Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

We’re celebrating the feast of the Basilica of St John Lateran, the pope’s cathedral as the bishop of Rome. There has been a church on that site for 1700 years. The first was built on land donated to Constantine by the Lateran family. It doesn’t seem very uplifting to celebrate a structure built of mortar and stone, a church. But it does make sense to celebrate the living structure it represents, the Church, the Christian community.

The readings for the feast focus our attention on the essence of the Church. Ezekiel’s prophecy describes a river flowing from the temple to the Arabah, where it empties into the sea, transforming it into life-giving fresh water. The leaves of the trees watered by it are a source of healing.

Paul instructs the Corinthians that they are a living Church, built upon a residing foundation, Christ himself, whose Spirit is always with them communally and individually. There’s no specific building in his mind. THEY’RE God’s temple.

We cap off our reflection with John’s account of Jesus cleansing the Court of the Gentiles in the temple. The one spot in the Jewish world where Gentiles were permitted to pray had devolved into a raucous marketplace where money could be changed and sacrificial animals could be examined and purchased. Jesus was challenging the old regime, the Pharisees, to return the Court of the Gentiles to the Gentiles. Jesus quoted Isaiah the prophet to them, “My house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples.”

What lessons can we glean from these scriptures? First and foremost, we are the Church, a living structure built upon Christ, the source of all healing and new life. Secondly, Christ reached out to the outcast, touched the leper, and forgave the woman caught in adultery. As the living Church, we are the body of Christ; our words must be his words and our actions his actions. Today, we’re reminded of our relationship with Christ and one another. We are the Church.

Let Us Pray:

Father, I pray that the invitation of Christ will always be the invitation of the Church and my invitation. “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy burdened and I will give you rest.”