Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
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| St. Peter |
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| St. Simon |
One
of my great blessings in life has been to travel to Rome several times. I first went there through a study
abroad program when I was a junior in college. My most recent trip was in 2013. Each time I go, I try to stop by all four of the Patriarchal
Basilicas: St. Peter, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. Mary Major, and St. John
Lateran. In that last basilica,
the Pope’s cathedral church, whose dedication we celebrate today, there are
huge niches going up the nave of the church. And in each niche is a larger-than-life marble statue of the
apostles: Peter with a book and the keys of the kingdom of heaven; Simon with a
book and the saw by which he was martyred; St. Jude with a spear; St. Paul with
a book and the sword by which he was martyred; St. James the Greater with the
pilgrim’s staff; St. Thomas with a carpenter’s square; St. Philip with a cross
and stepping on a dragon; St. Matthew with a large book and standing on a bag
of money; St. Bartholomew with a knife and his flayed skin (the tradition of
how he was martyred); St. James the Lesser with a small book and a staff; St.
John with a book and eagle; St. Andrew with the style of cross that bears his
name. All of these statues add to
the grandeur of the pope’s cathedral, and I’m always in awe and inspired every
time I go to visit. It is
refreshing to see these princes of the church and think about the effect that
these twelve, mostly uneducated, men had on the history of the world!
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| St. Jude |
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| St. Paul |
St.
Paul reminds us that we are the temple of God. As I mentioned when we celebrated our own anniversary of the
dedication of this church, we are the living stones which make up the temple of
God, and we all have a role in helping each other, because no one stone alone makes
a grand building. But today, as we
celebrate the Dedication of St. John Lateran, I would like to encourage us to
think of the temple of God as having niches which are ready for each of us.
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| St. James the Greater |
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| St. Thomas |
The
first thing we have to do is fill that niche. The apostles didn’t get their large, marble statues for
running away at the crucifixion.
They got those statues because after they ran away they came back. And they preached Jesus all throughout
the known world and invited others to follow Jesus and change their lives to
the way that Jesus wants us to live.
All but one died for this proclamation. Even the one who was not martyred, St. John, died in exile
on Patmos. If we wish to fill the
niche of the heavenly Jerusalem, the temple of the Lamb, with our persons, then
we too are called to follow Jesus, even if we have abandoned Him before, and
proclaim Him to others, inviting them to follow Jesus.
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| St. Philip |
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| St. Matthew |
To
often, though, our “statues” are covered with cobwebs, dirt, dust, and
filth. And it’s at those times
that Jesus has to come in and clean us off. There are two ways this happens: the good way, where God
invites us back to Him and we respond, confessing our sins to God through the
priest in the Sacrament of Penance, and allowing God to take a warm rag to
clean us off; or the bad way, where God, who had still invited us to return to
Him, respects our free will to choose against Him, and allows us to choose Hell
over Him, assigning that niche to someone else. I’m sure we want to occupy the niche that was made for us,
and yet how often do we neglect to make regular confessions? Advent is coming up, and many people go
to the communal penance liturgy where we have multiple priests, but adults
should go at least four times per year.
I myself confess every few weeks, for the forgiveness of my sins, and to
grow in holiness, and make sure that I will fill that niche that God has set
aside for me in His temple.
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| St. Bartholomew |
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| St. James the Lesser |
The
second thing is to imagine what item would be associated with us? What item would represent our life, as
so many of the statues have items that represent their deaths? Maybe it’s a telephone because we call
our friends and family to make sure they’re doing well. Maybe it’s cooking utensils because we
volunteer at funeral luncheons, breakfasts, or dinners. Maybe it’s a rake or shovel since we
help out with cleaning the church grounds or the cemetery. Maybe it’s a book because we teach
others about God or write about God.
The options only depend on how we life our lives as disciples of God,
and what we do to further the Kingdom of God.
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| St. John |
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| St. Andrew |
God
has set a place aside for us in His heavenly temple. We won’t be marble statues, but we will be adding to the
beauty of the temple of God and offering Him constant worship. By following Christ, we will gain a
spot in the heavenly Jerusalem, and will gladden that city of God, the holy
dwelling of the Most High, because we will be where He created us to be: in
heaven with Him. But let’s make
sure that we get there, because the road is narrow to salvation, and wide to
perdition. Only by doing our best
to stay, all of our life, on that straight and narrow path, and then returning
to God to confess our sins when we stray, will we be able to enjoy a place in
the temple of God and truly be a masterpiece, even more awesome than the
apostle statues at St. John Lateran.
