Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Instead of finishing the liturgical year as we usually do, counting up to the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are concluding 2025 with a string of diverse liturgical events. Last Sunday was the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed since it fell on 2 November.  This is a good reminder for the rest of the month for all of us to keep in mind the souls currently undergoing purification in Purgatory on their way to heavenly bliss.

Today, November 9th , is the Feast of the Dedication of one of the first churches built in Rome following the persecution of our early brothers and sisters in the Catholic Faith during the Roman Empire. Namely the impressive Basilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist, commonly known as Saint John Lateran.

The basilica of St John Lateran was one of the first churches built by Christians following the early persecutions. It was raised in Rome under the Emperor Constantine and is the first Western church to have the invocation of the Saviour. The Lateran Basilica was consecrated by Pope Sylvester on this day in the year 324. Originally celebrated only in
Rome, the feast became universal in the Roman Rite as a sign of unity with the Holy See. This church continues to be the Cathedral of the Roman Pontiff to this day. The basilica is called ‘Mater Ecclesiae Romae Urbis et Orbis’, Mother of all the churches in Rome and of the world. Its long history evokes memories of the many thousands of people who have received Baptism within its ancient walls.

How important is the Church building itself! Human beings build different structures for determined purposes: bridges and roads for transportation and travel, schools to impart instruction, hospitals to care for the sick. Churches stand out as those buildings providing the Christian faithful with a place to worship: to come and speak with God, and listen to Him. As Pope John Paul II taught: Any Church is your house, and the house of God. Value it as the place where we encounter our common Father.

As the Ritual for the Dedication of Churches states: “the Church building is the place where the Christian community gathers together to hear the word of God, to offer up prayers of petition and praise, and, in a principal way, to celebrate the Sacred Mystery of our Faith. The Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, a unique image of the Church is reserved here.” This is why the tabernacle is given so much prominence.

This same document goes on to say: “The altar is surrounded by people made holy by participating in the sacrifice of the Lord and nourished by the celestial banquet, The august Sacrament is a sign of Christ, who is priest, host and altar of his own sacrifice.”

We should often bring to mind that the most Holy Trinity inhabits the souls of the just in a singular way. By means of the grace of God; Christ dwells in each one of us as in a temple (Leo XIII, Encyclical, Divinum illud munus, 9-5-1897). Meditation on this marvellous reality will help us to be more conscious of the transcendent importance of
living in God’s grace. We need to have a deep horror of offending the Lord, because sin destroys Christ’s temple and deprives our souls of friendship with God.
 
How grateful we should feel here at St. Mary Star of the Sea, to have such a dignified and splendid building in which to come together to hear the word of God, make our common and individual prayers heard to the Almighty Father, receive Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist—and just sometimes spend time with Him here. We invoke the several saints represented by statues and paintings around the Church, our “older” Brothers and Sisters in the Catholic Faith. We are all really one family.