“You are the temple of God: a Lateran basilica, Paul and Mary as the temple of the Spirit”

By Prof. Dr. Daniel C. Afonso · Updated 8 October 2026

Nescitis quia templum Dei estis et Spiritus Dei habitat in vobis?
1Cor 3,16

The feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (November 9) joins Ezekiel 47, where Ezekiel sees water issuing from the right side of the temple in Jerusalem, becoming a river that revives the desert and the Dead Sea, with 1 Corinthians 3, where Paul asserts that “the temple of God is holy, and that temple you are.”“You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you.”These texts, referring to the Temple in Jerusalem, describe a progression: the stone temple (Ezekiel) becomes the temple of Christ’s body (John) and then the temple of the faithful (Paul). Mary, who was the first living temple in which God dwelt during the Incarnation, is the most perfect fulfillment of these three.

I. The first reading: Ezekiel 47:1-2.8-9.12

Ezekiel’s vision is one of the most beautiful and profound in Hebrew prophecy: water issuing from the right side of the temple, at first a thread, then a stream, and finally a river that cannot be crossed (v.3-5).This water will flow to the eastern region… and it will enter the sea. And when this water enters the sea, its waters become salutary.“The Dead Sea, devoid of life, receives the water from the Temple and becomes a place of life.”“By the river, on both its banks, all kinds of fruit trees shall grow.”” (v.12).”

The water that flows from the temple is the grace that emanates from the place of the presence of God and gives life to what was dead. This vision has been read by Christian tradition as a prophecy of the water that flowed from Christ’s side on the Cross (Jn 19:34) and as a symbol of the Spirit that emanates from the Church. Ezekiel’s stone temple is the seed of Christ’s body temple and the temple of the Church that Paul describes.

II. The second reading: 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11.16-17

Paul uses the image of construction: we areThe building up of God“For (v.9), and the only foundation that can be laid is Jesus Christ (v.11). But the image of the construction changes into the image of the temple: ”Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?“The faithful are not merely the building but the very temple in which God dwells.”

“Annunciation”If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.(v.17): The sanctity of the temple of the community is absolute. The feast of the Lateran Basilica celebrates the temple of stone that is a sign of the temple of the Spirit: the basilica built by Constantine in the 4th century is the seat of the Bishop of Rome,mater et caput omnium ecclesiarum. But her greatness is to be the sign of the “basilicas” of flesh that Paul proclaims: every believer as a temple of the Spirit.

III. The temple of stone, the temple of body, the temple of the Spirit

Ez 47, 1 Cor 3, and Jn 2 describe the same reality at three moments. Ezekiel: the temple of stone as the source of the living water that revives the world. John: the temple of Christ’s body destroyed and rebuilt in three days, which is the true temple. Paul: the temple of the faithful, where the Spirit of God dwells. The progression is the logic of the Incarnation: God who dwelt in the temple of stone now dwells in Christ’s body and, through Him, in the bodies of the faithful.

The water of Ez 47 flowing from the temple and reviving the Dead Sea is the same water that flowed from Christ’s side on the Cross and that Paul describes as the Spirit dwelling in the temple of the faithful. The Lateran Basilica is the sign of this spiritual temple: a stone structure that points to the deeper temple that is unseen but lived.

IV. Mary: the most perfect temple of the Spirit

Mary is the most perfect temple described by the three texts. As the temple of Ezekiel, she was the source of living water: the Son who was born of her is the water that flowed from the temple side and revives the deadness of humanity. As the temple of John, her body was the place where the Word dwelt, the true “Holy of Holies” where God incarnated. As the temple of Paul, she was the first and most perfect temple of the Spirit: the same Spirit who Paul says dwells in the faithful descended upon Mary at the Annunciation, before descending upon any other.

The feast of the Lateran Basilica celebrates the temple of stone that points to the living temple. Mary is the link between the two: her body was the most sacred temple of stone (the place of Incarnation) and at the same time the most perfect temple of the Spirit (the dwelling place of God without stain). The second Monday of Week XXXIII invites contemplation of Mary as the model of what every believer is called to be: a temple of the Spirit in whom God dwells and from whom flows the water that revives the world.