9 November 2020
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
A feast day given to the construction of a church may seem a bit odd. But this was not any church. The church of the Holy Savior, only later named St. John and given the name Lateran for the property on which the church was built, was considered the first church built after the recognition of Christianity as an acceptable religion in the Roman empire. The struggle was fierce, but Christianity moved from an obscure religious cult to the predominant religious experience in the Mediterranean. The growth was continuous and not without controversy. Internally, the church still held divisions as to what were and what were not current teachings. One of the instigators of orthodoxy was the pope who was given the remnants of the old Lateran estate by emperor Constantine. This became, and still is, the Cathedral of Rome. Churches are brick and stone, but they symbolize a presence of God in the world, in –no pun intended—a very concrete way. Churches became marks of stability, a visual representation of the presence of Christ in the world. It is for this reason that they are consecrated since they hold a noble function. In one of the documents from the Secund Vatican Council Lumen Gentium, a “Light to the People” the council Fathers described the church as a light with a message that can illuminate and assist the progress of humanity. As the gospel says, no one puts a lamp under bushel, you put it on a lamp stand. Today’s feast recalls the church’s intention to make itself known in society in a very concrete way.