In commemorating the dedication of the Pope’s Cathedral, the Church recalls that every Baptized person is also a temple which must be returned to God in the fullness of its beauty.
Commentary of Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
13 Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 He found in the Temple area those who sold oxen, sheep and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there. 15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the Temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, 16 and to those who sold doves He Said, “Take those out of here, and stop making My Father’s house a marketplace.” 17 His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.” 18 At this the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign can You show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews said, “This Temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and You will raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking about the Temple of His Body. 22 Therefore, when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the Word Jesus had spoken (Jn 2:13-22).
I – The Head and Mother of All the Churches
The Church splendidly celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which bears the honorific title of “Omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput,” or “Mother and head of all churches of the city [of Rome] and of the world.” It is the Cathedral of the Pope, contrary to what is commonly believed, given the role that St. Peter’s Basilica plays today. St. Peter’s is, in fact, only one of the four papal basilicas of the Eternal City.
Until the exile of the Popes in Avignon, in the fourteenth century, they resided in the Lateran Palace, formerly the property of the Laterani family, by whose name it became known. The Roman consul Plautius Lateranus was killed on suspicion of conspiracy by the infamous Nero, who confiscated his goods, including this edifice, around the same time that he was waging persecution against the Christians.1 Little did the tyrant imagine that, years later, it would all be donated to the Church by the Emperor Constantine, and would become the residence of the successors of Peter and the first Basilica of Christianity, dedicated by Pope St. Sylvester in the year 324.2
In this Basilica, we find not only traces of various artistic styles, owing to the embellishments and additions carried out over the centuries, but also numerous and priceless relics. Among the most noteworthy are the table at which the Last Supper was celebrated (cf. Mt 26:20-28, Mk 14:18-24, Lk 22:14-17), part of the purple mantle with which the soldiers clothed the Divine Redeemer during the Passion (cf. Mk 15:17, Jn 19:2), the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul, and the goblet from which St. John the Evangelist—according to ancient tradition—was forced to drink a poison which, miraculously, did not harm him.
A link between Heaven and earth
As the Cathedral of Rome, St. John Lateran has a close personal association with the Supreme Pontiff, the link between us and eternity: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven” (Mt 16:19). In light of this prerogative, the Basilica has become a symbol of the Church’s unity.
It is also fitting to consider that, in her wisdom, the Holy Church established the liturgical cycle, among other reasons, to extend across the centuries, the graces granted at the historic moment being commemorated. Just as in celebrating each Christmas with true piety we are favoured with the blessings granted to Our Lady, St. Joseph and the shepherds before the manger, we are invited in today’s feast, to participate in the graces and supernatural joy of the Catholics of Rome when the Pope took official possession of his Episcopal seat, in the full enjoyment of religious freedom.
Born under the sign of persecution
To better understand the importance of this day, let us remember that the Holy Catholic Church was born under the sign of persecution, in circumstances so violent, at times, that the early Christians were forced to take refuge in the catacombs—Christian cemeteries—to practice their worship.3 In Ancient Rome, it was the custom to dig extensive tunnels, true labyrinths, in which to bury the dead. Those who ventured into these passages faced the danger of being lost forever. In times of persecution, our brothers who have gone before us marked with the sign of Faith had to conceal themselves in their depths—at that time without electric lighting—with a high risk of being reported, arrested and executed. In the Coliseum and Circus Maximus, numerous Christians manifested their adherence to the Faith with their very lives, being killed before spectators by wild beasts or amidst other terrible torments in the arena.
In the catacombs, the anniversary of martyrdom of those who had shed their blood in witness to Christ was also devoutly commemorated before their mortal remains preserved there—a custom that gave rise to the veneration of the relics of the Saints. Three centuries of faithfulness in this situation is a clear sign of the Church’s extraordinary strength in its cradle!
The religious freedom granted by Constantine with the promulgation of the Edict of Milan in 313 through the influence of his mother St. Helena, and the resulting springing up of countless churches throughout the empire—the Lateran Basilica holding a preeminent place among them—afforded the faithful indescribable relief and joy. The testimony of Eusebius of Caesarea is expressive in portraying the jubilation of the Christian people at the advent of this new era in Church history: “A splendid and radiant day, overshadowed by no cloud, illuminated the churches of Christ throughout the whole world with its rays of heavenly light, […] we brimmed with unspeakable gladness, and a divine joy flourished for all, to see every place that shortly before had been in ruins by the wickedness of tyrants, revived as if from a long and deadly pestilence. And the temples arose again from their foundations to unprecedented heights, endowed with far greater splendour than those that had been destroyed.”4
This is why the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica was established in Rome, and later spread abroad. Today we rejoice to commemorate this great temple, which has impressed generations with its magnificence.
II – Highly Symbolic Readings
For the Mass of this feast, highly symbolic readings have been chosen; the first drawn from the Prophecy of Ezekiel (47:1-2, 8-9, 12), beautiful and rich in meaning. He relates a vision in which he is taken to the Temple of Jerusalem, from which flow waters that swell torrentially, becoming impossible to cross. This is an image of the foundation of the Catholic Church.
Rivers of grace are poured out upon the world through her beneficial influence, making their banks fertile and bringing forth trees laden with fruit: the virtues, the gifts of God, good example and the holiness that grace fosters and nourishes. From their branches spring forth leaves with healing properties, for if a soul develops a vice, suffers a fall or has any sort of weakness, the Church is there with the remedies for a cure: Penance and the other Sacraments, spiritual direction and prayer.
The images from nature used in this passage show the strength of the Mystical Body of Christ, which not only enjoys immortality, but also continuous growth, like a river that, already profuse at its origin, broadens, irrigates, transforms and bestows life to all. This is the Church!
Another important aspect of this reading is its harmony with the corresponding Gospel, setting the tone for the latter’s analysis.
The outset of Jesus’ public life marked by controversy
13 Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
The magnificent scene of the expulsion of the money-changers from the Temple, described by St. John, occurred during the first Passover of the public life of Our Lord Jesus Christ. He had already changed water into wine at the Wedding in Cana (Cf. Jn 2:1-12), and had gone up with His first disciples to Jerusalem, doubtless accompanied by Our Lady and others who were close to Him.
It can be noted that, as recorded in the other Gospels, Jesus took these measures within this sacred precinct at least twice.5 One occasion, narrated in this passage, was at the beginning of His preaching, and the other was a few days before His Passion (cf. Mt 21:12-13, Mk 11:15-19, Lk 19:45-48). Both times, we find Our Lord manifesting an aspect of His divine personality that would be unknown to us were it not for the description in the sacred text: the wrath of God Himself, the indignation of the Almighty, seen through the veils of human nature.
Intolerable profanation of the holy place
14 He found in the Temple area those who sold oxen, sheep and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there.
At Passover, Jews from all over gathered to fulfil the precept of visiting the Temple. The Law prescribed the offering of victims in sacrifice: oxen, sheep, pigeons, and doves. Understandably, however, few people would bring the animals for this purpose from a distance. Pilgrims also had to pay the annual Temple tax in Jewish currency. Since there were Israelites scattered across numerous nations at that time, each with its own currency, they were obliged to seek a dealer to make the exchange when they reached their destination.6 Foreign coinage, especially Roman, circulated freely in Judea. When the chief priests and scribes tested Our Lord concerning the lawfulness of paying taxes to Rome, He responded by pointing to the likeness of Caesar stamped on the denarius that they showed Him (cf. Lk 20:20-26). From this detail we can conclude that they carried Roman as well as Hebrew money with them, the former enabling them to trade with everyone, while the latter, only with compatriots.
The requirements of worship described above gave rise to the establishment of a veritable animal market and a foreign exchange centre in the Temple’s atrium called the Courtyard of the Gentiles, where access to foreigners was permitted. The resulting commotion resembled that of a present-day marketplace or bustling fair, flavoured by the communicative eastern temperament, given to both song and contestation. All of these factors combined to create an uproar that was unacceptable in that incomparably sacred space; even a simple retelling of the facts gives the impression of a profaned Temple. We may better grasp the offensive nature of this atmosphere if we picture one of our present-day churches filled with dealers selling products, calling out loudly and disturbing the peace. When Our Lord entered the Temple and encountered this picture of disorder—which, as God, He had seen from all eternity—He resolved to use force.
Hands that bless also chastise
15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the Temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.
How should we construe the reality that Jesus, the substance of Goodness itself, gave vent here to His divine wrath? He of whom St. Peter says “pertransivit benefaciendo—went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). He, Who at the gate of the city of Nain, pitied the widow’s grief beside the funeral bier of her son, and resurrected him (cf. Lk 7:12-16); Who, when the wind and tempest threatened the disciples’ boat, gave the command that stilled their raging (cf. Mt 8:26); Who was concerned for the five thousand men and their families who had followed Him into a desert place, and fed them (cf. Mt 14:15-21). Later, the imposing and powerful timbre of His voice would raise from the tomb a friend whose death four days earlier He mourned with tears: “Lazare, veni foras!—Lazarus, come out” (Jn 11:43). No one who turned to Him went away empty-handed. Indeed, the Teacher was so willing to help us that He promised, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (Jn 14:14). Near the end of His earthly life, desiring to spare His Apostles from inner anxiety, He would say, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27); and in the Cenacle after the Resurrection, He returned to comfort them before going to the Father: “Peace to you!” (Lk 24:36).
Those hands had healed all who had come to Him beset by ills. They touched the eyes of a blind man and restored his sight (cf. Mk 8:25), the ears of a deaf-mute, accompanied by the word “Ephphatha!—Be opened,” and he not only began to hear but also to speak (cf. Mk 7:34-35). Those hands delivered Peter’s mother-in-law from a fever (cf. Mt 8:14-15), and taking the hand of Jairus’ dead daughter, brought her back to life (cf. Lk 8:54-55).
Those hands that bless so readily, resolve, at a certain moment, to give a special blessing using a most unusual hyssop: a whip. Jesus, wise in all of nature’s secrets, would have selected fibres that were just right for this instrument, and would have woven them with singular skill. We should not imagine that He gently and sweetly stroked the backs of those in His path. Rather, He used such violence in driving them out and overturning their tables that their coins rolled all over the floor. It is estimated that there were no less than two thousand people circulating in the area, and Christ expelled them singlehandedly, using only a whip. This helps us to measure not only the intensity of His wrath and the strength of His arm, but especially, the impetus welling from the depths of His soul, wholly allied to the divine fury. And since we know that He encompasses four forms of knowledge—divine, beatific, infused and experimental—His indignation can be considered from each of these perspectives.
The grave sin of the merchants
16 And to those who sold doves He said, “Take those out of here, and stop making My Father’s house a marketplace.”
Our Lord’s words—”Take those out of here!”—are imperative and again reveal His absolute dominion. He then accuses them of turning a place so sacred as His Father’s house into a “marketplace.” Later, in driving out the money-changers anew, He would express His anger at the recurrence of this grave sin, referring to the defiled Temple in even starker terms, as a “den of robbers” (Mt 21:13, Mk 11:17, Lk 19:46).
In fact, this situation that had been created over the years was a source of illicit profit, not only for the sellers and money-changers, but firstly for the members of the Sanhedrin—especially those of the priestly family of Annas. These had organized a system of control of the trade and a monopoly over all transactions in that zone. Unthreatened by competition, they took advantage of the legal requirements to enforce inflated values, set up fraudulent practices and extort the most varied fees from the people.7
The true source of the Divine Master’s indignation
17 His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.”
Our Lord’s course of action prompts a question: “did His goodness falter on this occasion?” He, the Second Person of the Trinity, could not have an imbalanced or defective reaction; in Him, everything is perfect, since He is Perfection itself. Then how can we ascertain His mercy when He uses physical force? How may we discover the qualities of the “Prince of Peace” (Is 9:6) in One brandishing a whip?
When peace is discussed, St. Augustine’s famous definition is often forgotten: “pax omnium rerum, tranquillitas ordinis—peace is the tranquillity of order.”8 Wherever tranquillity is lacking, even if there is order, there is no peace. Conversely, peace cannot be affirmed to exist where there is tranquillity, but not order. Now the money-changers were both jeopardizing order and disturbing tranquillity. It was fitting that Christ, the sublime model for all men, also set Himself as an example for those called to use force to establish discipline and maintain peace, which, indeed, is often possible only through authoritative methods.
Being God, He could have acted, at this moment, as He later would in the Garden of Olives. When the envoys of the chief priest and the Pharisees came to arrest Him, He stepped forward and asked, “Whom do you seek?” They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and He said “Ego Sum!—I am He” (Jn 18: 4-5). At that instant, they all fell to the ground from the impact of His personality. Now, however, He employs a whip.
Nowadays, many express difficulty in understanding the Saviour’s conduct in this episode, not being able to glimpse the effects of His mercy here. Let us remember that Jesus did these things for the benefit of souls, in His ardent quest to pardon, correct, and grant salvation. Few would conceive that the Divine Master, whip in hand, desires to give us happiness. Yet it is essential to always base ourselves on the principle that whatever He did could not have been better. If He forgave an adulteress (cf. Jn 8:11), the Samaritan woman (cf. Jn 4:4-42) and St. Mary Magdalene (cf. Mk 16: 9), and likewise healed the sick, raised the dead, multiplied the loaves and fishes (cf. Mk 6: 38-44) and even walked on water (cf. Mt 14:26), it was for the good of all. He was moved by the same zeal that He showed for His Father’s house when He saw it disgraced by commercial pandemonium that deviated from the interests of religion.
The Jews ask for a sign
18 At this the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign can You show us for doing this?”
With their insolent demand of a sign from Our Lord, what they are really asking for is an explanation of His authority and His motive for expelling the traders. They want proof, true to the bad custom—characteristic of their ancestors, since ancient times—of believing only in what is confirmed by spectacular occurrences. It is difficult to attribute any kind of faith to such souls, for if they had to witness astonishing miracles in order to believe, where was their merit?
However, if they truly desired a sign, they should have recognized the very fact of one man singlehandedly driving out thousands of people as an unmistakable display of his acting with superhuman strength. In an age before firearms, He used not even a sword or a spear, but wove a whip of cords—of itself insufficient to intimidate all those people. Theoretically, they would only have had to subdue His arm to prevent Him from acting, and the dealers’ victory would have been assured. They could have had Him arrested, interrogated and put to death the same day.
It is clear that they did not attempt this because they were terror-stricken. In fact, not one of them had the courage to stand up against him! What further sign did they need? This lack of response in the wicked, paralyzed by the fear that Our Lord imposed, was proof of such extraordinary power that Jesus could well have said, “The sign you want is the fear that you have of Me!” Nevertheless, out of mercy, He complied with their request for a sign.
A Temple superior to the Temple
19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews said, “This Temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and You will raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking about the temple of His Body. 22 Therefore, when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the Word Jesus had spoken.
This enigmatic response from the Son of God made them think, not without grave blame, that He intended to destroy the Temple. This blasphemous supposition would later be alleged before the high priest and the whole council, to justify His condemnation to death (cf. Mt 26:61, Mk 14:58). Both the intention of the Divine Teacher and His words are actually quite different.
The proof that He would give was His own Resurrection, for when the Jews killed Him, destroying the Temple “of His Body,” He would triumph over death, fulfilling this prophecy with exactitude.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was fully man; He had a Body and Soul, with intelligence, will and sensibility. Like all of us, He suffered fatigue, hunger, thirst and other consequences of His assumed state of contingency—except sin (cf. Heb 4:15). As St. Cyril of Alexandria recalled, “Indeed, it is said that He experienced hunger, endured weariness in undertaking long walks, dejection, fear, distress, agony and death on the Cross. [… ] Just as He is complete in His divinity, He is also complete in His humanity.”9
From the moment in which God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, became incarnate in our nature, His Body became the most perfect Temple of God; not only of the Son, but also of the Father and the Holy Spirit. This Temple was established on the face of the earth as the cornerstone, the centrepiece and Head of the Church. We encounter this Temple even today, in an invisible but real way in the Eucharist. And God wants temples to be built to house the true Temple of the Blessed Trinity—the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, hidden under the Sacred Species.
III – We Are Also Temples of God
The Apostle’s teaching in the second reading (1 Cor 3:9c-11; 16-17) sets forth the conclusion to be drawn from today’s Liturgy: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16). By the Sacrament of Baptism we also become temples of God, in a superior sense than a purely material temple or tabernacle. These, however noble or precious, cannot communicate with Jesus Christ nor are they objects of His indwelling; they only shelter Him.
The first Temple of Jerusalem, considered to be the supreme reference point throughout Israel, was destroyed. After its rebuilding it lacked its former magnificence, and there were those who lamented this. However, the prophet Haggai declared the previous structure not to have known the greatness that was reserved for the second (cf. Hg 2:9)—the glory of being visited by the God-Man. Similarly, the temple that we are attains its full beauty by the infusion of divine grace and by the effects of the presence of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist.
Our temple should be embellished
We should, therefore, take care of this living temple just as Jesus took care of Himself, and be entirely disposed to conquer any passion or evil inclination to keep it intact, remembering the just warning of St. Paul: “If any one destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy” (1 Cor 3:17). To the measure that we have integrity, we enrich and perfect our temple with stained glass, paintings, symbols, colours and beautiful marble. The more we grow in Eucharistic piety, surrender ourselves to Our Lord, flee from sin and fight our defects and caprices, the more blessed its walls will become and we will be inundated by the presence of the Blessed Trinity, Who will begin to speak more frequently within our soul.
We must not permit the profanation of this temple
In order that Jesus’ entry into our temple may not resemble His reception at the Temple of Jerusalem, which, despite having received Him at the Presentation and in His many sermons, did not afterwards want to recognize Him as the Redeemer, the Supreme Pontiff and its true Lord. Let us not profane our sacred precinct, just as the tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament must not be desecrated. Let us not allow an illegitimate commerce to be set up in our soul, one that is worse than money changing or the sale of animals: the admiration for worldly things that distance us from God. How often in life, especially in these times of rampant sin throughout the world, do we run the risk of turning our temple into a “den of robbers!” We must take great care, in these circumstances, not to exchange the “currency” of eternity for that of the world.
Two paths from which to choose
Today, we stand at the junction of two paths: one of constituting ourselves as the living temples of Our Lord Jesus Christ which will be glorified, and the other, as the Temple of Jerusalem which refused the God-Man and was destroyed, not leaving “one stone upon another” (Lk 21:6). There is no third path for us to take; there is only that of complete acceptance or total rejection, which often commences with partial adherence. Let us remember that all mediocrity in the pursuit of the fullness of the Redeemer’s spirit means a denial, which renders reconstruction necessary. Therefore, this feast prompts an examination of conscience and the taking of the serious, strong, rigorous, vibrant and enthusiastic attitude toward holiness that Our Lord expects from us. God made of us a temple and, at a certain moment, we must return it to Him in order. After all, was the temple of the body given to us for our self-adoration, or for the worship of the Creator?
Lord, purify this temple!
If at some point our temple was desecrated, today is the day to ask, “Lord, come with Your whip and drive out the money-changers that are inside me!” This is the day for the expulsion of any dealers from the temple of our soul whom we have perhaps allowed to set up trade, making it into a “den of robbers.” May we take this feast as an opportunity to ardently assimilate the ideal of integrity and be truly honest, casting aside any evil inclination that might mar the stained glass windows of our soul, even to the least degree. Let us make the immediate resolve to treat our body with all respect and reverence, and never to use it to offend God. It is better to die than to sin, for by remaining free of all such commerce, our temples will resurrect with the extraordinary glory that we are promised by Him Who received from His Father the power to exercise justice.◊
Notes
