Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple,
God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. If the occasion doesn’t make your spine tingle with excitement you might do well to read the Wikipedia article about the church. The following are excerpts from the first paragraphs:

The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran… is the cathedral of the Church of Rome, Italy, and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope.… It is the oldest and ranks first among the four Papal Basilicas or major basilicas of Rome…. It claims the title of ecumenical mother church… among Roman Catholics….

An inscription on the façade, Christo Salvatori, indicates the church's dedication to the "Christ the Savior", for the cathedrals of all patriarchs are dedicated to Christ Himself. As the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, containing the papal throne, it ranks above all other churches in the Catholic Church, including St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

You’ll find some wonderful pictures on Google images.

I visited this church as a tourist several years ago and it is every bit as impressive as the more famous Saint Peter’s Basilica. And it didn’t cost us the Protestant Reformation to build!

There is also a Franciscan connection. The story is told that, when Saint Francis went to Rome seeking the Pope’s approval for his bright idea, the Holy Father noticed his dirty, bearded, eager face in the crowd. That night he had a nightmare, envisioning the enormous cathedral of Saint John Lateran collapsing. Suddenly a little fellow stepped forward in his dream and began to prop up the buildings walls. He grew in size and finally wrapped his arms around the entire building, stabilizing and saving it. When the man turned toward the dreaming pontiff, the Pope recognized the face in the crowd.

Waking the next morning he asked about and granted an audience to Saint Francis, who then made his outrageous proposal. His new Order would live in obedience to the pope, with neither house nor property, imitating the vagrant lifestyle of Jesus. Although Francis had not even written his ideas down, the Holy Father approved the scheme and the Order was founded – in 1209 AD.  

Visiting Rome gave me a better understanding of the Church, especially of its deep roots in world history. Those massive piles of stone we call basilicas aren’t going anywhere. Nations rise and fall but the city remains with its people and its churches. When Americans look at the Grand Canyon or giant sequoias and think deep thoughts about time and eternity, Romans look at their churches. They collapse and fall and rise again, century after century; as does the Church that sponsors them.

Today’s feast also reminds us, in the words of Saint Paul, “You are God’s building.” and “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

Every city, town and village in the United States has a church. It may be Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal or whatever. Invariably it represents the presence of God in the community. Members of those churches depend upon their presence. They are just as solid and real as the earth itself, as their faith in God.

But I am troubled by their being locked most of the time. If there is anything that signals the decline and collapse of America, it is the locks on our churches. We’ve had to seal them against our own children and neighbors, to prevent their pilfering the few things of value we keep in the church. In some cases they covet the sound systems; more often they’re looking for something to sell, to buy drugs. 
         If anyone destroys God’s temple,
         God will destroy that person;
When the same wretched souls finally hear the Voice of God appealing to their better nature, reminding them they deserve better than self-abuse, they cannot find a quiet place to pray in church. Nor can anyone else.

This plague swept across our land and no one seemed to notice when it happened. If the prophets were to speak to us today, they might see these locks as the very curse of God on our infidelity.