The House of True Peace

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. This basilica is the cathedral of the diocese of Rome and therefore the Holy Father’s church proper (where his chair resides). It’s the oldest of the papal basilicas, being given to the Church by the Emperor by at least 313 AD. Due to it’s antiquity and being the seat of the Bishop of Rome, the Universal Pastor, it is referred to as the Mother Church of Christendom.

Who cares… Really! Why does the Church celebrate this feast?! There are bigger churches and I’m never going there! In an age where human existence is lived on a very shallow basis, this feast can seem to be silly. Yet, it is needed more than ever. See, this mother church, this physical building is symbolic. Yeah, as Catholics we really dig symbols. But, it’s symbolic as are all physical Catholic churches. The Lateran Basilica quite properly symbolizes the glory, beauty, and strength of the actual Universal Ekklesia, the People of God. When one enters a beautiful church building, like the Lateran Basilica, one is reminded of the spiritual reality of coming into THE Church, the People of God. It is there that communion and relationship with God is not only possible, but readily exists. The physical church building reminds us that it is within THE Church, the Body of Christ, that God calls us to heal us, lift us up, direct us, save us. And that last bit is, I think today, a most important reason to celebrate this feast.

It’s within the Church that we find peace and salvation. True peace and security of soul cannot and never will be found outside of it. The institutions of this world are exactly that: worldly… This world is constantly changing, chaotic, and passing away. They cannot give what they do not have. The Catholic Church was created by Jesus Christ to be part of His Self, His own Body. For that very reason, it is otherworldly and constant. The peace and salvation that come from Jesus Christ through communion with His Catholic Church are the answer the deepest longings of our hearts. As we search frantically for the right group, club, party for acceptance, as we overfill our lives with the belief that activities or material possessions will satisfy the longing we miss the very thing that God has given to facilitate meeting those desires.

So while it may seem silly to mandate a universal feast of a super old church building that most will never see, after peering into the mystery of the feast day we can rejoice that we have a home in the Church where peace and security of soul can never be taken away. In fact, the only thing silly about today is that at times we still try to find these gifts outside of the Church and it’s Lord.

Hac Nocte Christus Natus Est!

This is the Christmas proclamation for the Feast of the Nativity and it’s worth checking out (this is from the Missal):

“The twenty-fifth Day of December when ages beyond number had run their course from the creation of the world, when God in the beginning created heaven and earth, and formed man in his own likeness; when century upon century had passed since the Almighty set his bow in the clouds after the Great Flood, as a sign of covenant and peace; in the twenty-first century since Abraham, our father in faith, came out of Ur of the Chaldees; in the thirteenth century since the People of Israel were led by Moses in the Exodus from Egypt; around the thousandth year since David was anointed King; in the sixty-fifth week of the prophecy of Daniel; in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; in the year seven hundred and fifty-two since the foundation of the City of Rome; in the forty-second year of the reign of Caesar Octavian Augustus, the whole world being at peace, JESUS CHRIST, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desiring to consecrate the world by his most loving presence, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and when nine months had passed since his conception, was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judah, and was made man: The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.”

This Night Christ is Born! Merry Christmas, everyone!