Pray Unceasingly! Homily for the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Brothers and sisters:
You are God's building.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

These words are a mashup from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, which we read as the second reading for the feast of the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran – the seat of the Bishop of Rome and the mother church of all churches across the world. Dedicated in 324, it was the Basilica of St. John Lateran that was the first public church, and seat of a bishop, in the entire Roman empire, and it is right and proper that we celebrate this day.

As the words of St. Paul remind us, however, we do not simply celebrate the dedication of a building of bricks and stone. Rather we celebrate the dedication of our own bodies which serve as temples of the Holy Spirit ever since the time of our baptism.

Recollect the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Romans (6:6):

We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.

This new self, that of the Son, is the self that as St. Paul says in the letter to the Hebrews (9:12),

entered once for all into the Holy Place

This is to say, that which was cast out of Eden, and the presence of God, has entered once more into the presence of God. It was a human body that entered into heaven with the ascension of Our Lord, a body just like yours and mine; save that it was a body free from sin, just as yours and mine are at baptism, and after every confession, when the Holy Spirit is once again pleased to dwell in it.

I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord,
that my name may be there forever.

And how must this house of the Lord be protected? Once again, St. Paul comes to our rescue, teaching us

each one must be careful how he builds upon it,
for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,
namely, Jesus Christ.

In other words, it is Jesus Christ who must be the foundation of this temple, and, as the acclamation to the Gospel indicates to us, His name must be in this house forever. This can only mean that the name of Our Lord, His Blessed Mother and His angels and saints must be on our lips all the time.

The suggestion, therefore, dear brethren is that of what we call ejaculatory prayer. Little phrases that constantly stream from our lips, little prayers that like the words from the book of Genesis, which prefigures the stream we heard of today, rises from the earth, and waters the whole face of the ground (Gen 2: 6). Prayers like:

              Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

              Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

              We praise you O Christ, and we bless you, for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

              Pray for us O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

              St. Catherine of Alexandria (insert name of preferred saint), pray for us.

A stream of such prayers, rising from the soil of our hearts, and spilling down from our lips, will keep the temple of our bodies clean from any temptation and sin. More so, like the stream that emerged from the temple in the vision of Ezekiel that we read about in the first reading, it will make its way to the sea – the great host of people who languish in purgatory – and make that anguished pit of waiting fresh. In other words, it will provide hope to those who wait, precisely by aiding in the release of some.

Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish.

Such a stream of prayer will have an impact on the lives of those around us:

Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.

In the synoptic Gospels – Mark, Mathew, and Luke – Our Lord explained His actions as He cleansed the courts of the Temple of traders – the version of which episode we read today from the Gospel of John:

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’;
    but you are making it a den of robbers.”

Our body, God’s house, was built for prayer. On this day when we celebrate the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, let us dedicate ourselves to constantly cultivate a stream of prayer that will “gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!”

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful at the Convent of St. John of God, Old Goa.)

(Image reference: Convent Thoughts, Charles Allston Collins, 1851, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.)