Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Monday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time, November 9, 2026, Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome.
Our meditation today has the theme: Feeling Uncomfortable if the Church is Dirty. Today the entire Church commemorates the blessing of the Lateran Basilica which is also known as Saint John Lateran Basilica. This basilica is one of the four largest churches in Rome, Italy. This basilica serves as the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.
This basilica is visited daily by pilgrims from all over the world, as other basilicas in Rome and elsewhere in Italy or abroad. There was one time, among the pilgrims, there were two kids, a brother and his sister, who were taking the holy water in a vessel just at the entrance to the basilica. They were not careful to get it by hand to make the sign of the cross, and so some of the water splattered on the floor.
A security man went approach to rebuke them because it was clearly dirtying the floor of the basilica. The kids' parents immediately used whatever cloth and handkerchief they had to wipe the wet floor. The two kids also wiped with the scarves wrapped around their necks. The children understood that there was a prohibition against dirtying the church.
Our churches may become dirty because of various causes. The dirt may be in the form of dust and other leftovers. The undecent clothes that people wear and the improper using of supporting instruments for worship often occur in our churches. Actions such as telling stories, cellular ringing, joking, fighting and even violence reactions also occur many times. Then the sinners who have not been forgiven would give us the image of our dirty Church from the spiritual point of view.
The house of the Lord certainly cannot be seen beautiful, peaceful, dignified and holy if all these kinds of dirt are found there. Jesus indeed found in it all kinds of dirt. He was burned by the demand to cleanse the house of the Lord from all kinds of dirt. His anger burst strongly. We as His followers will also be burned by the same demand when we know that our churches or houses of worship are full with all kinds of dirt.
Jesus actually intends to define the house of the Lord as His own body. Our Christian theology also defines the house of the Lord indeed exists in each one of us, as it is reflected in today's second reading. All kinds of desacralization, through words and deeds, will not make our bodies so pleasing for the Lord to come and to stay with us personally nor even to our families and communities. Therefore, we must act firmly and be burn by the demand to stop all these acts and threats.
Let's pray. In the name of the Father ... O Lord, increase the zeal of our faith so that we can preserve with responsibility the purity of ourselves as the houses You choose to dwell. Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord be with you ... In the name of the Father ...
