9 November 2015
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
At first sight this may appear to be a strange feast, the commemoration of a church that was dedicated in Rome in the year 324, the church where the popes lived for a thousand years before moving to the Vatican, and a church that is still the cathedral church of the pope. Nice history, but what is that to me? And why such an important feast?
The prayer of today’s feast sets the tone: “God our Father, from living stones, your chosen people, you built an eternal temple to your glory….”
I am a living stone, united with my parish, my bishop, to this Roman church where Pope Francis is the bishop, and ultimately to Christ, the head of the Mystical Body, the resurrected temple, to whom I become united more intimately each time I receive the Eucharist. And because of this unity I am more closely united with all the stones throughout the world who build up the Church, the living Body of Christ.
“Heavenly Father … Increase the spiritual gifts you have given to your church” throughout the world today. Mindful that the recent synod has emphasized our unity, create more living stones to make her the temple where Christ, the Lamb of God, spreads forth his light in our darkened world.