We Today’s feast, my friends, that of the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome, is a rather obscure feast.

Yet, because it falls on November 9, and this year November 9 is a Sunday, the Church chooses to take advantage of this calendar circumstance and remind us of what meanings there are and how we should understand and apply those meanings.

First of all, the word, “Lateran,” attached to this basilica’s name, means outside the walls of Vatican City State.

Next, one might ask: “What’s a basilica?”

A basilica is a church building with very special historical significance.  For example, the old and first Cathedral in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, is a basilica. The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the campus of my alma mater, Catholic University of America, in Washington, DC, that has the status of a basilica.

There are a number of other basilicas around the US. But there are none in the Erie Diocese that I can think of.

Now this one in Rome we are celebrating today, St. John Lateran, happens to be the Pope’s cathedral church.

Just as Bishop Trautman, as Bishop of Erie, has St. Peter’s downtown as his cathedral church, so too does Pope Benedict, as Bishop of Rome, have St. John Lateran as his cathedral church.

Often people think St. Peter’s in Rome would be the Pope’s cathedral church. But no, St. Peter's in Rome is meant for the whole church throughout the world.

St. John’s Lateran is meant for the Diocese of Rome, Italy.

Now, to the meanings and understandings of commemorating the dedication of this church:

It’s really all about re-dedicating ourselves to the work of the church.

I remember clearly the re-dedication of our newly-renovated St. Peter's Cathedral downtown in the 90’s. Any of you who were there may remember this too. Or, at least if you saw the pictures, you caught some of the same spirit.

Buildings, like everything else that’s made of material stuff on this earth, get old and eventually need fixing-up. And most often, that’s not a process to restore the facility entirely to its original shape and form, because, over the years, its usage has changed.

Maybe the congregation has grown and more seating is needed.
 

      In northwestern PA, congregations are shrinking, and styles of liturgy have changed and evolved since Vatican II. So it’s like remodeling a house.

When the house was built, computers weren’t that popular. Now that they are, many homes now have a computer room.

Well, back to our St. Peter’s Cathedral renovation in the 90’s.

Most everyone, who was there at its re-dedication, was so excited with its new beauty, that the experience really re-charged our pride in being Catholics of the Erie Diocese. It also re-energized our determination to do whatever we could to make the work of our local Church and our diocesan Church a real success, and that is:
 

      To proclaim - To tell Jesus’ story, more through our actions than words, as St. Francis urges us,

Manifest - To show how it works and make possible the City of God wherever we live, work, or associate - and to invite, by words and example, other people to join in and do likewise.

In that way, the words of St. Paul in today’s second reading, that we are God’s buildings, the living stones of His living Church, these words really then become alive in our own determination to re-dedicate ourselves to this work of the Church.

Basilicas, cathedrals, churches, shrines, or chapels, just become the locations for us to become nourished with the sacraments, pray to God for success in our good works, keep being reminded of the story of Jesus we are to tell, as we listen to the Scriptures, and in very religious ways, praise and adore the Lord God.

But what happens after we leave the Church doors counts just as much as what we do inside the worship space.

Remembering the historical and famous buildings in our church’s history, like St. John Lateran, or St. Peter’s downtown, re-energizes us to keep up our  part in the mission of Christ Jesus and His Church.      Thank you.