Fr. Steve Grunow – Word on Fire

The Lateran Basilica is the cathedral church of the Holy Father as he is bishop of Rome. The magnificent building stands on land that was given to the bishops of Rome by the Emperor Constantine. Remember, it was during the reign of the Emperor Constantine that the laws restricting the practice of the Church’s faith were removed from Roman law and the Church went from being an illegal cult, whose profession of faith was considered an act of treason, to being the favored religion of the Roman emperor.

This changed the Church for good and for grief.

One of the most arresting features of the Basilica of St. John Lateran are monumental statues of the twelve apostles that stand as if they are supporting the ceiling of the church. Larger than life and full of dramatic intensity, the sculptures show the Apostles holding the instruments of their martyrdom. The Apostles are represented not as they were on earth but how they are in heaven.

Remember, the faith we profess is the Apostolic faith. We believe and practice the faith that the Apostles believed and practiced. St. John Lateran shows our connection to the Apostles in stone. The Holy Father and the bishops reveal this connection in the flesh.

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We do not gather here [at a church] for a lecture or for discussion or to meet our neighbors. We do not come here simply to sing songs and study the Bible as literature. We do not come here to memorialize Christ as if he is a great man who died long ago. This is not just an assembly hall.

Instead, we gather for worship in the temple of Christ. This is what this church building that surrounds us is for and what it is meant to signify. This is Christ’s temple, where in this tabernacle the divine presence dwells, and upon this altar the sacrifice is offered, and from this sanctuary the divine and living presence of Christ is given and received.

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