DEDICATION OF ST. JOHN OF LATERAN (FEAST) -Liturgy

You, the Temple of God, Are Sacred 

Greeting

Know that this place is holy because the Lord is here among us. Know that we ourselves are called to be holy for we are God’s temple. May the Lord Jesus always stay with you. R/ And also with you.

 Introduction Christians build churches to worship God. But churches have no meaning unless they point towards the Church, the body of Christ animated by his Spirit. God is present in the first place where his people are, with their faith and hope and love. We are the Church, and by the grace of God we make the Church; we are its living building stones. When we come to church we express that we are God’s living people who build our lives on Christ.  

Penitential Act Too often we forget to live as God’s people. Let us ask the Lord to forgive us. (pause) Lord Jesus, when we forget our responsibilities as Christians in today’s world, forgive us: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy. Jesus Christ, when we do not build our life on you as our firm foundation, forgive us: Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy. Lord Jesus, when we do not build a community in which you are visibly alive, forgive us: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy. Have mercy on us, Lord, and forgive us all our sins. Make us really your Church, live among us and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.  

Opening Prayer Let us pray that we may truly be the Church of Jesus Christ (pause) God our Father, you have called us through your Son to be a community of faith, love and service built on the only firm foundation, Jesus Christ our Lord. Fill us with his Spirit, that we may be your Church in word and deed, making no demands, seeking no privileges, not trying to dominate and control. Help us to bring joy to all, to love without excluding anyone, and to serve without demanding gratitude. May we thus be the living house of God filled with the presence of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.    

Commentary When a physical church is dedicated to God, it becomes the house of God. The church becomes a visible sign of God’s dwelling amidst the people. Every church is also a reminder that each one of us, by virtue of our baptism, is a temple of God and God dwells within us. Thus, we may speak of a correlation between the physical temple and the spiritual temple that our hearts are: How we treat the church is indicative of how consecrated our hearts are to God. Jesus saw the temple becoming a filthy marketplace filled with merchants selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and money changers, instead of being a place of prayer and devotion to God. How are the premises of my heart? Are they filled with many worldly concerns and bargains or are they singularly devoted to God? Ezekiel saw living waters flowing from the temple and nourishing life around it. Do living waters flow from my heart, which is the temple of the Spirit, nurturing life and producing much fruit of the Spirit in the world? 

 Intercessions Let us pray to Jesus our Lord that his Christian community may be more aware that they are the people and temple of God, and let us also pray for the needs of all people, and of all the world. Let us say:

R/ Lord, build community with us. 

– That in our Christian communities all may contribute time and effort toward a better, more evangelical Church, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.

– That our organizations in our dioceses and parishes may cooperate better with one another, so that by their teamwork and unity all the faithful become more the one body of Christ, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.

– That all our Christian Churches may work toward the unity to which they are called by Jesus, the one Shepherd of all, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.

– That the leaders of the world may seek peace in the world community and look for common solutions for common problems, while respecting each other’s’ identity, rights and dignity, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.

– That those living in security may welcome strangers and refugees, people without a home or a country, and show them the warmth of hospitality, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.

– And finally, that this community may always be aware that it is united in faith and love, in hope and service with the pope and with the world-wide Church, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us. 

Lord Jesus, you wanted to live among people. Make your Church more and more the space where people can meet in your name, for you are our Lord for ever. R/ Amen. 

 Prayer over the Gifts Lord our God, we bring before you these gifts of bread and wine to remember that Jesus Christ is among us. May he be to all of us our way, our truth, our life. And may he become alive among us through his Holy Spirit, not only in these signs and this place but in the whole wide world, in a renewed, living Church, in a renewed, authentic Christianity, where he is our Lord for ever and ever. R/ Amen. 

 Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer Together with Christ who is the foundation stone on which we are built as his body, we offer to our Father the worship of this Eucharist and of our lives. 

 Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer In this house of prayer let us pray to our Father in heaven the prayer of trust of his Son Jesus: R/ Our Father... 

 Introduction to the Rites of Peace and the Breaking of Bread In the Christian community and in life we are on the way with one another, we seek peace and long for happiness. Here in this house of prayer the Lord Jesus breaks the bread of life for us. Let us also break bread for one another and pray for the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The peace of the Lord be with you always. R/ And also with you. 

 Invitation to Communion This is the body of Jesus the Lord. He gives himself to us that we may become more his body, the Church. R/ Lord, I am not worthy... 

 Prayer after Communion Lord our God, you have filled this house and us with the presence of your Son; he has spoken his Word to us, he has shared himself with us as our food on the road of life. May we now be your sign to the world that your Son is alive among us. May our search and concern for justice, for human dignity, for love, integrity and unity, give praise to you and proclaim to all that we are your people and that Jesus Christ is our Lord, now and for ever. R/ Amen. 

 Blessing When we speak and think of the Church we should keep in mind that the Church, the community of the People of God, is more important than the church building. We are the body of Christ and in us people should recognize the Lord and feel his presence. May this become fully true in us, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen. Go in peace, and be the sign that Christ is alive in the world of today. R/ Thanks be to God.