Last Sunday we celebrate the Dedication of the St John Lateran Basilica in Rome. This is the mother of all churches in the world. The Basilica’s facade has an inscription which says in Latin: Mater Ecclesiae Romae Urbis et Orbis (Mother of all the churches in Rome and of the world). Its long history evokes memories of the many thousands of people who have received Baptism within its walls. Every bishop has a cathedra (established seat of the bishop) and this is where the word “cathedral” comes from. It is the mother church of a diocese. The cathedra of the Pope is in St John Lateran Basilica, his cathedral.
The Roman Emperor Constantine had converted to Christianity and issued the famous edict of Milan in AD 313. This allowed Christians to practice their Faith in public. So finally, after three hundred years of violent and bloody persecution, Christians were able to come out of the catacombs and house churches and worship publicly. Constantine gave the Lateran palace to the Pope who adapted it to become a church, a Basilica and it was dedicated on November 9th in AD 324. For almost one thousand years the Popes lived in the palace adjoining the Basilica. They then moved to Avignon in the south of France for almost a century before returning to Rome and finally settling in the apartment adjacent to St Peter’s Basilica where the Pope now lives.
The wooden altar on which St Peter celebrated Mass while in Rome is inside the main Altar in the Lateran Basilica. St Helena, the mother of Constantine made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and brought back the Holy Stairs, that is the stairs from Pilate’s House on which Jesus walked during His trial. These stairs (Scala Sancta) which consist of twenty-eight marble steps are a major pilgrimage site in Rome today and are just opposite St John Lateran Basilica. They have been encased in wood to protect the steps. Pilgrims go up the stairs on their knees meditating on the Passion of Jesus and can gain a Plenary Indulgence for this. I have climbed the stairs a couple of times.
In the first reading from the prophet Ezekiel, we hear of his vision he had of a river flowing from the Temple in Jerusalem and bringing life everywhere it went, this is a really a vision of the Catholic Church and grace flowing from the Heart of Jesus, the cornerstone of the Church throughout the Mystical Body of the Church.
St Paul in the second reading teaches that through Baptism we become members of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church. Jesus is the foundation stone and cornerstone of our lives. Through Jesus live-giving grace flows to members of the Mystical Body.
Sacred Place are important, and the roots of the Church are intertwined with Jewish traditions in terms of liturgy and practices. The Jewish people would celebrate the Dedication and Purification of the Temple in Jerusalem, which was a week-long celebration. Once Judas Maccabeus and the Maccabees gained the upper hand against the godless invaders of Israel, they restored the desecrated Temple in Jerusalem, which was the place of encounter with the Father for Jews. The Jewish people would celebrate the Purification and Dedication of the Temple every year with a festival of lights. It was the custom to put a lantern, as a symbol of The Law in the window of their homes. Families would increase the number of lights with each day of the week-long feast.
The Church is a sacred building where we encounter God in a special way. It is God’s House, sacred ground. In last Sunday’s Gospel, on arriving in Jerusalem for Passover, Jesus was indignant upon entering the Temple to see it looking more like a market, than a House of Prayer. To correct this abuse, he made a whip out of some rope and drove out all the sheep, cattle, the pigeon sellers, and the money changers, knocked over their tables and said: Take all this out of here and stop turning My Father’s house into a market. Jesus was full of zeal for His Father’s House, how much more zeal we should have for every Catholic Church, because Jesus is now present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Tabernacle.
In the sanctuary of the Temple of Jerusalem there was a gold box containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments of the Law, the rod of the High Priest Aaron and some of the miraculous manna. Now in the Catholic Church we have the tabernacle containing Jesus fully present in the Consecrated Hosts. The Jewish Temple had a Menorah, a seven branched candlestick, representing the pillar of fire that accompanied the Israelites in the desert during their journey to the Promised Land. We now have the Sanctuary Lamp(s) reminding us of the Real Presence of the Jesus (Emmanual) in the Tabernacle.
God also lives in us through Baptism, as in a temple. Last Sunday’s Feast is an invitation to intensify our closeness to the Lord. He desires to reign more fully in us, if we remove the pebble of our own will, then we can become channels of grace for others. We are simply stewards of all our material possessions, in fact, the only thing we truly possess are the spiritual goods. This is what we take with us into the next life. Let’s focus on deepening our relationship with the Lord through making the Holy Mass central, through spiritual reading, for example, the Book of Heaven or Hours of the Passion, through the daily recitation of the Holy Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration and monthly Confession. Please also remember to show deep respect for our Churches because Heaven and earth unite in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. When we enter the Church we should make a deliberate Sign of the Cross and Genuflection, for Jesus sees us enter His Church, He is fully Present. He knows us and he wants us to show zeal and respect for the House of Worship and place of our encounter with Him in in the Holy Mass and Adoration. Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever.