Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Dear brothers, peace and good.
For the second consecutive Sunday, the “Lectio continua” of the Gospel of Luke is interrupted, this time remembering the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. Today’s party may have come to us a bit by surprise. We could think that it was just another Sunday, already at the end of the liturgical year; but suddenly we are told that we are facing the memory of a dedication. We can accept it willingly, because we also celebrate the Lord, who in this gospel has been presented to us as the true temple.
We will say two words about these two realities. In Rome there was a Lateran palace, which was property of the imperial family. But in the 4th century, when Christianity went from being a persecuted religion to an approved, favored and more or less official religion, that palace became the residence of the popes.
The Basilica is great. It is the first great Christian basilica of Rome and the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, making it the mother and head of all the churches in the world. Built by Emperor Constantine, who donated the land to Pope Melquiades, the basilica was originally dedicated to the Holy Savior and later the names of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist were added.
Five ecumenical councils have been held in its naves. You have to remember that St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, where the Pope currently resides, has not existed until the 17th century. Only the last two ecumenical councils have been held in San Pedro. The Lateran Basilica is therefore much older. Furthermore, the name of Lateran is linked to the treaty of February 11, 1929, by which the civil status of the Holy See is established. The treaty was signed between Mussolini and Pope Pius XI.
As you can see, this is historical information, some very brief notes on the Pope’s basilica par excellence, long before St. Peter’s Basilica.
But what interests us most is to know that, beyond these majestic temples of Rome, there is a Temple, the person of Jesus himself, which is the place where the glory of God has dwelled par excellence. Yes, in Jesus God has shown us the splendor of his glory. The great temple of Jerusalem was destroyed, not one stone left of it. It happened with the first temple and it happened again with the second temple.
On the other hand, Jesus is eternal, and in him we have access to God always, at all times and in every century. He is also the foundation on which the Church of God that we all form is built. Only by settling on it can we challenge time that puts an end to all those grandiose constructions. The celebration is a universal sign of unity with the Roman Pontiff and an invitation to reflect on the temple that each believer is in the Holy Spirit.
The temple, in the first reading, is the place of God’s presence among his people. That is why it appears in the central place in Ezekiel’s vision. The water flowing from the temple suggests that all the blessings Israel receives come from God. Water is the source of life, it is scarce in Israel, and without it you cannot live. It is usually associated with the presence of God. For this reason, the water that flows from the temple has the capacity to fertilize the desert land of Judah and is even capable of healing the salt waters of the Dead Sea, in which there could be no life. In the temple you can find that strength, one can feel that all the bad feelings we may have are healed.
The temple was the place of God’s presence, and Paul today assures that God is now present in the believing community. Just as, in times of the Old Alliance, God resided in the temple, now the Spirit of God dwells in believers, “new temple” of God. Such a conception has as a corollary the extraordinary dignity of the believer who is, therefore, a holy place par excellence, an area of God’s presence in the world. Consequently, everyone must be treated with respect and veneration.
We already know that the true temple of God is man. But it is also true that we need sacraments of his presence. Of handles that facilitate remind us that he is still alive among us. We are aware that love has consistency in itself (but the alliance in the hands of the spouses makes it visible and commits it). We know very well that peace is the fruit of justice (but we make gestures that help us achieve it). The temple, in that sense, helps us celebrate and live, listen and feel the love that God has for us. It is a corner to which we go, not exclusively to find God, but to dedicate a space of our day or our life entirely to Him.
We are living temples of God. And precisely for this reason, because we are living temples of God, we need to build ourselves day by day. Improve and renew ourselves. When we go to a place built in stone, we contemplate and realize the life and spiritual richness of a community that believes in Jesus and that needs the meeting to comfort and help each other, to proclaim his Word and put it into practice. Each church, in hundreds of places in the world, becomes a banner that proclaims the presence of a group that hopes, tries to live and follow the teachings of Jesus the Master. “We can only build a better world if we build ourselves, first.”
The beauty of the Catholic temple is precisely the community that celebrates and congregates within it. The greatest investment we can make is precisely to live what we hear within each sacred space. Be consistent with what we say with what matters to us in our lives. The Dedication of the Mother of all Churches (Saint John Lateran) invites us every day to offer our hearts and our lives to God, to make ourselves a living, effective and real temple for God.
Your brother in faith, Alejandro, CMF
