Word to the Wise
Monday, November 9, 2015 - Nov. 9 - The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
[Ezek 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; 1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17; John 2:13-22]"Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God,which you are, is holy." [1 Corinthians]
The Lateran Basilica is the official cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, even if St. Peter's gets all the publicity and big events! The Laterani family donated the property and the initial church was dedicated in 324 AD. Despite invasions, fires and earthquakes, it is still standing and functioning. Perhaps that is its greatest achievement!
However, the scriptures assigned for the feast take a less institutional approach, especially St. Paul's words from First Corinthians. A temple made of stone may have some symbolic significance, but the real temple of God is the human person. A very large family friend once remarked to me that if the body is the temple of the Spirit, then he should be a basilica! Largeness of Spirit, however, does not depend on the largeness of the container. It depends on the faith of the person. St. Thomas Aquinas, O.P., states that the "new law of Christ is nothing other than the Holy Spirit working in our hearts through faith in Christ."
No matter how large a church humans can build, the space becomes sacred only because of the faith of those who come to it. It is not sufficient to construct a building, no matter how beautiful or distinguished, and put a tabernacle in it with the Blessed Sacrament, and then leave it unoccupied. The Lateran Basilica is a very large church but it is the faith that has endured with it since 324 that makes the celebration of this anniversary significant. AMEN
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