The history of the Basilica of St. John Lateran whose dedication we celebrate is an ancient and storied one.  The Basilica stands on grounds that was once a fort for imperial soldiers, became a palace for the Laterani family  and was given to the Bishop of Rome for a basilica by Constantine in time for it to host an ecumenical council held to oppose the Donatists.  It is the oldest basilica in the Church and has been the Cathedral for the See of Rome since the time of its gift to the Church.  It still is the Cathedral Church, holding the Cathedra of the Bishop of Rome which is now overseen by the Archpriest of the Basilica who administers the Diocese of Rome for the Holy Father.  For centuries Popes lived in the Lateran Palace and it was the center of the Church until the Avignon Papacy moved the Papacy to Avignon, France.  During the time that the Popes lived in Avignon the Basilica of St. John Lateran suffered from two fires and fell into decline.  When the Popes returned to Rome they took up residence in Santa Maria de Trastevere and finally on the Vatican hill where St. Peter’s Basilica was built upon the tomb of the Apostle Peter.  The Holy Father lives in the Vatican palace apartments today.

     The Basilica was first dedicated to Jesus Christ the Savior as were all major Basilicas and then was dedicated to St. John the Baptist and then to St. John the Evangelist.  Thus the full name of the church is Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and of Sts. John Baptist and John Evangelist in the Lateran. Sacrosancta Lateranensis ecclesia omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput are incised in the main door, meaning “Most Holy Lateran Church, of all the churches in the city and the world, the mother and head.”  This beautifully expresses the dignity attributed to this ancient Basilica.  Today this Basilica remains as one of the most beautiful and impressive houses of worship to honor our Lord and contains many beautiful works of art as well as ancient frescoes and the “Holy Steps”, a marble staircase leading to the Praetorium that was brought over from Jerusalem by St. Helen, the mother of Constantine, and is revered as having been walked on the night of our Lord’s Passion by Jesus himself.  The altar is unique in that it was originally made of wood and contains no relic because it is itself a relic, being the altar that St. Peter celebrated the Eucharist on while he lived in Rome.  It is now encased in stone and marble.

     As beautiful and significant to the history of the Church that the Lateran Basilica is, this celebration is about more than a building made of stones.  A beautiful temple reminds us of the presence of the living God among us.  God dwells with his people.  Since the destruction of the Jerusalem temple the true image of God’s presence among his people is Jesus, the Emmanuel, God-with-us.  The body of Jesus is the living temple of God’s presence that contains the Spirit of God.  The Church understood that Jesus was the new temple as we read in the gospel, “But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.”  The Body of Christ is the new temple in messianic times.  This new temple is not built with stone and mortar but with the living stones of the People of God.  The Body of Christ that is the Church is the new temple of God’s presence in the world today.  As St. Paul reminds the Church, “You are God’s building…Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”  We are the living temple and witness to God’s presence among his people.  As God shows Ezekiel, God’s grace flows out from this living temple as a river of living water that heals, strengthens and transforms everything it comes into contact with. Our mission as a Church is to be a living witness of God’s presence in the world and to carry his healing grace and presence into the world to transform the world from within.

     Too often today the temple of our bodies has become a marketplace of worldly concerns.  “My Father’s house is meant to be a house of prayer.”  Our bodies are meant to be holy and pure, consecrated to be the place of encounter with the living God who dwells among us, places of prayer and worship, living symbols of God’s holiness and presence in the world.  When we consider the beauty of the Church of St. John Lateran we should also consider our own bodies and how we have held up over time in being a symbol of glory and honor to our Lord.  For as St. Paul concludes, “for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.”