Saturday, November 8, 2025
Letter from the Editor //
Dear Sister,
Tomorrow we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the pope’s basilica as the bishop of Rome. While it may seem funny to have a feast for a building, we have to remember that there is more to a physical church than the building and decor. It signifies a higher reality—the temple of Christ’s Body which is the whole Church. In the Gospel, we see Jesus filled with zeal for the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, which is being used as a place of commerce instead of just for worship. He speaks “about the temple of his Body” and prophesies His coming Death and Resurrection (John 2:21-22). Jesus is the new temple built of each member of the Church and His Sacrifice is the fulfillment of all of their temple sacrifices.
Saint Paul in the Second Reading talks about how we each are a temple of the Holy Spirit. In the Jewish temple, God dwelt in the Holy or Holies, present behind the veil. After Christ died and rose, God now dwells in each of the baptized who have been brought into covenant with Him. We are meant to honor ourselves as dwelling places of God, caring for ourselves spiritually and physically. And from the Church, grace flows like the water from the temple in the First Reading. We are “watered by the flow from the sanctuary” everytime we pray and every time we receive the Sacraments, and when we allow the grace to refresh us and listen to the movements of God, we “bear fresh fruit” (Ezekiel 47:12). May this stream gladden us as “the holy dwelling of the Most High” (Psalm 46:5).
In Christ’s Love,
Susanna
Read the Readings for the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome:
First Reading // Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
Psalm // Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
Second Reading // 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17
Gospel // John 2:13-22
Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days
Sunday, November 9 // Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Monday, November 10 // Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Tuesday, November 11 // Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop
Wednesday, November 12 // Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
Thursday, November 13 // Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin [In the USA]
Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Devotions Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer and editor and a teacher. She lives with her philosopher husband, three teen daughters, one pre-teen son, and a miracle baby girl in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology and novels, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of the Gospel Studies including Seek His Kingdom: A Meditation on Matthew , Listen to Him: A Meditation on Mark, Preach in His Name: A Meditation on Luke, and Abide in His Love: A Meditation on John. She was the contributing author and editor for our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up. She was the Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.
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