Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica, which is the cathedral of Rome. There is an inscription on the outside of the basilica, that says, “The holy church of the Lateran, mother and head of all the churches of the city and of the world.”
The Lateran family donated the land to build the church. After the church was constructed by the emperor Constantine and given to pope Sylvester I, it was consecrated in 324. The pope lived at the Lateran palace for about 1000 yrs, before moving to St. Peter’s Basilica. The church also possesses the relics of the heads of Peter and Paul and the holy table our Lord used at the Last Supper.
Many think that St. Peter’s Basilica is the Cathedral of Rome, but it's not. It’s St. John Lateran and the church has the bishop of Rome’s chair called the cathedra.
We celebrate the dedication of the physical structure of the Lateran Basilica, not so much because it is old, or that it was the resident of the pope for centuries, but most importantly, because of who is in the Church. Our Lord Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist now resides in the Lateran Basilica and every Catholic church in the world.
In the second reading today, St. Paul said, “Do you not know you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.”
Today’s feast is a reminder that our body, like that of a church, is a temple, which belongs to God. Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and because of that we should treat our body with respect. It does not belong to us; it belongs to the Lord. So when we purposely harm our body, we are harming something that belongs to God.
Surgeries such as face lifts, or if a man or woman gets sterilized, to not have children is harmful to the body. Hysterectomies, although they cause sterilization, are not sinful, because the purpose of getting a hysterectomy involves a health problem.
Excessive piercing is not treating our body with respect. Overeating and eating excessive sweets can cause obesity and diabetes. If we don’t take care of our health, we are not treating the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. If we fail to take medicine, it can cause premature death. Due to vanity and a poor self-image one can exercise excessively to have a body that will draw attention to others. Some don’t exercise to remain healthy. Poor personal hygiene can cause body odor, infections, skin irritation and lice.
Smoking harms our lungs (my father, my uncle George and my brother-in-law John, all died from lung cancer). Excessive drinking of alcohol can damage the liver, social problems, fractured families and the loss of one’s job.
Taking drugs like marijuana or meth are sinful because they impair judgment. Side effects of marijuana include: permanent brain difficulties such as the inability to control emotions, impaired memory and attention, reduced IQ, difficulty with problem-solving and decision-making, increased risk of psychosis, anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia, addiction, mood swings, paranoia and hallucinations and hormonal imbalances in women.
More important than physical care of the body is the care of the soul. Whereby we avoid sin, especially mortal sin.
What would your body be like if you bathed only twice a year or bathed only once a month? Pew! And so, what is your soul like, if you confess only before Christmas and Easter.
Saints have a way of saying shocking yet honest things. Saint Padre Pio, known for his mystical experiences and stigmata, once encountered a man confessing lustful sins, describing the spiritual stench as “the smell of a rotting corpse.”
St. Catherine complained to the Pope that “in the Vatican (a place which should have been a paradise of heavenly virtues)-there was instead a stench of all the vices of Hell." The Pontiff was bewildered about the statement and how the Saint knew of such a condition, when she had been in Rome only a few days. St. Catherine responded, “to the honor of Almighty God I dare to say that I could smell the sins being committed in the Roman Court better when I was in Siena, where I was born, than the people who committed them and are still committing them today.”
Saint John Vianney said “Confession is the soul's bath. Just, as even a clean glass needs to be washed occasionally.”
By coming to Mass today, we recognize our need to drive those things in our heart, which prevent the temple of our soul from truly being the Father’s house. We need to be like Jesus, and have holy zeal, to drive out the sheep, oxen, and money changers within our heart (which are our sins).
St. Padre Pio asked all his penitents to confess weekly. The Virgin Mary at Medjugorje said we should confess monthly, attend daily Mass to receive Holy Communion, pray three Rosaries a day, and read a short paragraph from the bible daily.
My friends, when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, we become living tabernacles. And we need to be conscience of the indwelling of God in our soul, for by doing this, we will treat our body and our soul with respect.
Today, let us honor and praise St. John Lateran Church, the mother church of all Christians, and with zeal strive to make our soul immaculate in imitation of Mary, the image and model of the Church. By confessing regularly and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion often, Our Lord will find within us a palace, a little tabernacle, and a home He can dwell.
