Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Cathedral

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And to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” His disciples recalled the words of scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” — John 2:16-17

Growing up as a kid in Park Slope, Brooklyn, I literally did not know anyone who was not a Roman Catholic and who wasn’t of Irish descent. Sure, I knew that other people existed, in theory. I mean, I’d seen them on television or in the streets. I just didn’t know any of them personally!

The world where I lived, well, it was rather small and insular — despite coming from New York City, considered by some to be the crossroads of the world. It wasn’t until high school that I got to know people who weren’t Irish, and it wasn’t until college that I got to know people who weren’t Catholic.

We as Catholics can be a lot like that, too, for some reason. Simply because of the structure of our church, we can forget how big we really are. If you grew up in certain parts of the country, like in New York, Boston or Philadelphia, you could find a Catholic church every other block. The good thing about the parish system is that it promoted a strong Catholic identity; the bad thing was that often one parish was considered to be like a foreign land compared to its neighbor.

Sunday’s feast, the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the mother church of all Christianity, serves to remind us that our faith is more than just our own personal business. It’s more than just our own parish, it’s more than just our local dioceses, it’s more than even the national church in our country. We are part of a Church that bears the four marks of the Church: one, holy, catholic and apostolic. We are founded by Christ, on the rock that is Peter and the Apostles. We as a Church are more than just the Church that we see here on earth. We, as the Church universal, are part of the Church militant, comprising Christians on earth who are living, Christian militia — who struggle against sin, the devil and “the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” as Ephesians 6:12 tells us — but there is also the Church Triumphant (Ecclesia Triumphans), comprising those who are in Heaven, and the Church Penitent (Ecclesia Penitens), a.k.a. Church Suffering or Church Padecent or Church Expectant (Ecclesia Expectans), which in Catholic theology comprises those Christians presently in purgatory.

We celebrate this feast because it reminds us to think big, not small, when it comes to the Church. True, we are part of history, and it is that incarnational moment that is the center of our Church and our salvation. We are founded as a Church in a particular place and time.

But our Church involves everyone, in all places and in all times. As author James Joyce declares: “Here comes everybody.” Indeed, in celebrating the feast of the dedication of the Papal Cathedral, the Patriarchal Basilica of Saint John Lateran, this is the celebration of the Catholic Church, east and west, in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory. Sunday is the celebration of our foundation by Christ on the Rock that is Peter, now known as Leo. May zeal for our house always consume us.