RBWords

     The celebration of this feast over here in the USA is usually accompanied by obvious question marks standing above the heads of the parishioners!  What's the big deal about the Lateran Basilica?  Well, it's the official cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, even if St. Peter's gets all the press and events.  It's much older than St. Peter's, having been originally dedicated in 324 A.D.  (St. Peter's dates to the late 1500's.]  It's named for the family that donated the land, the Laterani family and for the apostle, John, to whom the baptistry is dedicated - thus the title Basilica of St. John Lateran. It has survived all the lootings of vandals, huns and various armies over the centuries.   All of this seems to gain for this church enough importance to put it on the universal liturgical calendar of the church as a "feast."  

     Celebrating the anniversary of dedications of buildings or other monuments is nothing new to us.  We do it for all kinds of places even over here in the USA.  The celebration of the Lateran basilica is a reminder of the geographic and theological significance of Rome and the leader of our faith, the Bishop of Rome.  St. Paul reminds us however that our faith is not a matter of buildings but of people.  The Lateran Basilica is a building, not the Body of Christ.  It becomes a true "church" only when the People of God, the Body of Christ, assembles inside.  Our English usage of the word, "church," can confuse matters.  The basilica is a church object, a gathering space.  It only becomes THE church when we the baptized gather there.  But since it is a sacred space that has survived all the various sacks and lootings of Roman history, we can at least celebrate its durability as a sign of the durability of our faith.  AMEN