The Lateran Basilica in Rome, known to many simply as St John Lateran, has always been venerated as the mother Church of Rome. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome and the seat of the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis. As such, it has come to symbolise the bond of faith that unites us to the Lord through St Peter and his successors. Thus we keep the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica as a celebration of living faith shared throughout the world. The significance of today’s feast is introduced by the vision of the Prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel had accompanied the inhabitants of Jerusalem into exile following the catastrophic destruction of the city and the desecration of her temple. Faithlessness had led to Israel’s destruction. Her rebuilding would be the work of God. The vision focused on the new temple to which the exiles would return. Here the emphasis was not upon the magnificence of the temple, but rather on the blessings that would flow from God’s presence among His People. “The angel brought me to the entrance of the temple, where a stream came out from under the temple threshold.” As the vision unfolded, the stream flowing from the side of the temple became a mighty river embracing the whole world and bringing life to the parched earth. The significance of the vision was not lost on those to whom it was addressed. The God of salvation brings new life to the desolation of sinful lives. He rebuilds the ruins of what we have become, and, by his presence among us, becomes a stream of new life. Jesus announced himself as the fulfilment of this vision when he identified himself with the Temple in Jerusalem: “Destroy this sanctuary and in three days I will raise it up.” He was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scriptures and the words he had spoken.” Jesus is, Himself, the stream of living water flowing from the Father. His healing presence, like a stream in the wilderness, calls to life everything that has died within us. St John’s Gospel carried this imagery of the life giving stream to his description of Christ’s death on the Cross: “When they came to Jesus, they found that he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water.” As life giving water had flowed from the temple in Ezekiel’s vision, so Jesus, in his death and Resurrection, became the source of life to all believers. St Paul, developing the understanding of Christ as the living temple of God’s presence, described us as God’s building: “Didn’t you realise that you were God’s temple and that the Spirit of God was living among you. If anybody should destroy the temple of God, God will destroy him, because the temple of God is sacred; and you are that temple.” As we celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica for the holiness that it represents, let us rejoice that we, God’s faithful people, have become the temple of his presence. Let us so live our lives so that we, like the temple in Ezekiel’s vision, become a stream of abundant life to everyone we meet.