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After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, today’s liturgy speaks of the glory of Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem. I invite you to pray that the Holy City, dear to Jews, Christians and Muslims, which in recent days has witnessed various tensions, may always be a sign and prelude of the peace which God desires for the whole human family.
Today in Vitoria, Spain, martyr Pedro Asúa Mendía has been beatified. A humble and austere priest, he preached the Gospel with the sanctity of his life, catechesis and devotion to the poor and needy. Arrested, tortured and killed for having expressed his desire to remain faithful to the Lord and to the Church, he is an admirable example of strength in the faith and witness of love for all of us.
This afternoon I will go to the Verano cemetery and will celebrate Mass in suffrage for the deceased. In visiting Rome’s main cemetery, I join in spirit those who, in these days, are visiting the graves of their dead in cemeteries throughout the world.
In the joy of being part of the great family of the Saints, I wish you all a happy All Saints Day. Do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch. Arrivederci! |
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Of course, I am in communion with Daddy God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Mother Mary, Saint Joseph, all the Saints and Angels, all the Souls in Purgatory, the Successor of Peter and all the faithful people of God. Saint Paul, do we need to be in communion with the “fierce wolves and black sheep” within the Universal Church? Luckily, they amount to less than 0.1%. This is what Saint Paul said of such a person: “You must banish this evil-doer from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5: 13, Encouragements-92 or Encouragements-475). Pope Francis I added: “let no wolf enter the sheepfold” (Homily 7 July2014, Enoucuragements-449). Pope Francis I addressed his audience on 19 November 2014 (paragraph 2): “Some think that sanctity is to close your eyes and to look like a holy icon. No! This is not sanctity! Sanctity is something greater, deeper, which God gives us. Indeed, it is precisely in living with love and offering one's own Christian witness in everyday affairs that we are called to become saints. And each in the conditions and the state of life in which he or she finds him - or herself.” 8-) |
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Read Ezekiel 47:1-12 > Encouragements-87. Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, First Reading: Extracted from the prophet Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12 The angel brought me to the entrance of the Temple, where a stream came out from under the Temple threshold and flowed eastwards, since the Temple faced east. The water flowed from under the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. He took me out by the north gate and led me right round outside as far as the outer east gate where the water flowed out on the right-hand side. He said, ‘This water flows east down to the Arabah and to the sea; and flowing into the sea it makes its waters wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water goes it brings health, and life teems wherever the river flows. Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month, because this water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal.’ |
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Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Responsorial: Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9 Responsorial: The waters of a river give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is for us a refuge and strength, a helper close at hand, in time of distress, so we shall not fear though the earth should rock, though the mountains fall into the depths of the sea.
The waters of a river give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within, it cannot be shaken; God will help it at the dawning of the day.
The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Come, consider the works of the Lord, the redoubtable deeds he has done on the earth. |
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Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Second Reading: Extracted from the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 1 Corinthians 3:9-11,16-17 You are God’s building. By the grace God gave me, I succeeded as an architect and laid the foundations, on which someone else is doing the building. Everyone doing the building must work carefully. For the foundation, nobody can lay any other than the one which has already been laid, that is Jesus Christ. Didn’t you realise that you were God’s temple and that the Spirit of God was living among you? If anybody should destroy the temple of God, God will destroy him, because the temple of God is sacred; and you are that temple.
Gospel Acclamation 2 Chronicles 7:16 Alleluia, alleluia! I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord, for my name to be there forever. Alleluia! |
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Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Gospel Reading: Extracted from the holy Gospel according to Saint John 2:13-22 Just before the Jewish Passover Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and in the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting at their counters there. Making a whip out of some cord, he drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers’ coins, knocked their tables over and said to the pigeon-sellers, ‘Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.’ Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture: Zeal for your house will devour me. The Jews intervened and said, ‘What sign can you show us to justify what you have done?’ Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this sanctuary: are you going to raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the words he had said.
Sharing: It was the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica on 9 November 2014. The Readings that were read in the Eucharistic Celebrations all over the world on that day are shown above: First Reading: Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12, Responsorial: Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9, Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17 & Gospel Reading: John 2:13-22. We have extracted the Homilies of Saint Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI & Pope Francis I based on the aforesaid Readings to share with you, so that you could similarly be encouraged: See the next page. |