CYCLE II: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 32ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (1)

CYCLE II: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 32ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: WE’RE GOD’S BUILDING, THE CHURCH

BY: Fr. Jacob Aondover ATSU

 

HOMILY: FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA

READINGS: EZEKIEL. 47:1-2.8-9.12, PSALM 46, 1CORINTHIANS 3:9-11.16-17, JOHN 2:13-22

✓•We’re the Church
✓•Love and respect this Church
✓•God ought to be in his Church
✓•Make yourself homely for God

We celebrate today the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica; the Mother and Mistress of all the world’s Churches. The honour which accrues from it being the Episcopal seat of the Pope, bishop of Rome and governor of the Catholic world; hence, it ranks even above St Peter’s Basilica. It was built by Emperor Constantine on the Lateran Hill around the year 320 and it is dedicated to our Saviour, to Saint John the Baptist and to Saint John the Evangelist. Dear friends, this annual celebration calls us to communion with the Supreme Pontiff, the successor of Peter and further exhorts us to rededicate our bodies, God’s living Basilicas (Temples), to the Most Holy Trinity.

Let us consider the spiritual significance of this celebration; the re-dedication of ourselves to God. ‘You are God’s building with Christ as the foundation; you are God’s temple and His Spirit dwells in you hence making it holy’ (1Cor. 3:9-11.16-17). From this temple, God’s dwelling, should flow living waters; waters of love, peace, kindness, righteousness, fidelity, meekness, humility and so on. These virtues are capable of healing bad situations, mending cracked relationships, purging our communities of evil whilst enhancing growth and progress in our society. Like the waters that flowed from the sanctuary of the temple in (Eze 47:1-2.8-9.12), bringing life, food, revival and healing wherever it went, we too should be carriers and dispensers of God’s goodness to all who meet us.

Beloved in Christ, every edifice, built, consecrated, dedicated and raised to the dignity of a Church is “the holy place, the dwelling of the Most High” (Ps. 46:5). Many of us like Jacob who said “Truly God is in this place, and I did not know it” (Gen. 28:16) do not realize that God is present in our Churches and so we treat it with reckless abandon, without thinking about the consequences. We forget that it is a house of prayer (Isa 56:7) and not anything else; “…It is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers” (Mt. 21:13). Some of our actions profane the sanctity of the Church like the Jews who sold and transacted business in the Temple to the utter disgust of Christ (Jn. 2:13-22). We may do well to uphold the sacredness of the Church by not; eating, drinking, making noise, dirtying it; and by avoiding indecent dressing and other deplorable acts in it.

Finally, may we strive never to destroy God’s temple, our bodies through sin; doing that can only earn us annihilation, for God himself will destroy us (1Cor. 3:17). May we also pray that Jesus should help cleanse his temples, our hearts and our bodies and set us on course to eternity. And may Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist always intercede for us, Amen.

FEED AND EDUCATE ONE.

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