We celebrate today the Anniversary of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. This temple is described as the Mother of all the churches in Rome and in the World because it is the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. Just like any diocese anywhere in the world, it has a bishop whose seat or cathedral is the principal church of the territory. The Lord is portrayed in the gospel today cleansing the temple of Jerusalem of the cheating vendors of animals sold for the different types of sacrifices done par for the course in the temple. It was Passover, the principal feast of the Jews, so there were many people visiting the Temple. They were jam-packed in the outer area of the church called the court of the Gentiles. There were gathered there these usurers and collectors of payments, unfairly charging exorbitant fees for the sacrificial victims. Jesus flushed them out with a whip of cords, and so the temple authorities demanded from Jesus the authority to do so. The Lord spoke of that sign that was the temple of his Body, which will be destroyed and raised on the third day.