Ex 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 / 1 Cor 3:9-11, 16-17 / John 2:13-22
In 1980, Pope John Paul II went to Sicily, and as we might be aware, Sicily is the heartland of the Italian mafia.
There the Pope proclaimed the dignity of the human person and the sacredness of life.
He told the people that they have a right to live in peace.
Those who are guilty of breaking this peace have many victims on their conscience.
Out rightly, the Pope declared that killing is NOT allowed, and no man, no organization, no mafia can ever violate this holy law of God.
What the Pope said was merely to reiterate what St. Paul said to the Corinthians in the 2nd reading: that we are the Temple of God, and that the temple in us is sacred, and if anyone destroys this temple, God will destroy him.
But the mafia wanted to have a say too.
To ridicule the Pope's teaching, they killed two priests.
And to push the point further, they bombed the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the feast of the dedication which we are celebrating today.
The mafia thought that by bombing the mother church of the Catholic faith, which is also the Cathedral of the Pope, they have put a dent on the Church.
But they forgot; they forgot that the Church is not just about buildings and structures.
The Church in essence, is the faithful, which is a living Temple, the Mystical Body of Christ.
Just as that Temple is sacred, we too are called to holiness.
So let us cast out all that is sinful, and renew ourselves in this Eucharist, as temples of prayer.