This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, which occurred in the year 324, not long after Christianity became legal in Rome.
Today’s readings are all about the Temple, and on this feast, we may say about the church building by extension.
The association throughout these readings of Temple with the body of the Christian, and Christ Himself, is mesmerizing. Jesus shows zeal for the Temple building in the Gospel passage, and then immediately goes on to speak of His body as the Temple. St. Paul tells us that our bodies as Christians are temples, with Christ as the foundation.
The first reading is profound in its significance, especially when joined with the other two. The fresh water presents a vivid foreshadowing of the saving grace of Christ, which turns the salt water–the human soul ruined by sin–into fresh water–the sanctified soul.
Leveraging St. Paul’s image, let us imagine that we are actually the superstructure of the Temple described in the first reading. The living water flows directly out from under the foundation of the Temple, from Christ. But as the singular Jewish Temple converts in Christianity to a multiplicity of churches, so too does each Christian, a temple built on the foundation of Christ, produce a new embodiment of Christianity, from which Christ’s grace flows as foundation.
Said more directly, the abundant grace of Jesus Christ flows in all its life-giving and redeeming power from the very existence of every holy Christian, whose “temple superstructure” occasions a new opportunity for the one foundation–Jesus Christ–to plant Himself and act in the world.
While there was only one act of salvation that produced sufficient saving grace for all, and one Savior, Jesus Christ, every holy Christian becomes a multiplier for that saving grace to flow out anew from a brand new dwelling for Christ in the world, a brand new wellspring of His infinite grace.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Contemplate how your life has the opportunity to augment the impact of Christ’s infinitely powerful saving grace in the world, and thank Him for making you a meaningful partner in His plan of salvation, which he didn’t have to do. Ask Him with urgency to consummate the work of sanctification in you, so that you magnify His impact in the world rather than lessening it.
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