Lies outside of Vatican City
Topped with fifteen large travertine statues, each seven meters tall.
The central figure is Jesus,
flanked by John the Baptist and John the Evangelist
and the Church Fathers.
Gospel
Jn 2:13-22
Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money-changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
"Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
"What sign can you show us for doing this?"
Jesus answered and said to them,"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews said,
"This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.
REFLECTION
"Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
Today we celebrate a building. Not just any building. The Lateran Basilica also known as Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano is the oldest of the four basilicas in Rome. It serves as the official home of the Pope, the seat of the Bishop of Rome. St Peter's is better known and gets the attention but it is the Lateran Basilica that is the Pope's official seat.
Named in honour of St. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, St John Lateran (Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano) is the Cathedral of Rome and the most important of the four major basilicas. It is considered the mother church of the Roman Catholic faithful. Above the altar are the relics of Sts Peter and Paul. There is also wood said to be from the table of the Last Supper. The Basilica is a great place for worship and reverence. The Basilica of St John Lateran is the Mother Church of Roman Catholicism.
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