The Feast of the Dedication of Saint John Lateran

Why do we celebrate the dedication over 1700 years ago of a Church thousands of miles away in Rome? I was asking that very question when I heard Fr. Gregory Tajchman, OFM give the homily on the 9th of November 1979, the only homily that I remember from 1979!

              Fr. Gregory said, first, when the Emperor Constantine gave the Lateran Basilica to the Bishop of Rome, it marked the first time that the Christian community could emerge from the catacombs and worship freely and publicly in Rome. We are reminded that we should always be thankful for our freedom to worship.

              Second, the dedication of a building for the celebration of the Sacraments and the worship of God marks how significant it was to that early Roman Christian community and to God that we do those things together. We are reminded that we are always called to gather as a Catholic Christian community to celebrate the Sacraments and worship God.

              Third, the Lateran Basilica was large and beautiful and is considered to this day the Pope’s “Home Church.” We are reminded of our call to make the place where we worship our “home” and to make it as beautiful as we can.

              We know that our Mission Church here in Santa Barbara was rededicated, following restoration after the 1925 earthquake on the 3rd of December 1927 by Bishop John J. Cantwell – we have a picture of the event in the Mission Archive-Library! So, we were dedicated a little bit later than St. John Lateran, but we are still called always to celebrate: our freedom to worship, the importance of our worship to God and us, and finally that we are blessed to have a beautiful Church home!

Fraternally,

Jack Clark Robinson, OFM