Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Today happens to be the feast of the dedication of the Basilica of St. John, Lateran in Rome. This past summer I had the privilege of spending some time in Rome, and one Sunday I was able to go to mass at the Basilica, which officially is the seat of the Pope, although St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City is perhaps today much more closely associated with the papacy in the popular media. What struck me about the Basilica was the massive size of the building, the high coffered ceiling. I was also impressed that the Church had been a site of Christian worship since the early centuries of Christianity. Yet it was also striking that the interior had been completely renovated at least once since then, so that it was hard to tell that it was more than a few centuries old. It was filled with religious art, including a set of very large statues of the twelve disciples mounted on either side of the nave.
Why does the Church celebrate the dedication of this building which exists in one particular place? It seems to me that one response to this question involves seeing that Christianity is a religion that brings together the spiritual and the physical aspects of human existence—affirming the importance of each. We worship a God who is not bound to a particular time and place (and indeed is outside of time and space), but who became a man and lived on the earth for a time, and who even died. The dual character of Christianity is seen in its emphasis on both the spiritual and the physical, both the particular and the universal.
This dual character of Christianity is also reflected in the readings for today. In the gospel reading, Jesus makes it clear that the Church is not a building, nor is it a collection of buildings—instead, the Church is Jesus’ mystical body of which all Christians are members. You and I are members of Christ’s body, and as Paul states in the second reading, we are also temples of the Holy Spirit. Yet, having said this it is important to note that certain buildings are important and celebrated because of their particular role in bringing God and human beings together. For instance, we believe that Jesus is present in the reserved sacrament in the tabernacle in our local parishes. And particular church buildings, such as the Lateran Basilica that have had a prominent role in the Church’s witness through history deserve to be celebrated and protected.
Jesus Christ became incarnate in a real, human body. He came to save not only our souls but our bodies as well. This teaching has many implications—it matters what we do with our bodies and how we treat other people. Today each of us has the opportunity to think about what it means for us to be a temple of the Holy Spirit and a member of Christ’s body. Each of us is an image of God in human flesh. Do we live our lives in such a way that lives up to this image, or do we fail to respect it?
Joel Schickel