There are several hundred churches in
the eternal city of Rome. Among them, of
course, is the largest church in Christendom:
St. Peter’s Basilica. Anyone who
has visited the Vatican has stood in awe at the
magnificence of this
basilica. Among the other great churches
we call basilicas are the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the Basilica of St. Paul
outside the walls and the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
Today, November 9th, we are celebrating
one of those basilicas, the one that is dedicated in honor of St. John the
Evangelist, more commonly called the Lateran Basilica. It may seem unusual to us that the
celebration of the Dedication of this Basilica should take
precedence over our
regular Sunday Liturgy. Another aspect
that may seem unusual is that the feast has the title of ‘The Dedication of the
Basilica of the Savior,’ yet it is the one and the same church dedicated to St.
John the Evangelist. It is only
occasionally that this feast falls on a Sunday.
We probably wouldn’t take notice of it when it comes on a weekday.
So what gives this
feast day such importance? There are a
number of reasons, among them is the fact that this particular church is also
the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Rome.
Every Diocese in the world has a cathedral. In Our own diocese, it is the Cathedral of
the Sacred Heart in Rochester. In New
York City, it is the more famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I am sure that in some remote areas of the
world, the cathedral church is a very small church, perhaps due to the poverty
of the area of its location.
The significance of the Basilica of the
Savior, or St. John’s Basilica, is precisely because it is a cathedral
church. It is the seat of the Diocese of
Rome and consequently it is the mother church for the Roman diocese and Pope
Francis is its Bishop. Read over the
texts of the scriptures for today’s feast and you will discover the importance
of the cathedral church.
In the first reading from the Book of
Ezekiel, the imagery is very rich in speaking about the flowing water that
comes out from the temple, running into the sea; and when the rich pure water
reaches the salty water of the sea, it gives life to all the creatures of the
sea. The trees and plants that grow
along the banks of the river are watered by the life-giving springs that
nourish these plants. Both the water
which gives life and the plants that have healing powers represent the
sacramental life of the church that nourishes and heals. The sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist,
Confirmation and Anointing, all give and sustain life. The sacrament of Reconciliation brings
healing to the sinner.
In the passage from the Letter to the
Corinthians, our second reading today, St. Paul reminds us that we ourselves
are the temples of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God dwells in us. This tells us that we are not only
celebrating a structure in today’s liturgy, but the life-giving Spirit of God
that is within us.
Finally the passage of the Gospel, taken
from the Gospel of St. John, gives us the scene where Jesus cleanses the temple
in Jerusalem. The words of Jesus give
strong evidence for his love for the Father’s house. “Take these out of here and stop making my
Father’s house a marketplace.”
Jesus, by his action, is reminding us
that every place
of worship is a sacred
place and that we should remember this and remind ourselves at the same time,
that we are living temples and the Spirit of the Lord dwells within us.
Fr. Walt Wainwright
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