神父的話                

祝聖拉特朗大殿慶日

今天的福音提及到聖若望的兩所聖殿，其中一所是在耶路撒冷聖殿，而另一所則是指耶穌基督的身體。

先看在耶路撒冷的聖殿裡發生的事情。福音當中描述天主子憤怒讉責在殿院裡進行買賣的人：「把這些東西從這裡拿出去，不要使我父的殿宇成為商場！」有些人或許會對耶穌的憤怒感到驚訝，但亞里斯多德曾經說過：「如果一個人有合適的理由，在適當的時間，地點，向應受責罵的人生氣是有情可原的。」所以耶穌因為眼見在父的殿院裡發生的一切而發義怒是絕對可以原諒的。想一想我們又有否時常醒察教堂是一處十分神聖的地方，在那裡我們只尊崇天主？因此，耶穌藉著這段福音教導我們應尊重天父的殿堂，那亦即是我們日常參與彌撒的聖堂。我們日常在聖堂參與禮儀的同時應謹記那是天父的地方，我們亦要在思言行為上尊重天父的殿宇，不要浪費與天主相聚的時刻。

在福音提及的第二所聖殿是指耶穌基督的身體。耶穌基督已接近祂的受難：死亡與復活，因此，祂藉以把復活奧蹟的意念灌輸入門徒的腦海內。耶穌基督，默西亞，天主子，將被「拆毀」一會兒，但這短暫的處境將會引領到基督，凱旋的君王，救世主的光榮復活。耶穌基督的宣言突顯了祂的神性，這是我們完全接受和相信的。這一個身體亦是我們在領聖體時恭敬地接受的生命之糧；留存在聖所內，最值得我們朝拜和敬仰的，至聖的聖禮。聖所根本是天主的居所，耶穌基督的宣言亦提醒我們，我們的身體即是天主的聖殿，由於有著聖神的臨在，我們應把自己的身體神聖地看待。

聖言會 Lino Nicasi神父

Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

In today's Gospel we encounter St. John's two temples, one being the Jerusalem Temple, and the other, Jesus' own Body.

Let's begin with the Temple of Jerusalem. The account describes "the wrath of the Son of God" at the business-like transactions going on in the temple precincts: "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a market place." Some may be shocked at what Jesus did, but then again, Aristotle says that anger is justified if one gets angry at the right time, at the right people, at the right place, and for the right reason. Seeing what was going on at His Father's house, Jesus' anger was truly justified. What are we to make of this? That we learn the lesson of respecting the House of God, i.e., the church we visit. Are we aware that the church is a sacred place of worship, where we focus on God and Him alone? It is good to remember that when we go to church, we go to God, and this dictates what our behavior in church should be.

The second temple mentioned in the Gospel is Jesus' own Body: "He was speaking about the temple of his body." Jesus was nearing His passion, death and resurrection, and he used this occasion to plant the idea of His coming resurrection in the mind of his disciples. Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, would be "destroyed" by death for a while, but this temporary situation would lead to the glorious resurrection of Christ, victorious King and Savior. For us, Jesus' declaration underlines his divinity, which we fully accept and believe. This same Body is what we reverently receive as the Bread of Life in the Holy Eucharist, and which remains present in churches as the Most Blessed Sacrament, worthy of our visits and loving adoration. The church really is the House of God. Finally, Jesus' declaration also reminds us that our own bodies are God's temples, and since His Holy Spirit dwells in us, we should regard our bodies as sacred unto God.

Let the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Church be an occasion of our own dedication of ourselves to God, whose Risen Son continues to make His dwelling among us: in every church and in everyone.

Rev. Lino Nicasio, SVD