Questions of the Week
The Jewish temple took 46 years to build by the time Jesus came to Jerusalem at the end of his public ministry. What did Jesus mean when he said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up?” Where is God’s temple today?
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
This Sunday celebrates the dedication of the cathedral church in Rome, where the chair of Peter resides. This church’s official name is the Papal Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran, otherwise called the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which is kind of confusing, since it sounds like it is dedicated to “St. John Lateran,” but actually there is no such saint. Rather, it is dedicated to our Savior and also commemorates two saints named John, St. John the Baptist and St. John the Apostle.
It is considered the mother of all churches, for it is the most ancient of basilicas dedicated to Jesus our Holy Savior where the pope presides over the whole Catholic Church. A wealthy Roman family owned the land that was known geographically to be in the Lateran area of Rome. So, Lateran designates the place. The Emperor Constantine (whose wife owned the land) gave it to the Church. The basilica was originally and primarily dedicated to Christ the Savior in 324 by Pope Sylvester I. However, over time, additional patrons were added:
- In the tenth century, Pope Sergius III dedicated the newly built baptistery to St. John the Baptist.
- In the twelfth century, Pope Lucius II added St. John the Evangelist to the dedication.
In this photo, you can see the chair or “cathedra” of Peter! It is a symbol of the teaching office and authority of St. Peter and his successors. Jesus said to his apostles, “he who hears you hears me” (Luke 10:16). And to St Peter he said, “I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).
Today we remember that all churches prepare and remind us where God has chosen to dwell. Jesus’ Sacred Body is the New Temple and we are its members!
St. Paul understood this when he said to the Corinthians “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
And in 1 Corinthains 6:19-20, St. Paul says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.’
And in 1 Peter 2:4-5, St. Peter says, “Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
May our feast this Sunday increase the unity in the Church as we remember Jesus giving his authority and teaching office to St. Peter and his successors, and our awareness that we are God’s Holy Temple, made to offer our very selves in union with Christ to God our Father.