Schooler's Sagacity and Senility: Homilies from Fr. Bill

FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA

9 NOVEMBER 2014

          In his letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul is not talking about physical buildings.  He reminds us that we are a living Temple, formed of living stones, and that God dwells in our midst.  Nor does Jesus talk about a physical temple in the Gospel.  Standing in the magnificent Temple undergoing a fifty-year renovation, Jesus is referring to his own body.  As he drives the money changers and animals out of the Temple, he will become the ultimate sacrifice acceptable to the Father, not within the sacred Temple, but outside the city walls in a hill of execution.

            As living stones of the Temple of God, we gather today to celebrate the dedication of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome.  It is a truly magnificent church.  The Emperor Constantine built the original church on land that had belonged to the Laterani family.  Pope Sylvester I consecrated it on this day in 324.  Since then, the physical church has been destroyed by earthquakes, fires, and invasions of Vandals.  It has been rebuilt and renovated many times.  Even though Popes have lived at the Vatican since the 14^th century, the Basilica of Saint John Lateran has remained the Cathedral Church of the Pope as Bishop of Rome.  It has remained a powerful sign of the living stones of God's Temple in union with the Bishop of Rome.

            Our physical church has something in common with the Baptismal font of Saint John.  Around the top of the octagonal baptismal font at the Lateran Basilica is inscribed a meditation about Baptism written in Latin by Pope Saint Leo the Great in the 5^th century.  Those same words are inscribed around the base of our Baptismal font.  Through Baptism, we are formed into a living Temple.  Through Baptism, we share communion each other, and ultimately with the Pope, who serves as bond of unity for Catholic Churches throughout the world.

            As you may have heard, we are planning to build a new church for our parish!  In our Capital Campaign, we have emphasized the need for more space.  Our physical structures are too small for the size of our growing congregation.  Just as renovations and adjustments had to be made on the Lateran Basilica over the centuries, we are adjusting to changing needs here.

            As much as these physical limitations are true, we have not spoken enough of building a beautiful structure.  This feast gives us a chance to reflect on the importance of a physical church. We, the living stones who worship in spirit and in truth, need a beautiful sacred space in which we can praise God.  That is why we have been careful with our present sacred church.  It will be repurposed to provide a new Baptismal Font, with the meditation of Pope Saint Leo the Great inscribed on.  It will also provide a sacred place for gathering as a community before and after Mass, for meetings, funeral dinners, and the work of building our spiritual temple.

            We are also being very careful with the design of the new church.  The new church is Romanesque, which preserves the beauty of a church like Saint Monica.  Yet, it will also be built in a cruciform shape, which will allow the living stones to be gathered around the Altar.  We have been very careful in planning the iconography and the images which will remind us that we are living stones being formed into a great Temple built upon the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

            All beautiful church buildings require sacrifice.  As Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to become the foundation of our living Temple, many parishioners have responded by making sacrificial gifts to build a beautiful and sacred church.  We have already raised $11.2 million in pledges, and we continue to work toward our goal of $15 million.  But, we are not done yet, and we continue to seek help as we go to the Diocesan Finance Council to receive permission to move ahead.

            We are not building grand a basilica to attract the attention of the universal Church, as the Lateran Basilica does.  We are building a beautiful church that will serve the living stones of the Temple of Saint Pius X for many years.  It is a daunting task, just as the maintenance and rebuilding of the Lateran Basilica has been a daunting task, just as the building of our present church had been a daunting task.  But many have sacrificed to give us these gifts.  Now it is our turn to continue the work of building a proper physical church for the living stones who will worship God in it.