The exterior of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome is seen in this file photo from the celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi June 4, 2015. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Source & Summit: The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
(The faithful) taking part in the Eucharistic sacrifice, which is the source and summit of the whole Christian life, offer the Divine Victim to God, and themselves along with it.
-The Second Vatican Council fathers in Lumen Gentium, #11
Source & Summit is a feature of The Western Kentucky Catholic online, celebrating the National Eucharistic Revival: Year of Parish Revival. Intended to help Catholics of our parishes to probe the riches of our liturgical year and celebrate the liturgy well, the column will always start with the Bible readings for the Mass of the Day to help us reflect on, and help to “unpack” and expand our experiences at liturgy into the domestic church (the home) and the workplace.
Sunday reflections will be based on the Lord’s Day, the Liturgy, the Eucharist, and, occasionally, community.
Thursday, November 9, 2023
The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110923.cfm
Ezekiel 47:1—2, 8—9, 12
Psalm 46:2—3, 5—6, 8—9
Corinthians 3:9c—11, 16—17
John 2:13—22
The Church’s feasting today seems to center on a building far away, an ornate thing, something that would be an unaffordable luxury tourist destination for most members of the Church. But it’s not really about that at all. Not according to the liturgy.
One of my teachers had this to say, which fell on my late teen ears and stuck. “Jesus promised you two things: ‘Your life has meaning,’ and ‘You will live forever.’ If you get a better offer, take it.”
St. Paul tells the community at Corinth in the second reading, “You are God’s building.” Part of the structure, always part of the Divine Architectural Plan.
You.
As the liturgy unfolds today, as we take the bread and wine, say the blessing, break and share, we thank the One “who chose to foreshadow for us the heavenly Jerusalem.” (Prayer after Communion)
If you get a better offer, take it.
-Michael Bogdan
To learn more about the Diocese of Owensboro’s celebration of the National Eucharistic Revival, visit https://owensborodiocese.org/eucharistic-revival/.
