This Week's Homily

Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Physical & Spiritual Church Building

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

 
Perhaps a little history will help us appreciate today’s feast. Many people believe that St. Peter’s Basilica is the cathedral of Rome. But the cathedral is actually St. John Lateran. It was dedicated in 324 in honor of Christ our Savior and later to SS. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist on the land that once belonged to the Laterani family, given to the Church by Constantine. It is Rome’s oldest church and thus became the Pope’s cathedral, the place that conserves his sign of authority, his chair, the cathedra. Popes resided in the adjacent Lateran Palace until 1377 when Pope Gregory XI moved to St. Peter’s at the Vatican. The Lateran Basilica is considered the “Mother of all churches in Rome and of the world.” So the feast underscores our unity with the Bishop of Rome, the Holy Father, today, Pope Leo XIV. 
 
But the importance of this feast does not end in recalling this historical fact. 
 
Today’s feast moves us to recall and celebrate the dedication of our own church. Both our churches have been solemnly dedicated: St. Anthony on November 6, 1994 by Bishop Reiss and Our Lady of Sorrows on March 10, 2010 by Bishop Smith. At their dedication, the Bishops with the Oil of Sacred Chrism anointed the altar as the place of sacrifice and the walls of the church to set it apart as a sacred space. The places are marked with 12 candles and crosses, not for mere decoration but as a reminder that our Church is established upon apostolic foundations.
 
Today we are given the occasion to reflect on the meaning of the church as a sacred building: a place set apart, no ordinary place, not a social hall, but the privileged place of encounter with God, a house of prayer, the dwelling of God among us, the gateway to heaven. In our churches we can truly repeat what Martha said to Mary: “The Master is here and he is calling you” because at Holy Mass and in the Tabernacle we find the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. No place is more worthy of respect and reverence than the House of God. 
 
We show that reverence by helping to make our church an oasis of peace and quiet necessary for prayer, creating a climate that can usher us and others into the mystery of God’s presence. We show our reverence too by our making choices in our attire that tell others, I have come into the Lord’s House. I am not dressed for the workout at the gym. 
 
Our reverence is also shown by doing all we can to beautify, to adorn the Lord’s House with the very best, to the extent our means allow. Beautiful things and beautiful music draw us out of ourselves and into an encounter with God. The beauty of a church lifts our hearts in prayer and fosters our connection with the divine.
 
But St. Paul expands the meaning of this feast for us: “Brothers and sisters, You are God’s building. Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwells in you…for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.” Churches and altars are consecrated with Sacred Chrism but so are we at our Baptism and Confirmation. A priest’s hands are consecrated at his ordination. So while we reverence the physical structure of the church as sacred, St. Paul reminds us of the interior work that is necessary to maintain ourselves as worthy temples of the Lord. In effect, we must beautify our souls with a virtuous life. St. John Chrysostom provides some poetic guidance on how to do this:
 
“Paint your house the colors of modesty and humility. Make it radiant with the light of justice. Decorate it with the finest gold leaf of good deeds. Adorn it with the walls and stones of faith and generosity. Crown it with the pinnacle of prayer. In this way you will make it a perfect dwelling place for the Lord. You will be able to receive Him as in a splendid palace, and through His grace you will already possess him, His image enthroned in the temple of your spirit.”
 
I return to the significance of Chrism, a perfumed oil, unlike the other sacramental oils…perfumed to recall St. Paul’s words that a disciple must be the “sweet fragrance of Christ.” Our faith is a fragrance that should linger in all we do so that people will sense it and say, “I’ve been at a home where the Lord is known, where he is loved, and where he is served.