REFLECTION/HOMILY ON THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF ST. JOHN LATERAN BASILICA YEAR I 9TH NOVEMBER 2023
REFLECTION/HOMILY ON THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF ST. JOHN LATERAN BASILICA YEAR I 9TH NOVEMBER 2023 Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12; Ps.46; 1Cor.3:9C-11:16-17; John 2:13-22 The Dignity of God’s Temple Today, we celebrate the feast of the dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica. To dedicate something means to reserve it strictly for a particular purpose. Thus, dedicating a Church means that the Church has strictly become a house of prayer, a secluded place where men seek the face of God and find it. A dedicated Church ought not to be used for any other purpose. One question that readily comes to mind is: why is the dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica made a general concern? The answer is not far-fetched. This Basilica is “the Mother and Mistress of all the Churches in the city and in the world”. It is the Episcopal seat of the Pope and so it ranks even above St. Peter’s Basilica. Consequently, this celebration, in a unique way, puts forth the four marks of the Church. It is because the Chu...