Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica 2008

First, a few words about today’s feast, yet another celebration that has taken the place of the current Sunday in Ordinary Time: in the fourth century the emperor Constantine had erected a basilica on a plot of land donated by the wealthy Lateran family; eleven hundred years later the church was destroyed by Rome’s enemies. Pope Innocent X built the present edifice and dedicated it on this day. It has many imposing statues, but its real treasure is a wooden table encased within the high altar; tradition holds that Saint Peter himself celebrated Mass upon it. The Lateran basilica is the diocesan cathedral of Rome; therefore the universal Church celebrates this day as a feast, unlike the dedication of other Roman basilicas.

Naturally the readings for this day are concerned with “God’s building,” a reality far greater than bricks and mortar. Saint Paul refers to the Christians in Corinth as “God’s building,” in whose construction Paul and other leaders took part. They are a sacred investment, well worth the time and energy spent on their edification. Paul notes the care that this construction demands: it can rest upon no other foundation than Jesus Christ; it can be animated by nothing less than God’s Holy Spirit. There is absolutely no room for shoddy workmanship, for the true Builder will demand an account of materials and labor alike.

The initial destruction of the first Lateran basilica mirrors that of the Temple in Jerusalem: built by Solomon in about 950 BC, it met its Maker almost four hundred years later when Israel’s enemies the Babylonians rent it asunder. God had assured His Presence in that structure, but Israel would be forced to realize that the Presence was not limited to physical structures. The destruction of the Temple was not, in fact, the destruction of their hopes. The prophet Ezekiel began to describe a new Temple, from which living water would flow into previously desolate land. In his vision, Ezekiel foresaw unprecedented fruitfulness: abundant animals and fish, fruit trees, medicinal leaves. All of this, we would suggest, pales in comparison to the fruitfulness experienced in the Church.

Lord knows that this fruitfulness doesn’t come easy: Paul encountered many divisions at work in the Church of Corinth. People claimed to be followers of Paul, Peter, or Apollos—not followers of Christ. Even today, the various schools of theology are not meant to obscure the Common Source of Truth. Jesus Himself addressed the corruption of worship when He drove out the money changers from the Temple. This gesture was a statement from God, a “word from their Sponsor”: in short, the word was “Cut it out!” More than a mere condemnation of lucrative practices, Jesus’ Word was a declaration of His Divine Person in flesh, a Presence that trumps all other motives for worship and sacrifice. Even though the first Temple lay in ruins, and the Second one soon would (in 70 AD), His Body would not.

So it is today when, in the face of a failing world economy, wars and rumors of wars, and a general lowering of ethical standards, the one true Church does not cease to draw men and women to itself. Christ’s Mystical Body will not collapse; it will not need a bailout. But it does need people to recognize the likeness of God within them, the gift that is a responsibility. It is not a “gift that keeps on giving” without our active participation. Hear again St. Paul’s challenge: “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.” The money-grubber within us must be driven out; the lover of impurity within us must be expelled; the lazy lout within us must be put to work.

Your temple and mine may still be under construction, but Jesus has promised to tear it down and raise it up within the three days of His burial. We pray that our zealous reception of Christ’s Eucharistic Body and Blood will raze our sinful selves, and raise our immortal bodies to glory.