This Sunday we contemplate the theme of vigilance. Faith and human character cannot simply be passed on from one person to another. People can have a positive influence on others by living their life of faith heroically. Faith must be always sought like ‘wisdom’ in the first reading, and carefully preserved like the ‘oil in the lamps’ of the five wise virgins in the Gospel. As good Christians, we must learn how to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord Jesus.
On Monday, we celebrate the feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica. Whenever we celebrate the dedication of this church, we consider it as a feast of the Lord. Every church gives us a sacred place to worship God in Christ.
St. John Lateran Basilica is the first church that was built for Christian worship. It is named as “the mother of all churches”. Initially the place of Basilica with a beautiful palace belonged to a famous Laterani family. Later, when the Roman Emperor Constantine became a Christian, he donated the site to the Christians for their worship. Since then, it has become the official church of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. The Basilica has been rebuilt at least four times. The edifice was destroyed by the Vandals in the 5th century; an earthquake ruined it in the 9th, and it was destroyed by fires in the 14th and 17th centuries.
Inside the St. John Lateran Basilica – the mother of all churches.
Regarding churches, William Barkley renders a unique observation done by the famous British painter Edward Seago who took with him two young gypsy boys to visit a Cathedral in England. The boys, who were usually boisterous, became absolutely silent the moment they entered the huge Cathedral. Not only were they quiet while they were in the Cathedral, they also kept up their solemn feeling with peaceful silence until the evening. Commenting on the incident, William Barkley wrote: “Instinctive reverence was in their uninstructed hearts.”
Every place on this earth is worthy of God’s worship. But there are some places where we really feel the presence of God, where we can lift up our hearts and spirits to God with less distractions and struggles. When God appeared to Moses through the burning bush in the wilderness, He instructed Moses to take off the sandals from his feet and said; “The place where you stand is a holy ground” (Ex. 3:5). Our Churches, in like manner, are the holy places of God’s presence. They are places of God meeting His people through the holy sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ.
Let the celebration of the feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome help us to realize the sacredness of our own local churches where we regularly come in the presence our One Holy God.
-Fr. Ranjan D’Sa OCD