We’re Here To Remember

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome — the mother church. Most Catholics think of St. Peter’s as the Pope’s main church, but in fact it is St. John Lateran.

On the facade of the Basilica there is an inscription in Latin which reads, “the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world.” As the Pope is primarily a Bishop, a first among equals, St. John Lateran has a special and symbolic importance for the Church as a whole. And our celebration today is a way of expressing the unity of the whole Church with the Bishop of Rome — and the unity of all churches with Rome, and each other.-1

If today, we were asked to define what the Church is, what do you suppose most us of would say?

If we were to predictably define the church as a “house of worship,” the question for us would be: is it merely a building…