This Sunday we are celebrating the feast of the Dedication of the Church of St. John Lateran. It might seem surprising that on a Sunday we would be celebrating a Church building. In fact, we are not simply celebrating this Church building. Our scripture readings lead us to see that we are celebrating the sacred presence and deep desire of God for all of us: “Behold God’s dwelling with the human race. God will dwell with them, and they will be God’s people.”
Our Opening Prayer for this feast makes clear the meaning of our celebration: “O God, who from living and chosen stones prepare an eternal dwelling for your majesty, increase in your Church the spirit of grace you have bestowed.” A building, then, (St. John Lateran is the oldest Church in Rome and the cathedral church of Pope Leo XIV) can be the symbol of meaning for a people, an expression of all that is true and good and beautiful, the ultimate hope and desire of God’s people.
Our Gospel passage on this feast has Jesus coming to Jerusalem near Passover time and visiting the Temple. He did not like what he saw—the core of faith had been co-opted into commodity transactions (“…stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”) The Temple for him represented the presence and deep love of God for us. Each visit was a reminder of the hope and promise held out to all of humanity.
So, most importantly, what we celebrate this Sunday is that same reminder, found in a special way in the sacred places we revere, places where we find God’s presence, but also a reminder of the truth about ourselves: “You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you.” We can, indeed, give thanks for all the ways that God finds to keep us close and celebrating!
Len Kraus, S.J.
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