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9th November 2022

Feast of Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

READ: (Ezek 47: 1-12; 1 Cor 3: 9-11; Jn 2: 13-22)

REFLECT: Church manifests God’s presence, Christ is its foundation and have love and zeal for God’s house…

Dear friends, today we celebrate the Feast of Dedication of the Latern Basilica. It is the commemoration of a unique sacred space, the oldest of the four major basilicas in the city of Rome. The Lateran Basilica is the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Rome and thus the seat of the Pope as Bishop of Rome. The other three major basilicas in the city of Rome are; St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican where St. Peter was buried, St. Paul’s Basilica where St. Paul was beheaded and the Basilica in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is called as the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

The history goes back at the 4th C in 313 A. D, at the time of Roman Empire, when the persecution of Christians ceased for their profession of faith in Christ, as Emperor Constantine granted permission to Christians to practice the faith in public and to build churches. It was Emperor Constantine, who recognized Christianity as the religion of the empire, and donated to the Church his royal palace in 313 A.D to the Pope Miltiades to be used as a Church and residence. The Rome’s oldest church was given the title Basilica of the Savior, but later it was dedicated to John the Baptist and called St. John Lateran.

St. John Lateran was the home of the popes the center of the Catholic world for many years. Twenty-eight popes are buried there. Although our pope now lives at the Vatican and presides at St. Peter’s basilica, St. John Lateran is considered his cathedral as the bishop of Rome. The Basilica of St. John Lateran has played an important role throughout history; it was here that all popes were enthroned up until 1870.

The feast as well has a special significance because the Lateran Basilica was the first church dedicated to the Most Holy Saviour by the Emperor Constantine. The entire Church celebrates this feast as an affirmation of unity with the Pope who is the Bishop of Rome and Head of the Universal Church. It is the oldest church in the West, built in the time of Constantine and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324. This feast became a universal celebration in honor of the arch basilica, the ecclesiastical mother church, called “the mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world.”

The dedication of this basilica is a gentle reminder for us about the beginnings and unity of our Church. It stands as a fond memory for all that God has done and does through the Church. As we all know that Church is the spiritual home of each one of us, where we experience consolation and comfort, healing and divine feel of God’s presence, we shall always remember to revere God, who is present in the Church, God’s most holy dwelling place on earth. So based on the feast day celebration and the liturgy of the word, I would like to share with you three points of reflection.

1. Manifestation of God’s presence:

We experience the presence of God everywhere. That’s why someone has very aptly said too, “God is everywhere so pray anywhere.” It is true and no denial of such fact. But a place of worship and sanctuary makes the ambience and atmosphere better to pray and to have ceremonies of the liturgy conducted properly. Therefore, the human built churches is the visible manifestation of God’s invisible presence in it. It is our faith that God lives in every church founded on Christ, the corner stone of the Church.

In the first reading from prophet Ezekiel we hear that the vision about the river that flows from the temple. The water of the river which makes the land fruitful and fertile starts from the place where God is present.  The invisible God manifests himself in the life he gives to people.

Pope Francis as well says that Christians who live in this city are like the river that flows from the temple, they bring a word of life and hope capable of making deserts of our hearts fertile. Just as place of God or temple manifest the presence of God, so also our hearts, which is as well the temple of God need to manifest God’s presence to one another with an act of kindness and love in deed. The walls of the church do not remain merely a wall but a wall sanctified and a wall that safe-guards the sanctuary of God, who is present in the Church. The invisible God makes a visible manifestation of himself present in the churches built by human hands and assistance. It is our firm faith that God dwells in the Churches that we humans have built and thus we worship and pay homage to God, who created us, safe-guards us till today. So let our churches and hearts of us be the visible manifestation of God’s presence in our lives.

2.     Christ is the foundation of every Church:

Jesus is the foundation of every church that is built on earth or would be built. So St. Paul in the second reading from the letter to first Corinthians tells us that we are fellow-workers with God in building the church of God. St. Paul speaks of himself that as a good architect, who according to his capacity laid the foundation in the name of Christ. Similarly he exhorts each one of us that we need to be careful now to build upon the foundation laid by Jesus Christ.

That’s what Pope Francis would say to priests in a special way, quoting St. Paul, “no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. Pope Francis says that “this is the heart of the ministry of priests; to help the community be always at the Lord’s feet listening to his word; to kept it away from all worldliness and bad compromises; to guard the foundation and blessed roots of the spiritual edifice; to defend it from rapacious wolves and from those who want to deflect it from the way of the Gospel.” Yes, Christ is foundation of every Church and has already laid foundation for every church. Our duty as Christians is to build the Church of God based on the foundation laid by Jesus Christ and protect it from every worldly concerns, defects and ways that would endanger the Church of God.

Although the churches are named after saints or built by various persons and consecrated by popes, cardinals and bishops, yet, it is Christ who is the foundation of every Church and cornerstone of every Church. Because, without Christ the foundation would not stand firm forever or would not function properly as Christ wishes to be though His Church. Most of the times divisions and disunity in the church is because we don’t have Jesus as the foundation of the Church or the foundation of our lives. So let us realize that Jesus is the foundation and has already laid the foundation of the Church, we are all co-workers and we just need to build upon the foundation laid by Jesus Christ and not to pressurize people our personal concept, ideology and preferences.

3. Love and zeal for God’s place:

Love, respect and zeal for God’s place is a must for every Christian. The Church signifies the presence of God. Everyone born of Christ is bound to have love, reverence and zeal for the house of God. These acts of love, respect and zeal for the house of God would prove our relationship and constancy with God the creator. Today’s Gospel reading presents to us the cleansing of the temple by Jesus. Jesus’ Zeal and vigor was such that he was literally drove them out of the temple, because they were making the temple of God as a market place, a place of business and a place exhibiting their power and authority. The act of Jesus’ cleansing the temple gives us a definite hint that temple or a dwelling place of God has certain decorum, reverence, worship and holiness. What makes the dwelling place of God defiled is our disrespect or irreverence, indifference, business minded approach towards God’s presence.

At times we too make our churches as market places or business place, whenever we organize events or programs that could be held outside the church (like dance, games and competitions of various sorts, when we clean or decorate our churches) etc. When we consider the place of God as an ordinary place, the divine feel or the divine power we won’t experience. But the moment we understand the importance of God’s presence in the Church, there will be healing, comfort and joy. That’s why someone has very beautifully said, “One moment in the presence of God can change many things. Time spent in the presence of God is fulfilling. The presence of God in our lives provides peace, strength and hope. Power, privilege and prosperity comes from God.”

Yes, this is the power of God’s presence in the sacred building we have erected as churches. There is a reason for Jesus’ fury in the Gospel of the day. The people were worried more about offering sacrifices than the sacredness of the place; the people were more concerning in selling than spending time with God in his presence; the people were more busy attending to business needs than paying attention to God’s word; the people were more interested in collecting taxes than collectively praising God the creator in his presence. We too at times fail in this regard giving more importance to external realities than the internal. Let us purify our motives and have a strong conviction that zeal for the house of God , love for the house of God and respect for the worship place of God will empower and enable as Children of  God for eternity.

As Pope Benedict XVI would say, today’s feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God’s desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth (Jn 4: 23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Every community therefore has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which are precious religious and historical patrimony.” So let us experience the sacredness in our churches, revere the place of sanctuary and feel the precious and powerful presence of God in our lives.

RESPOND:

Do I manifest the presence of God from my heart? Has our church become the manifestation of God’s presence?

Do we believe that Christ is the foundation of every church built on earth?

Do we have love, zeal and respect for the God’s dwelling place?

So let our hearts, churches manifest the presence of God, build the church on the foundation already laid by Jesus Christ and have love, zeal and respect for the dwelling place of God in our lives. Amen.

“Birds have nests in the trees where they can seek refuge when the find it necessary. Deer have their bushes and their thickets where they hide, seek shelter and find the coolness of the shade in summer. Similarly, Philothea, our hearts must find and choose some place each day, either on Mount Calvary, or in the wounds of our Lord, or in some other place near him. There we must seek refuge at every opportunity. There we must refresh and recreate ourselves in the midst of exterior occupations. There we must remain as in a castle to be protected from temptations.” (St. Francis De Sales, IDL, Part II, Chapter-12, pp. 104-105)

Wish you a happy feast. God bless you all…

Live Jesus