Good morning, brothers and sisters.
Today, Nov 5, is the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica: it trumps the normal Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Let me ask a question – shout out the answer: can anyone tell me, which is the principal church of the pope, which church is his cathedral?
I heard St Peter’s Basilica. Yes, St Peter’s is central to the papacy, because it’s in the Vatican and right next to where the pope lives, and it lies over St Peter’s tomb. Practically speaking, it’s where the pope performs many important functions.
But St John Lateran is, in actuality, his church, it’s his cathedral. Remember that the cathedral is where a bishop has his ‘cathedra’, or chair. The pope’s chair is in the Lateran Basilica. Inscribed outside the church in Latin, it is named the “Mother of all the Churches of Rome and of the world.” It’s the only arch-basilica in the world. It’s also where the popes used to live – in the Lateran palace next door – from ancient times until the 14th century. The basilica houses the skulls of Sts Peter and Paul – the 2 greatest apostles -- in the baldacchino over the altar. Along both sides of the nave are these magnificent, huge statues of the 12 apostles. They look like superheroes coming out of the pillars – a symbolism of the Church being built on the 12 pillars of the apostles.
Given the Feast today, and the fact that all of our readings touch upon the Temple or the Church of God, I’d like to focus on this topic. To jump to the punchline: we should truly love and reverence our physical church buildings, as houses of God.
Of course, as St Paul says in our 2nd Reading – we the faithful are the Temple of God. The word ‘Church’ or ‘ekklesia’ translates as community. This is true. But Bishop Barron argues, and I agree, the spirit of the 1960s-70s took this notion too far, to the point of neglecting our actual Church buildings or what makes them special. I also agree with Bishop Barron that we don’t always do a great job, as Catholics, in educating ourselves about some of the basic tenets of our religion. Thus – at the risk of repeating some things that folks may already know – I’d like to talk about church architecture.
First, we have the orientation of the church. Ideally, Catholic churches should face East. This is similar with the Jewish Temple; as we heard in the 1st reading, the vision from Ezekiel, the Temple faced East.
[Although some of the very old churches, like St John Lateran or St Peter’s, have the façade facing East, most Catholic churches are the opposite: the façade faces west and the people are facing the altar and sanctuary which is towards the east. The symbolism is similar.]
There is symbolism here: the faithful are all facing towards the rising Sun during Mass. Jesus is the light of the world, who dispelled the world’s darkness. Also, the Bible suggests that when Jesus comes again, at the end of time, to come on the Mount of Olives, East of Jerusalem. Just so in church we’re looking forward to Jesus, our new dawn, who we expect to come again to judge the living and the dead. Ok, so that’s why churches usually face East.
Let’s talk about the parts of the church. The central long section is called the NAVE, which comes from the Latin for boat (like navy or naval). The church is thus likened to a large ship – either the St Peter’s ship or Noah’s Ark, and everyone sitting in rows in the congregation are like passengers or sailors on this ship. Noah’s Ark was a place of refuge, whereby God saved his people… and then after the storm they went out and brought about a new world… just so, we seek refuge here in Church, we are strengthened and protected, and then we go out to change the world for the better. Thus we become like the rivers mentioned in the first reading and the Psalm, that go out from the temple and then freshen the salt waters all around, creating a fruitful habitat for food and medicine – in other words, the church nurtures us so that we can feed and heal the world.
Most churches will have a transept, or a cross section that intersects with the nave– near the sanctuary. So if you take a birds-eye view of a Catholic church, it is typically shaped like a cross, with the long part being the nave, and the shorter cross bar being the transept. This symbolism reinforces what happens here; the Mass is a re-presentation, a making present again the sacrifice of Christ for us on the Cross. And indeed, we are required to have a crucifix on or near the altar. [Here, I can count at least 3-4… up on the altarpiece or reredos.]
The crucifix reminds us of what happens here: Christ’s sacrifice is re-presented. That is why every Catholic Church, unlike most Protestant Churches, has an altar. We have a priest, not a preacher. The focus of the Catholic Church is not the pulpit or the homily (thank goodness), but the altar of sacrifice, where Jesus Himself is our holocaust, our lamb of sacrifice, our victim or ‘host’. Little bit of trivia: Every Catholic altar typically has the relic of a saint inside of it, adding to its sanctity. And our altars typically have candles and sometimes incense, similar to the Jewish temple: outside the Holy of Holies was the Holy Place, which had the menorah and the altar of incense.
Up here around the altar is called the ‘Sanctuary’ and is analogous to this Holy of Holies from the Jewish Temple. This was the innermost and holiest area of the Temple, walled off from the Holy Place by a large curtain. Similarly, medieval churches used to have a rood screen, and Eastern Catholic or Orthodox churches still have an iconostasis, which separates the people from the sanctuary.
The Jewish Holy of Holies was accessed by only one person, only once a year: by the High Priest on the day of atonement. Inside the Holy of Holies the Ark of the Covenant, which contained three things: the 10 Commandments of Moses, the staff of Aaron the high priest, and the mannah bread. Just so, our Tabernacle contains Jesus, who is the Divine Lawgiver, the true high Priest, and the bread come down from Heaven. We call this golden box the Tabernacle, which means ‘Tent’ and is a reference to God ‘pitching his tent’ or ‘tabernacling’ among us (the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us).
The Holy of Holies was the holiest place on Earth for Jews, where God literally dwelled with his people. Recall the rather shocking Old Testament story of Uzzah, who was struck down dead for simply touching the Ark of the Covenant when it was being transported. More importantly, think of the Gospel we’ve just heard, when Jesus aggressively clears out the Temple, purifying it as a place of prayer rather than a marketplace. Jesus defends his actions by saying that ‘destroy this Temple, and in 3 days I will raise it up’ – so he describes his body as the new temple. And we read that, in the moment in which he died on the cross, that the veil or curtain of the Holy of Holies was torn in two – the old Temple was replaced with the new.
And so, in a very real and concrete sense, our Tabernacle is where God truly dwells – his body and blood, soul and divinity – in the Eucharistic bread. This is why we Catholics genuflect when we enter our churches, because of the king who is truly here. And so you can always find a red sanctuary lamp, which is lit whenever there are consecrated Hosts in the tabernacle. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s like having the UK flag flying outside Buckingham palace when the king is staying there.
Speaking of candles, churches typically have the large Easter Candle on display, which is lit at the Easter Vigil, and from which we all light our candles. This symbolizes how Jesus is the light of the world, which dispels the darkness. We use the Easter Candle for each baptism, when a new candle is lit for a new Christian.
[Facing the congregation from the altar (or from Jesus’ perspective, so to speak), on the right hand side there is often a statue or image of Mary (or the Sacred Heart), and on the left is a statue of Joseph. Mary is on the right, as she is the closest to Christ. (unless Jesus/the Sacred Heart is here, in which case he is on the right.]
Along the walls and ceiling, we often find statues, paintings, or stained glass images of the saints and angels. These remind us that the heavenly hosts join us every time we celebrate Mass. Recall the words of the priest in the Liturgy of the Eucharist: “And so, with the angels and all the saints, we declare your glory, as with one voice we acclaim…” The angels and saints join us for every Mass.
[If you want a lovely visual for this, there’s a great YouTube called ‘The Veil Removed’, showing that -during the Consecration - all our guardian angels and the saints gather around the altar.]
Ok, what else do all Catholic Churches have? Typically, all the entrances to the church will have Holy Water fonts. This is a reminder of our baptism, which is the primordial sacrament, by which we entered into Christ’s body. So whenever we enter the church, we should cross ourselves with the holy water, thanking God for our baptism; and we genuflect, with our knee towards the tabernacle, to greet our King.
So, if there’s one take-home point that I can give from today, it’s how much we should treasure and value our church buildings. These are truly God’s dwelling among us.
And so, when we come to Mass, we are taught to dress appropriately – our Sunday best, or something close to it.
The question we should ask ourselves is: if we were having a meeting with our boss or the president or the pope, how would we dress, how would we act, how would we have our children act? Ok, now how about when we come to meet the King of Kings?
Just so, we parents should be trying to teach our children – in developmentally appropriate ways – of what is happening here, and how the church is special.
This is a house of prayer, where Jesus’ supreme sacrifice is re-presented on this holy altar. There’s nothing on Earth quite like a Catholic Church. This is why our churches are crafted with such beauty. I’m from Dallas, and let me tell you that we’d kill for a single church as pretty as this one: and Boston has at least a dozen like this, the handiwork of countless artisans who labored with such talent and love. Just for a moment, let me turn your attention to a few things:
[Look at the altarpiece or reredos: exquisite detail of these figures.
Look at the stained glass: Look how a single piece of glass can combine multiple colors,
like the water turning into wine at the Wedding Feast of Cana.]
[Look at woodworking, like the figures of hooded monks on this rail, or the angels above me.]
May we not overlook such beauty.
A good friend of mine, a pastor’s son who eventually converted to Catholicism…. said that one of the things during his conversion that struck him is that he saw that Catholics came into their churches at all hours, to come and pray. Protestants don’t do that.
So maybe if I can suggest some homework… try to schedule a time this week when you can come to the church outside of Mass, just to sit in the presence of God here in the Tabernacle. You can say prayers like a decade or rosary if you like, but it’s also perfectly fine just to sit or kneel and bask in God’s love for a couple of minutes. Pay him a visit, just like you’d pay a visit to a dear friend. St John Vianney liked to quote the definition of prayer, given by a poor peasant: In prayer: “I look at Him, and He looks at me.”To quote our new millennial saint, Carlo Acutis: “When we face the sun we get a tan, but when we stand before Jesus in the Eucharist we become saints".
Through God’s grace, received and multiplied in this holy building, may we all become saints in Heaven… of which our churches are a beautiful echo.
May God bless all those who helped to construct this Church, and who help to maintain it. Amen.
