Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
November 9, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110924.cfm

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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.
Corinthians 3:16-17

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How different our world would be if we believed this passage! How could we damage the precious gift of God’s Presence in ourselves or in one another!

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We pray to the Spirit Who dwells in us, Whom we can never dislodge through transgression, to grant us a deep awareness and respect for the Holy in ourselves and all Creation.
Today’s feast does not celebrate a building. It celebrates a symbol of who we are created to be in the power and oneness of God.

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Poetry: St. John Lateran – Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829-1925)

Of temples built by mortal hands, 
Give honor to the Lateran first; 
‘Twas here the hope of many lands– 
The infant Church–was nursed: 

And grew unto a great estate, 
And waxed strong in grace and power, 
With Christ for Head and Faithful Mate, 
And Learning for her dower. 

Since first this house to Him was raised, 
Three times five hundred years have run; 
For this let Constantine be praised, 
An English mother’s son! 

He with his own imperial sword 
Did dig foundations broad and deep, 
That henceforth in His hand the Lord 
Rome and her hills should keep. 

In after ages, one by one, 
Arose the altars vowed to Heaven; 
Each crest is sacred now, but none 
Like this of all the Seven! 

Behold she stands! The Mother Church! 
A queen among her countless peers! 
Ah! open be that sacred porch 
For thrice five hundred years!

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Video: A Virtual Visit to St. John Lateran Cathedral in Rome