St. Ursula

Today is the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Rite. It is the commemoration of the day when the Ark of the New Covenant first entered into the earthly temple. When King Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem in 1 Kings 8, he prayed remembering all that God had done with his mighty arm to rescue his people from Egypt, bring them into the land, and give his father, David, victory over their enemies. There was festal singing and rejoicing, the offering of many sacrifices to the Lord, and a great feast for the people. When the Ark of the New Covenant entered the temple with Ss. Joachim and Anne, there was no such reaction from the people. What she was to be was veiled from their eyes and would not be known till after her Fiat and the completion of her divine Son’s mission of redemption. Yet the history of the liturgy and the writings of the saints tell us that the angels in heaven rejoiced more than King Solomon and all the people of Israel upon witnessing she who would bear the Word of God, the Bread from Heaven, and the true High Priest enter into the temple.

Attached please find our Christmas schedule, as well as my Christmas message to the parish.

The title of this post is a joke. There’s no saint named “John Lateran.” Today is the feast of the dedication of the Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran. The universal Church celebrates the dedication of this church, commonly referred to as St. John Lateran, because it is the Cathedral Church of Rome, and thus the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, that is, the Pope. It is thus rightly known as “Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World.” The celebration of the dedication of a church is really a celebration of Our Lord. As today’s gospel says, his body is the true temple. Thus every church building represents Christ. We celebrate St. John Lateran because, as the Pope’s Cathedral, it represents Christ uniting his Church through our communion with the Holy Father. Let us pray today for our Holy Father, Pope Francis. May the Lord bless him and keep him. May the Lord make his face to shine upon him. May he be blessed upon the earth and not delivered over to the hands of his enemies. Amen.