You are God’s building

Sunday - The Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome: November 09, 2025

Readings: Ezekiel 47:1–2, 8–9, 12; Psalms  46:2–3, 5–6, 8–9; 1 Corinthians 3:9–11, 16–17; John 2:13–22

How beautiful it is to know that we are all God's beautiful mansions! As God's magnificent creations, we have a place for God in our lives. It is God who makes us dwell in Him. There is nothing that can separate the creator from its creation. Just like an artist makes a beautiful painting, even if someone buys that artwork, it still is the creation of the artist, and every detail in it is the imagination of that artist and not of that buyer. On this day, the Church celebrates the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, a mother Church for all the other Churches. It invites us to look beyond the stones and grandeur of any Church building to what it truly represents — the living, breathing presence of God among His people. The Lateran Basilica, the cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome, stands as a symbol of unity, the mother and head of all churches in the world. Yet, in celebrating its dedication, we are called not only to honour a structure but to renew our awareness that we ourselves are temples of the living God. The liturgical readings for this invite us to just to do that. 

1. A Stronger Zeal for God's Work

In the Gospel John 2:13–22, Jesus enters the temple in Jerusalem and finds it turned into a market. His reaction is bewildering: He drives out the merchants, overturns tables, and commands, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” (v.16). This dramatic moment is not about anger alone — it is about zeal. Zeal for God’s house, zeal for the purity of worship, zeal for restoring what has become corrupted.

Jesus’ cleansing of the temple reveals His deep desire that the place of prayer remain holy, not polluted by greed or selfish ambition. But even more profoundly, His words point to a new reality: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The temple He speaks of is His own body. With these words, Jesus shifts our understanding from stone to flesh, from building to person, from ritual to relationship.

2. We are the temples of the Holy Spirit

In Christ, the true temple, God dwells fully among us. And through baptism, we become part of that living temple. St. Paul would later write, “You are God’s temple, and God’s Spirit dwells in you.” (1 Cor 3:16). This is the heart of today’s celebration — not merely the consecration of a church, but the dedication of ourselves as sacred spaces where God desires to dwell.

Yet we must ask: what fills our inner temple today? Are there tables of pride, resentment, or indifference that Jesus longs to overturn? Are there noisy distractions that drown out the quiet voice of prayer within? The Feast of the Lateran Basilica calls each of us to a kind of spiritual renovation — to let Christ enter the inner temple of our hearts and cleanse it with His presence.

3. Building our lives centred on Christ

St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 3:9–11, 16–17) invite us to look at the mystery of the Church not as something external, but as something profoundly personal and interior: “You are God’s building… Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” When Paul calls us “God’s building,” he invites us to see ourselves as part of this living structure — each one a stone placed with purpose in God’s divine architecture. When our lives are rooted in Christ, when we guard the holiness within ourselves and others — we become the Church itself: strong, alive, and radiant with God’s presence.

St Paul reminds us that the entire structure of our faith — the Church, our personal spiritual lives, our moral choices, and our community — rests securely only when it is built on Christ. Any attempt to build on pride, success, or worldly values will eventually crumble. Christ alone is the firm foundation that endures through time, trial, and change. To be God’s temple means that each of us is a place of divine presence. Wherever we are — at home, at work, in moments of joy or struggle — God’s Spirit dwells in us. Every word, every choice, every act of love or forgiveness becomes an act of worship offered in the sanctuary of our hearts. 

Questions for Personal Reflection

1. How do I honour the sacredness of the places where I pray — and of the people around me who are temples of God?
2. What am I building my life upon?
3. Is Christ truly my foundation?
4. Do I recognize the holiness of the people around me — the living temples of God’s Spirit?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You make Your home within us and call us to be living temples of Your presence. As we remember the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, cleanse our hearts from all that distracts us from You. Fill us with a deep love for Your Church and for one another. Strengthen the foundation of our faith so that we may stand firm in Your truth and radiate Your light in the world. May Your Spirit dwell richly within us, uniting us as one body and one heart in Your love. We make this prayer in Jesus' Holy Name, Amen.

- Fr Olvin Veigas, SJ

E-mail: olvinveigas@jesuits.net

Blog: Celebrate Faith

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