Today we
celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. This
is a feast day that we don't get to celebrate very often on a Sunday:
only once every six years or so. It can be a bit confusing as well:
what exactly are we celebrating and why is it important enough to
replace the usual pattern of Sundays in Ordinary Time? Well, I'm
glad you asked!
On November
9 of the year 324 a church was dedicated on a hill in Rome, Italy
called the Lateran Hill. The church was originally called the Church
of the Most Holy Savior, but eventually it took on the name of St.
John the Baptist. Today's feast day celebrates that dedication of
what is now called the Lateran Basilica, or sometimes called the
Basilica of St. John Lateran. If you're wondering what a Basilica
is, it's an honorary title given to a church that holds an important
or special place within the Universal Church.
The reason
this church is important enough to be called a basilica and the
reason this feast day is celebrated throughout the world today, is
because the Lateran Basilica is called the Pope's own church. The
Basilica is actually the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Rome. So
the Pope's Cathedra
or chair, is actually located in that Basilica. That makes it the
pope's church just as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary in
Duluth is Bishop Sirba's own church. Many people assume that St.
Peter's Basilica in Rome is the Pope's church since it's in Vatican
City where the Pope lives. However, the popes have not always lived
at the Vatican. For almost a thousand years, the popes lived at the
Lateran Palace, which was located next to the present day Basilica.
Since the Lateran Basilica is the pope's church and since the pope is
the leader of the Catholic Church around the world, the Lateran
Basilica is also knows as the Mother Church of the entire world.
I know that
a history lesson isn't everybody's favorite thing to listen to on a
Sunday morning, but I hope it helps us all understand that this feast
day isn't just some random celebration of a church most people have
never been to or ever heard of. This particular church is a very
important church, and so what we are really doing today is giving God
thanks and praise for giving us the Church and allowing all of us to
be a part of it.
Each of our
readings today help teach us something about what we believe as
Catholics about the Church. I would like to look first at our Second
Reading for St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. The Apostle
tells the Corinthians, “You are God’s building.” He
later adds, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and
that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” This is a wonderful
reminder to us that the Church is not simply a structure made of
bricks and mortar or wood and nails. Yes, we have a place of worship
that we can call a church, but when we talk about “The Church” we
are really talking about all the people around the world who make up
the Church. By saying that we are God's building, St. Paul is saying
that it is God who has established this Church which was founded by
Jesus Christ. It was through our Baptism that we say that we became
a part of the Church. It was also through this Sacrament that we
became a dwelling place for the Spirit of God. We can truly say that
the Holy Spirit is with each and every one of us. We believe that
God dwells in a very special way in every Catholic Church building in
the Eucharist that is present in the Tabernacle. But we also believe
that God dwells within each member of the Church throughout the
world, thanks to the graces given to us in the Sacraments. So the
Church is made up of the faithful.
The prophet Ezekiel teaches us that the Church is
also life giving. We heard in the First Reading about a great vision
that the prophet has. He talks about how an angel takes him to the
entrance of the Temple in Jerusalem. For the Jewish people, the
Temple was the dwelling place of God here on Earth. Christian
scholars today see this reference to the Temple as being very
symbolic of the Church for today. Ezekiel didn't realize it at the
time he wrote it because there was no such thing as the Church at the
time, but God wanted to use this symbolism to help explain His plans
for the Church. The prophet sees a river flowing from the entrance
of the Temple towards the East. If you look on a map of Israel,
you'll see that to the east of Jerusalem is the Dead Sea. The Dead
Sea is so salty, nothing can live in the water. In fact, even the
land surrounding the sea and in between the sea and Jerusalem is
quite barren. There are a few plants here there, but nothing like we
are used to seeing in the Midwest. In his vision, however, Ezekiel
can see this water flowing from the Temple and bringing life to that
aired region: sea waters are made fresh, fish are in abundance, and
fruit trees of every kind grow along the banks. These waters from
the Temple are symbolic of the baptismal waters that flow from the
Church. It is through the Sacrament of Baptism that we are made pure
and are washed clean of our sins. We are also given new life in
Christ Jesus.
The readings also teach us that the Church is
holy and is the dwelling place of God. We hear in the Gospel that
well known reading about Jesus being filled with righteous anger over
those who are making the House of God into a marketplace. The Temple
is meant to be a house of prayer for all people: a special place.
Going back to St. Paul's letter, the Apostle says “the temple of
God, which you are, is holy”. Just as the Temple in Jerusalem is
the dwelling of God and a holy place, so also this Church building we
are in is holy, so also we as the Church are made holy by God
dwelling within us.
Let us give all thanks and praise to God this day
for giving us His Holy Church, for making us a part of the Church,
and for giving us new life through her Sacraments. Just as God
dwells here in this Church, may we dwell with Him in the Heavenly
Jerusalem.
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