important because Paul is instructing the new bishop in his duties. Above all, Paul urges Timothy to be persistent and not to lose heart. Timothy, like many of us, learned the faith from his parents and grandparents. Paul tells him to "remain faithful to what you have learned and believed."

 

Although Paul's words are addressed to a church leader, they are appropriate to all of us. Our prayer life will be sterile if it is separated from Scripture for all "scripture is inspired by God."

 

For most of us the best way to be persistent in prayer is to attend Mass every Sunday, and daily if possible. The Mass is not a private or individual prayer but the prayer of the whole community of faith. If we look at it closely, we will see that it is a collection of prayers all based on Scripture.  We begin in the Confiteor by recognizing our own weaknesses and faults. After hearing the proclamation of the Word of God, we offer our own petitions to God and bring our offering to the altar as a symbol of thanksgiving for all we have received. Before Communion we pray together the Lord's Prayer.  In the Agnus Dei we ask the Lamb of God to have mercy on us just as the lepers did.  Then we say with the priest the great prayer derived from the words of the Roman centurion, "Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word and my soul will be healed." Finally, at Communion we receive our true daily bread.

 

I am not saying that we should neglect traditional prayers like the Hail Mary, or the Rosary or the various litanies. All of these are profoundly scriptural. But we should avoid the mindless repetition of words. The greatest of prayers is still the Mass and the basic reason for attending is so that through all the troubles and trials of life, we will not grow weary and lose heart.

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Reading 1. Exodus 17: 8-13

Reading II. 2 Timothy 3: 14-4:2

Gospel. Luke 18: 1-8 (pray always).