Ezekiel 47.1-2,8-9,12 | 1 Corinthians 3.9c-11,16-17 | John 2.13-22

We begin the thirty-second week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church. In two Sundays, the Liturgical Year will conclude with the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe.

In 2025, the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, on November 9th, coincided with Sunday, the Lord's Day.

The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, presided over by Pope Leo XIV. It is the oldest church in the West, inaugurated in the year 324, during the pontificate of Pope St. Sylvester I. It is the most important of the four papal basilicas in Rome (the others are St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and the Basilica of St. Mary Major). Five ecumenical councils have taken place there. She is considered the ecumenical Mother Church.

Initially, the basilica was dedicated to Christ the Savior, and only centuries later was it co-dedicated to Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist.

Let us celebrate the catholicity of the Church, which is proud of its history, in which Catholics throughout the world live in joyful communion.

Today the evangelist John tells us about Jesus expelling the money changers from the temple.

In the temple of Jerusalem, animals were sold for the sacrifices made by the priests, according to the Law of Moses. Only the official temple currency was accepted for the sale. So pilgrims from other nations had to exchange foreign currency with the money changers.

Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Jewish Passover. Surprisingly, He made a whip of cords and drove out the money changers, overturning the table of the money changers, and telling them not to make the Father's house a house of commerce. For the disciples, Jesus was motivated by zeal for the house of the Lord, according to Scripture (cf. Psalm 69:9). The Jews were surprised and questioned Jesus' action. He then surprisingly associated the temple with His body, which, on the Cross, would be destroyed by the Jews on Friday afternoon, but would rise again on Sunday morning. The disciples remembered this Word of Jesus when He resurrected.

The temple is the Father's house, where His children gather to hear the Scripture and offer Him spiritual sacrifices of faith and love in gratitude for the blessings received.

The temple is a sacred space compatible with the dignity of God and the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, where the paschal sacrifice is renewed, in which Christians eat the Eucharistic Body, being Christified.

Yes, through Baptism, the temple of God is the body of the Christian, inhabited by the Holy Spirit. That is why charity towards the needy is so important. But, yes, the physical temple (building) continues to be important and must be well cared for so that it is worthy of God and the Church. In this sense, it is worth remembering the importance of tithes and offerings for the maintenance of the physical temple.

The temple, in itself, should uplift the soul and evangelize, with its order and cleanliness, with its internal architecture and external facade, with its stained glass windows, paintings, sculptures, liturgical objects, lighting, sound system, air conditioning, and accessibility for the disabled.

Let us cherish the temple that is each human being and the temple where we gather every Sunday to hallow the Name of the Father.

Today the prophet Ezekiel speaks to us of the vision of the waters that flow from the temple and become a river, bringing health and life wherever it goes.

The water gushed from the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. As they flowed into the salty waters of the sea, they would become healthy. There would be fish in abundance, and all kinds of trees would grow, with constant fruit and medicinal leaves that would not wither.

This mystical vision of Ezekiel exalted the temple of Jerusalem as a sacred place through which the Lord acted in favor of the Jews, humanity, and even nature itself. The prophet highlighted the altar, from which water flowed, a sign of vitality.

From a Christian perspective, one can think of the open side of Christ dead on the Cross, from which blood and water flowed (cf. John 19:34), interpreted as the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, with the fruits of salvation and healing. In this line, Christ is the open temple, through whom Christians receive vitality.

Let us ensure that the temple is always open to welcome women and men thirsting for Christ, the living water, the fruits of the sacraments, and the medicinal leaves of Scripture.

Today, the apostle Paul speaks to us in his first letter to the Corinthians about the Christian community as God's building and sanctuary, inhabited by the Spirit of God.

The apostle said that he placed the foundation in the community, which is Jesus Christ, and that each Christian should carefully consider how they were building. Paul stated that God would destroy whoever destroyed the community, His holy sanctuary.

The physical temple (building) is the external manifestation of the spiritual temple (assembly), it is the expression of its highest dignity. But it is necessary to expend human and material resources for the construction of the living Church, which goes beyond iron, stones and sand, and which is built through evangelization and the witness of charity towards those in need.