Today
we celebrate the feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. The
fact that we are celebrating this feast on a Sunday is a little odd. Usually,
when a liturgical memorial falls on a Sunday, the normal Sunday Liturgy
overrides it. This is because Sunday, the Lord's Day, the weekly participation
in his sacrificial death and resurrection, is the real cornerstone of the
Church's spiritual and liturgical life. But today is different. Today a
liturgical memorial falls on a Sunday, but it takes precedence over the normal
Sunday Readings and prayers.
And
to make the situation even more exceptional, the memorial isn't even connected
to a saint or a particular person, but to a building, the first Christian
church in history: the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome. Why is this
building so important that today the
world's Catholics are all thanking God for it and celebrating the memorial of
its dedication, which took place in the year 324 AD? The answer to that very reasonable question is that this Church
is much more than just a building. It is one of the four major basilicas in
Rome and it is the cathedral of the pope. As such, it is known as the Cathedral
of Rome and of the World. In addition to this, it is a powerful symbol, the
embodiment of one of the most profound truths of our faith: that the Catholic
Church is indestructible. Jesus promised that he would be with us until the end
of time, through all the ups and downs of
history, and that the gates of hell would never close around his one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. This building, this
Basilica, stands as evidence that Jesus has been keeping his promise.
There
are two main reasons for this. First, the Lateran Basilica calls to mind the
Church's first major victory. For the first 300 years of the Church's history,
being a Christian was illegal. The Catholic Church was marked by wave after
wave of violent, horrible persecution. The Roman Empire wanted to stamp out
Christianity because Christians refused to worship the false gods that pagan
rulers depended upon for protection. By worshipping Christ instead of the pagan
gods, Christians became enemies of the state, and they suffered because of it.
During those centuries, no public places of worship, no churches, were built
because the situation was simply too risky.
That
changed with the Emperor Constantine. In the year 312 Constantine's small army
defeated a much larger army in the Battle of Milvian Bridge. Constantine
attributed his victory to Jesus Christ, who had granted him a vision of the
cross, held up by angels, and a shining crest with Jesus' initials. Written
across the sky in this vision were the words, "In this sign you shall
conquer." Constantine had the Christian monogram emblazoned on his
soldiers' shields and banners, and they went on to victory. As soon as he
became sole emperor, he ended the centuries-long persecution of Christians,
legalizing Christianity and even
supporting it by sponsoring the construction of its first public churches.
The very first one was the magnificent Basilica whose dedication we celebrate
today: the Arch-Basilica of the Most Holy Savior, better known as St John
Lateran. To look upon this building is to look upon the power of God that
outlasted and won over the full might of the Roman Empire, the Church's first
persecutor.
But there is also a second
reason why this feast is given so much attention. The Lateran Basilica not only
symbolizes that first major victory in the history of the Church, it also
symbolizes the living Church, the supernatural
power of the Catholic Church to endure and grow through the centuries. Like
the Catholic Church herself, the Lateran Basilica has survived and thrived in
spite of horrendous troubles, disasters, and betrayals. In 410 AD, it was
ransacked by the invading Visigoths, who stormed Rome and destroyed everything
in their path. In 455 another army of barbarians, the Vandals, returned to
finish the job, stealing its treasures, sacking its beautiful altars, and
smashing its recently rebuilt walls and pillars. In 896 the immense wooden roof
caved in as the result of an earthquake. In 1308 the rebuilt structure again
collapsed due to a fire. A year later the pope moved out of Rome to begin the
papacy's 70-year residence in France. With the pope and cardinals gone, the
Basilica fell into further disrepair, and another fire broke out in 1367,
leaving barely more than a pile of smoldering ruins. When the papacy returned
to Rome in 1377, the Basilica was in such bad condition that the pope didn't even bother to move back in - they
relocated to the Vatican instead. For the next 400 years, the Basilica was
repaired, beautified, restored, and refurbished little by little, one piece at
a time - the roof, the nave, the narthex, the façade, and finally, in 1887, the
apse.
That
history of good times and bad, disasters and attacks, renovations and
improvements is a symbol of the history of the whole Catholic Church. Today's
feast reminds us not just of a great building, not just of the first great
victory of the Church, but also of the supernatural power that has kept the
Church surviving and thriving for more than 2000 years, in spite of attacks
from the outside and struggles with corruption on the inside.
This
is why today, throughout the entire world, Catholics are celebrating the
dedication of an old church. It is much more than an old building with
sentimental value: it is the mother of all church buildings. This basilica is
the tangible evidence of the trustworthiness of Christ's promise that by his
grace the Catholic Church will last for all time. Today when we recite the
Creed, recite it from the heart, remembering this great story that we are a
part of, that we have a chance each day to contribute to the story of
salvation. And as we receive the living Body and Blood of Christ in Holy
Communion let's ask our Lord for the grace to make our lives into living
basilicas, as St Paul described in today's Second Reading. Be decorated with
every virtue, so as to be living signs of God's power and love in this world that
is so desperately looking for something, or someone, to hope in. This is the
beauty of this feast of St. John Lateran; this is the beauty of our Catholic
faith, do not be afraid to share it with the world!!
