House of prayer ... for all time

FEAST of the DEDICATION of

the LATERAN BASILICA

November 9

 

Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer

that is made in this place.  For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my Name may be there for ever; my eyes and my heart

will be there for all time.  - 2 Chron 7:15-16

 

 

Unlike the commemorations of other Roman churches (St. Mary Major, Aug 5; Sts. Peter and Paul, Nov 18), this anniversary is a FEAST. The dedication of a church is a feast for all its parishioners. St. John Lateran Basilica is, in a sense, the parish church of all Catholics, for it is the pope's parish, the cathedral church of the Bishop of Rome. On the façade of the basilica there is an inscription in Latin which reads, “the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world.” 

The Lateran’s towering façade is crowned with 15 colossal statues of: Christ, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist and 12 doctors of the Church. Beneath its high altar rest the remains of the small wooden table on which tradition holds St. Peter himself celebrated Mass.

 

  

"What was done here, as these walls were rising, is reproduced when we bring together those who believe in Christ. For, by believing, they are hewn out, as it were, from mountains and forests, like stones and timber; but by catechizing, baptism and instruction they are, as it were, shaped, squared and planed by the hands of the workers and artisans. Nevertheless, they do not make a house for the Lord until they are fitted together through love."  ~  St. Augustine, Sermon 36

CELEBRATE Mass today and consider the unity and joy that it bears -

one baptism, one bread, one body, one heart.

It is indeed a FEAST- not to be missed!

 

 

“…in the Eucharistic liturgy…the community of baptized finds itself again united to listen to the Word of God and nourish itself on the Body and Blood of Christ.  Gathered around the twofold table, the Church of living stones builds herself up in truth and in love and is molded interiorly by the Holy Spirit, transforming herself into what she receives, conforming herself ever more to her Lord Jesus Christ.  She herself, if she lives in sincere and fraternal unity, thus becomes a spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God.

Today’s Feast celebrates an ever current mystery:  that God desires to build Himself a spiritual temple in the world, a community that adores Him in spirit and truth (Jn 4: 23-24).  But this occasion reminds us also of the importance of the concrete buildings in which the community gathers together to celebrate God’s praises.  Every community therefore has the duty to guard carefully their holy structures, which constitute a precious religious and historical patrimony.” ~ Pope Benedict XVI