Introduction
With the ascent of Constantine as Emperor of Rome (306-337), the days of bloody
Christian persecutions came to an end. Placed at first on an equal footing with paganism, Christianity soon became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Constantine was the son of Constantius I, Roman Emperor of the West (305-6), and Helena, a woman of obscure origins, whose fervent conversion to Christianity and legendary finding of the True Cross, won her sainthood.
The edict of Milan (313) secured Christians’ freedom and legal recognition. By
imperial edicts, Constantine restored Christians’ property and strengthened the Church
hierarchy. He ordered basilicas built over the cellae memorae marking St. Peter’s, St. Paul’s, and other martyrs’ tombs.
It was to Pope Melchiade (311-314) that Constantine gave the palace on Monte
Celio, formerly property of the patrician Laterani family (hence the Basilica’s designation
“Lateran”), which he (Constantine) had received as dowry with his second wife, for the first Papal cathedral and residence in Christian history.
The Basilica of St. John Lateran is still the cathedral of Rome and was the Pope’s
official residence until the 15th century. It was built on the grounds (formerly occupied by the imperial horse-guards barracks) of Monte Celio by Constantine and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324.
In the course of its history, St. John Lateran suffered just about as many disasters
and revivals as the papacy it hosted. Sacked by Alaric in 408 and Genseric in 455, it was
rebuilt by Pope Leo the Great (440-461), and centuries later by Pope Hadrian I (772-795).
Almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake in 896, the basilica was again restored by Pope Sergius III (904-911). Later the church was heavily damaged by fires in 1308 and 1360. When the Popes returned from their sojourn in Avignon, France (1304-1377), they found their basilica and palace in such disrepair, that they decided to transfer to the Vatican, near St. Peter’s (that basilica, also built by Constantine, had until then served primarily as a pilgrimage church).
Of the original Lateran basilica and palace, only the Pope’s private chapel, the Sancta
Sanctorum remains. Sixtus V removed this magnificently frescoed shrine to what has
become a grimy traffic island. As an approach to the chapel, Sixtus moved from the Lateran Palace the Scala Santa, the staircase which Jesus is believed to have ascended to Pontius Pilate’s palace in Jerusalem, and according to tradition, was brought to Rome by St. Helena herself. Within what is today the Basilica of St. John Lateran are the following: (1) 2 gilded silver busts that contained what were once thought to be the heads of Saints Peter and Paul; (2) A wooden altar (part of the main altar), which legend says was used by the first popes, from St. Peter to St. Sylvester I (314-355); (3) A bronze relief of the Last Supper, behind which is a fragment of wood thought to be from the table our Lord used at the Last Supper; (4) The tomb of Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903).
Many important historic events have taken place in St. John Lateran, including five
Ecumenical Councils and many diocesan synods. In 1929 the Lateran Pacts, which
established the territory and status of the State of Vatican City, were signed here between the Holy See and the Government of Italy.
This feast became a universal celebration in honor of the basilica called “the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world” as a sign of love for and union with the See of Peter.
Gospel – John 2:13-22
The story of the cleansing of the Temple occurs in the Mark (11:15-18) at the close
rather than at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Whether this is a separate
occurrence, or whether it “really” happened at the beginning or end of His public ministry is unimportant to the telling of the story. The important message of the story is that Jesus will be raised on the third day after His crucifixion.
Alternate Gospel – Luke 19:1-10
Jesus has left Galilee and is on His way to Jerusalem for His passion, death, and
resurrection. On His way, He meets Zacchaeus, the tax collector.
1st Reading – Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
Ezekiel is the prophet of hope. Writing during from Babylon during the time that the
members of the southern kingdom (Judah) were in exile in Babylon, his energies are all
directed toward keeping the exiles’ hopes alive. His work did much to regroup the exiles
around the priests and the Law, making it more interior and personal; he gives new hope to those who stay faithful to Yahweh. In our reading for today, he describes his vision of the future city which has as its center the new temple (the Church of the New Covenant) from which power and life will radiate to all the tribes.
Alternate 1st Reading – 2 Chronicles 5:6-10, 13-6:2
Just like Samuel and Kings, the two books of Chronicles began as one book but they
appear as two in the Greek version of the Septuagint and this division is maintained in the Vulgate and in later editions, including the Hebrew Bible. St. Jerome gave them the name of “Chronicles”: he called them the “Chronicle of Chronicles”. The Jews continued to call them “the events of the days” and the Greek version Paralipomenon because they fill in for what was omitted or only treated in passing in Samuel and Kings.
What we hear of in our reading today is the enthronement of the ark and dedication
of the first temple in Jerusalem, the temple which had been built by Solomon.
2nd Reading – 1 Corinthians 3:9-13,16-17
In our second reading today St. Paul tells us that the Church is God’s building. We must be careful about the materials which we use to build this building.
