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9 November/Tuesday/Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Ezek 47,1-2.8-9.12/Psalm 45(46):2-3,5-6,8-9/John 2,13-22

by Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD

First Reading   Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12

Wherever the water flows, it will bring life and health

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.’

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 45(46):2-3,5-6,8-9

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.

When a Feast of the Lord falls on a weekday, there is no reading after the Psalm and before the Gospel.

Gospel Acclamation   2Chron 7:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord,

for my name to be there forever.

Alleluia!

Gospel   John 2:13-22

Destroy this sanctuary and in three days I will raise it up

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.

Reflection

The Lateran basilica in Rome is the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome who is the Pope. He is the successor of Peter, the first among equals in the College of Apostles. This basilica is of great importance to the Christian Church particularly the Roman Catholic Church. Already in ancient times the Church of Rome with its pastor, the Pope, was considered the “presidency of charity”. The dedication of the basilica that is the Cathedral Church of Rome reminds us of the communion of all churches despite our diversity. We are all in communion with the Pope who is the pastor and bishop of the Church of Rome. The official title of this basilica is “The Papal Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist at the Lateran.” This basilica is also known as “Mother and Head of all the Churches in the City and the World., thus, ”the mother of all churches. This is because this basilica (and not St. Peter’s Basilica) is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. The feast of the dedication of the Lateran basilica therefore symbolises the unity in diversity of the Church of Christ. This unity is symbolized in the Pope who is Bishop of Rome and head of the Universal Church.

The two readings of the feast stress the figure of the temple. In the First Reading, Ezekiel announces that from the reconstructed Temple of Jerusalem would come forth a life-giving stream of water. He emphasised that everywhere this life-giving water flows, it brings life. In this way, we can say that the vision points to the temple of God as the source of life for all people. Those who worship God in his temple are assured of life. In the Gospel Reading, the importance of the temple as the house of God is exhibited by the reaction of Jesus. He was infuriated by those who were turning the Temple of Jerusalem into a commercial or shopping centre. The house of God is a place where his faithful should encounter him to listen to his word and to worship him. It cannot be turned into a market place or a shopping centre.

In the same Gospel Reading, we observe a change of interpretation of what Jesus considers the temple of God. In response to the request of the people for a sign to justify his cleansing of the temple, Jesus gave them an answer which was in reference to his very person. He told the people: “Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.” Obviously, the people were thinking of the physical structure or the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus was rather speaking of his very person because he is the temple of God. In 1Cor 3,9-11.16-17 Paul reminds us that we are all God’s temple and the Spirit of God is living among us. As temples of God, we are to keep ourselves clean from any contamination that would make us unworthy of God’s indwelling. We have to avoid sin and anything that is contrary to the will of God. The celebration of the feast of the dedication of the Lateran basilica is a constant reminder to all of us to be a holy dwelling place of God. Together with all the faithful dispersed all over the world, we would be giving a fitting or worthy worship to God by dedicating ourselves to being holy temples of God.

8 November/Monday/32nd Week in Ordinary Time,  

Wis 1,1-7/Psa 139,1-3.4-6.7-8.9-10/Luke 17,1-6

by Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD

First Reading    Wisdom 1:1-7

Seek the Lord in simplicity of heart

Love virtue, you who are judges on earth,

let honesty prompt your thinking about the Lord,

seek him in simplicity of heart;

since he is to be found by those who do not put him to the test,

he shows himself to those who do not distrust him.

But selfish intentions divorce from God;

and Omnipotence, put to the test, confounds the foolish.

No, Wisdom will never make its way into a crafty soul

nor stay in a body that is in debt to sin;

the holy spirit of instruction shuns deceit,

it stands aloof from reckless purposes,

is taken aback when iniquity appears.

Wisdom is a spirit, a friend to man,

though she will not pardon the words of a blasphemer,

since God sees into the innermost parts of him,

truly observes his heart,

and listens to his tongue.

The spirit of the Lord, indeed, fills the whole world,

and that which holds all things together knows every word that is said.

Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 138(139):1-10

Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.

O Lord, you search me and you know me,

    you know my resting and my rising,

    you discern my purpose from afar.

You mark when I walk or lie down,

    all my ways lie open to you.

Before ever a word is on my tongue

    you know it, O Lord, through and through.

Behind and before you besiege me,

    your hand ever laid upon me.

Too wonderful for me this knowledge,

    too high, beyond my reach.

O where can I go from your spirit,

    or where can I flee from your face?

If I climb the heavens, you are there.

    If I lie in the grave, you are there.

If I take the wings of the dawn

    and dwell at the sea’s furthest end,

even there your hand would lead me,

    your right hand would hold me fast.

Gospel Acclamation  Phil 2:15-16

Alleluia, alleluia!

You will shine in the world like bright stars

because you are offering it the word of life.

Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 17:1-6

If your brother does wrong, reprove him

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Obstacles are sure to come, but alas for the one who provides them! It would be better for him to be thrown into the Sea with a millstone put round his neck than that he should lead astray a single one of these little ones. Watch yourselves!

If your brother does something wrong, reprove him and, if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times a day and seven times comes back to you and says, “I am sorry,” you must forgive him.’

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.’

Reflection

The warning of Jesus in the Gospel Reading is very real in human life. Equally real is the advice he gives about fraternal correction. So long as we journey on earth and live with people we must be ready to encounter difficulties in life. Life is not a smooth sailing journey. Each day brings its joys and sorrows but the important thing is to know how to manoeuvre through life in such a way that one keeps his head above water.

In the Gospel Reading, Jesus focuses attention on the person who procures difficulties for others. While it is inevitable that we face difficulties in life, none of us should be the person who procures them for others. We should always seek the good of others and not become obstacles in their life. If we act as good custodians of our brothers and sisters, we create a more conducive atmosphere in which we can all achieve the goals of our Christian life.

The most appropriate way to avoid procuring obstacles for others is what Paul tells us in the First Reading. We should love virtue and let our actions be guided by honesty. When we love virtue we would stand for what is right and just; we would stand for what would edify our brothers and sisters and build the human community. When our actions are guided by honesty, we would always be truthful and sincere to all we encounter in life. The virtues of the Christian life should always be before us as we go about our daily interactions with one another. It is only in this way that we can truly be our brother and sister’s keeper.

7 November/Sunday/32nd Sunday of Year B

1Kgs 17,10-16/Psa 146,7.8-9a.9b-10/Heb 9,24-28/Mark 12,38-44 or 12,41-44

Most Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD

First Reading: 1 Kings 17:10-16

'Jar of meal shall not be spent, jug of oil shall not be emptied'

Elijah the Prophet went off to Sidon. And when he reached the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks; addressing her he said, ‘Please bring me a little water in a vessel for me to drink.’ She was setting off to bring it when he called after her. ‘Please’ he said ‘bring me a scrap of bread in your hand.’ ‘As the Lord your God lives,’ she replied ‘I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare this for myself and my son to eat, and then we shall die.’ But Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, go and do as you have said; but first make a little scone of it for me and bring it to me, and then make some for yourself and for your son. For thus the Lord speaks, the God of Israel:

“Jar of meal shall not be spent,

jug of oil shall not be emptied,

before the day when the Lord sends

rain on the face of the earth.”’

The woman went and did as Elijah told her and they ate the food, she, himself and her son. The jar of meal was not spent nor the jug of oil emptied, just as the Lord had foretold through Elijah.

Responsorial Psalm   Psalm 145(146):7-10

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,

    who is just to those who are oppressed.

It is he who gives bread to the hungry,

    the Lord, who sets prisoners free.

It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,

    who raises up those who are bowed down.

It is the Lord who loves the just,

    the Lord, who protects the stranger.

The Lord upholds the widow and orphan

    but thwarts the path of the wicked.

The Lord will reign for ever,

    Zion’s God, from age to age.

Second Reading  Hebrews 9:24-28

Christ, our high priest, has done away with sin by sacrificing himself

It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was only modelled on the real one; but it was heaven itself, so that he could appear in the actual presence of God on our behalf. And he does not have to offer himself again and again, like the high priest going into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own, or else he would have had to suffer over and over again since the world began. Instead of that, he has made his appearance once and for all, now at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing himself. Since men only die once, and after that comes judgement, so Christ, too, offers himself only once to take the faults of many on himself, and when he appears a second time, it will not be to deal with sin but to reward with salvation those who are waiting for him.

Gospel Acclamation  Rev 2:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Even if you have to die, says the Lord,

keep faithful, and I will give you

the crown of life.

Alleluia!

Gospel    Mark 12:38-44

This poor widow has put in more than all

In his teaching, Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.’

He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’

Reflection

A casual reading of the First Reading and the Gospel for this Sunday brings to the fore the common element of a widow. In the First Reading, Elijah encountered a widow of Sidon and asked her for some water to drink and a scrap of bread to eat. The widow was very sincere with him and revealed the amount of food she had at home as well as her project regarding this food for herself and the son. At the word of the prophet, she went and did as Elijah told her. True to the words of the Lord through the prophet, the jar of meal was not spent nor the jug of oil emptied.

In the Gospel Reading, we have another scenario involving a widow. Jesus observed the people who came to put their offering in the Temple treasury. He lauds the offering of a widow who put in two small coins that is not worth much in monetary value. He explains why he praises this widow by saying that despite the small amount she placed in the treasury, she contributed more than all others. The principle for the evaluation was that whereas the others contributed from what they had in excess, the widow gave all she had to live on.

The figure of widows in the Bible is brought to the fore in the two readings. The Old Testament speaks of their precarious status and the care that needs to be taken in providing for them and protecting them. In the cultures of the Ancient Near East, women in general had no inheritance rights so widows could not inherit their husbands. If the widow had a son, her situation was a bit better as she was protected by the son. In the absence of their own children, widows were exposed to exploitation and harsh treatment because they often lacked the basic necessities of life and had to depend on others for survival.

The legal system in Israel did provide for the security of widows but this was not always respected. Usually, a levirate marriage was arranged so that a brother of the deceased husband would marry the widow and take care of her. Very often however, widows had to rely on public charity thus making their situation precarious and rendering them vulnerable. The Old Testament does not fail to point out God’s concern for the predicament of widows. There are many references in the Scriptures to this concern. It was believed that the oppression of widows provoked the anger of God (Isaiah 1,16-17). The Law of Moses also obliged Israel to take care of widows just as they are to do for sojourners and the fatherless (Deut 10,14-19; 24,17-22). Kindness shown to a widow was considered one of the marks of true religion.

In the New Testament, Jesus showed his concern for the marginal life of widows. His concern for them made him restore to life the only son of the widow of Nain in Luke 7,11-17. He felt the widow needed her son in order to have a secure and meaningful life. Jesus also sought to protect widows from those Pharisees who try to take advantage of their precarious condition to cheat them (Mark 12,40). The parable of the unjust judge who felt harassed by a widow until he granted her justice could be seen as an encouragement to widows not to give up their struggle for justice. In the Letter of James, he is categorical about the assistance that should be given to widows. He is in line with the Old Testament belief when he considers such assistance as a mark of true religion in James 1,27. Real widows or those widows who live in poverty were to be provided for from the funds of the community of the faithful (1Tim 5,3-4).

The Early Church carried out an organised care for widows by distributing to those of them in need what was put together for alms. The appointment of the seven deacons in Acts 6 was precisely meant to regulate in all fairness this care for widows. Paul, with particular reference to his Letter to Timothy, urged that those widows who had no source of support and are regular in their religious duties should be given a special status in the Church (1Tim 5,9-10). Families too were charged to care for their own widows so that those to be catered for by the community itself would be those without any form of support.

It is important today that the Church continues to think of the care that she must take of widows. Socio-cultural situations may have improved and legislations are in place to protect widows from exploitation but the Church still needs to have a pastoral concern for them. This is particularly the case for those of them who are abandoned or childless or lonely. We encounter in our own days some widows who have no support from their families and are left to fend for themselves. The Christian community should serve as their backbone on which they can rely and in which they feel accepted. We pray that we may all show our concern for all who are oppressed or without support so that they may feel loved by God.