Fr. Jorge Miró shares with Exaudi readers his commentary on the Gospel for Sunday, November 9, 2025, entitled “No one can have God as Father without having the Church as Mother”

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Today, we celebrate the feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. It is the cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome. This Basilica is one of the oldest Christian churches and is a symbol of the unity of all Christian communities with Rome. Therefore, we celebrate this feast throughout the world to honor her who is “mother and head of all the churches,” as a sign of love and unity with the Chair of Peter.

In the Church, we do not celebrate feasts simply for historical, sentimental, or folkloric reasons.  We celebrate feasts for pedagogical reasons: to learn.  To learn well the fundamental truths of our faith, or the attitudes that the saints have lived in an exemplary way

Therefore, we must try to discover what we are invited to learn with this celebration. Today, the Lord invites us to discover that He is alive, present in the midst of His people, and walks with us, guiding us to the goal of faith, which is eternal life. Faith is not a theory, but a story of love and salvation between God and us. And God wants to live this love story by inviting us to be part of His people, which is the Church.

Today, the Lord wants to invite us to discover the greatness of the Church.  The Church is great because God is great.  The Church, the people of God, is holy because God is holy.  And in this Church, we have been called to faith

Therefore, today is also a day of Thanksgiving to God for the gift of faith and for the gift of the Church to which He has called us, not because of our merits but according to His goodness.  In the Church the Lord acts ; in her, He gives us His Word, the light that must illuminate our lives; in her, He blesses us with the Sacraments, signs of His love and strength for our lives; in her, He pours out abundantly the charisms and ministries, God’s gift to the world; in her the power of the Spirit is present, which makes us grow on the path of holiness so that we may, like Christ, live doing the Father’s will.

The dedication of the Basilica reminds us that the Christian is a living and true temple of God.  He dwells not only in temples built by men or in houses made of stone, but primarily in the soul made in the image of God

We must ensure that Christ is not dishonored in us by our evil deeds.  We are the temple of the living God, and with our lives we must give glory to God, we must make the Church grow, we must contribute to making the Church a clear sign of God’s love for humankind.

Give thanks to God for having been called to be part of the Church! Love the Church as it is and try to make it better each day by the example of your life!  No one can have God as Father if they do not have the Church as Mother  (St. Cyprian).

Come, Holy Spirit!