Homily of Saturday of the 31st week in ordinary time.
Feast: Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12,
I Corinthians 3:9-11,16-17,
John 2:13-22
Dedication to God means setting apart a person or object specifically for His purpose. Once dedicated, that person or item is reserved solely for divine use. This tradition dates back to ancient times and has roots in Jewish practices, as seen in Exodus 40:1-38, where people, objects, and tents were dedicated to God.
Today, the Church celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the mother cathedral of Rome. In the Catholic Church, the dedication of a church is performed by a bishop. This ceremony consecrates not only the church building but also the altar and the tabernacle. Dedication marks the final step in the establishment of churches. Once dedicated, a person, building, or object becomes holy and is meant exclusively for worship. To misuse or desecrate what has been dedicated to God, as Jesus emphasized in John 2:13-22, is to violate its sacred purpose. Jesus expressed anger at such desecration, saying, “Take these things out of here! Stop turning my father’s house into a marketplace.”
Sadly, desecration still occurs in many places of worship today. I pray that Christ may enlighten our hearts to honor the sanctity of these sacred spaces.
More so, there is also a connection between the physical church, God’s temple, and our hearts, the temple of the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17. As Christians, we are called to guard our hearts and keep them pure, refraining from harboring evil thoughts or intentions like violence, hatred, or exploitation. The church is meant to be kept holy, because it is a place that remind of our Christian family where we draw our spiritual strength.
The church is a sacred space, and we must respect it as such. Today, I pray for the grace to honour God in our hearts, our churches, and all places dedicated to him, so that he may be truly revered among us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
