We celebrate the dedication of the Pope's official church, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which was on November 9, 324. It is considered the Mother Church of Christianity. But as the readings make clear, this church is more than a building--it is a symbol of who we are as the people of God.
God gathers us into one Body, His Body, which is the Church, by which we make His presence known. We come because Christ was destroyed on the Cross, and rose again, to become the new and Living Temple, into which He draws us. So no longer would people worship God in the Temple in Jerusalem, but rather in the Spirit of Jesus. And He constantly nourishes us by Living Waters to be His people, His very presence in the world.
Throughout the centuries, the faithful have drawn people to God in His Church. I had the privilege of celebrating with the St. Martin de Porres Parish Community on their Feast Day weekend. He was a mixed-race man who sought to draw all varied peoples together in God in his sphere of influence in colonial Peru. He, like all others before and since who have done this work, have done so in the Spirit of Christ, who is the foundation for His Church.
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