Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

“Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Today is the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome andthe official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome,  the Pope, who now lives in The Vatican. It is the  oldest public church in the west.

Emperor Constantinesupervised not only the construction of the Basilica of the Saviour – then renamed Saint John Lateran. He donated the land of the barracks of Maxentius' private guardhouse for the construction of the Lateran basilica. It was consecrated in 324ce.

The structure has been rebuilt and renovated multiple times due to damage over the centuries from fires, earthquakes, and sackings.

I studied, and in 1969 got my doctorate in Theology at the Lateran University, next door. As I boarded the tram  to go home for lunch, that building used to jog me into realising  that the real church, the real basilica, are the members of the Church. God is present and his personality is within each one of us.

That fact gives us a wonderful dignity – but also a responsibility. Our vocation is to reveal to the world what it means to be redeemed.

Jesus was – and still is, because he does not change – zealous for our  spiritual welfare. At the Last Supper he gave us his own body and blood – his own life, to nourish us.

Today’s Feast reminds me to be grateful and thank God for Holy Communion. As it is a part of our weekly routine, it is all too easy to take it for granted, and forget how magnificent a gift from God it is.

So, let’s thank God for the Eucharist!

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