Today, in the life of the Church, we celebrate the feast of the dedication of St. John Lateran,
that is, the Basilica at Rome. And indeed, often the dedication of the Church seems to be
restricted to a local feast, for every Church on the day of its dedication is permitted to
celebrate with great solemnity that event. But in celebrating the feast of the dedication of
St. John the Lateran, we are truly celebrating a universal mission. And in order to understand this,
a small, a brief history of the land in which that basilica
is built is very important, for it was built on a piece of property that once was desired
by the emperor of Rome, an emperor by the name of Nero. And so, it was part of his attempt to take
this land from the Lateran family that he set Rome on fire, because he had a plan to build Rome
as a city that was truly built in honor of Nero himself, that is, in honor of Caesar,
an attempt to make Caesar a city of Rome.
The Lateran family and the Lateran family had a long relationship. The Lateran family
gave it up to a false god of greater proportions than he had already become, but the Lateran
family did not give up possession of the property, and so that would be the ebb and
flow of the Roman empire, where Christianity would always be persecuted in one form or
another, until that time when the emperor Constantine would reign. And at that time, the Lateran family would bequeath this land to Constantine, in which he would take the family
palace the lateran family would bequeath this land to Constantine, in which he would take the family
palace, remodel it, rebuild it, and ultimately it would become the Basilica of St. John the Lateran.
And it would indeed, often throughout the history of the Church, be assailed either by hordes of
invaders or by other calamities such as fires. And they always seem to be a portent of great
trials and tribulations that would come into the mystical body of Christ. But what is important
about this feast is not necessarily its history, although that helps us to understand the
significance of this Basilica, always assailed and always rebuilt, but it is because it is the sea
of the Bishop of Rome. And so it is truly that when the Holy Father passes from this life
into eternal life, it is not strictly speaking the Pope who is elected, but the Bishop of Rome.
And once the Bishop of Rome,
he has constituted the vicar of Christ and so this feast really is a feast in which we celebrate
the unity of the church and the integrity of the Catholic faith and so we have much to rejoice in
this feast today for it is to Saint Peter that that integrity of faith that unity has been entrusted
and it is truly to Saint Peter to which we can say throughout the history of the church
that he has zeal for that zeal for God's house will consume him for unlike any other leader of
any other institution in the world whether it be a secular institution or a religious institution
nowhere has the leader excelled in holiness those those leaders of other institutions
than the vicar of Christ indeed in the history of the church there were some popes who perhaps
did not live the greatest of all lives
you
but in general their their their lives were impeccable and indeed they truly lived for one
purpose and one purpose only to preserve that unity of faith that unity that they received
from the Lord that unity that they truly began to believe after the Lord had risen from the dead
and came to strengthen their faith and so truly it is from this sea for the ancient formula is
if we are to understand and know where the true church can be
found the ancient formal formula of Saint Vincent Lorenz where the Bishop of Rome is there the Catholic
Church is and so we truly have much to rejoice in this day for basilica literally means the palace
of a king and indeed the basilica of Saint John the Lateran and so all other churches throughout
Catholic Christendom are the as are the palaces of the king of kings that is our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ and so we have much to celebrate and much to be sorry for for
we see very clearly that in our times there is not that unity of the faith
throughout Christendom and so we must pray for the return of those who have
separated themselves from the faith of Peter so that Christianity can truly be
said to be united united under that one sign and under that one person whom God
has has instituted and in an imbued with the authority to be his vicar on
earth that is the Bishop of Rome the Pope of Christianity and so let us pray
this day for our Holy Father Pope Benedict for all those that have that
have come before him and for all those that will come after him that they may
truly persevere in the Catholic faith and have the zeal for the house of the
Lord the zeal for the temple of the Lord by which they will always be
in everything they do defend that faith in order to hand it on from one
generation to the next so that always and everywhere that that that prophecy
of Isaiah is is is true that always and everywhere the Catholic Church Church
stands out like a candle burning on a mountaintop for all the world to see and
so let us pray this day with great gratitude that Jesus Christ has
established his search in such history and in such a way that we can be
church in such a way that really it is easy for all those who wish to seek
incorporation will find will find her and be incorporated into the mystical
body of Christ and let us also pray that that unity of faith may again become
widespread throughout the world so that it can truly be said that Christianity
is not fractured but indeed it is united in a new Christendom a new Christian
GEM that will go forth and conquer the pagan
worlds of our day and of our times, as that Basilica of St. John the Lateran, the official
home of the Vicar of Christ, will burn brightly as a beacon on a mountaintop, and indeed it is
to this Basilica that the honor has been entrusted that all liturgical changes would be posted on the
door. The intention is that what the liturgical practices of the Bishop of Rome are should be
the universal practices throughout the Church, and so let us pray also for ourselves and for
every member of the mystical body that they may again acquire that virtue of filial devotion to
the Vicar of Christ, so that they truly may remain united in that faith and bring that faith to the
world. The dedication of the Basilica of St. John the Lateran brings to fore how the assault of
Christianity will always take place.
For it brings to fore that doctrine by which Christ, Mary, and the Vicar of Christ are three
persons united in a unique way because they have a public mission in the world and in the life of
every soul. That mission is to bring the faith of the Savior to all souls, and so an assault on one
is assault on all. Indeed, Protestantism began ultimately by an assault on the prerogative of
Christ, and it was after this that everything in Christianity began to fall, so much so that at
present many of the Protestant sects no longer believe in the divinity of Christ, because in
losing the authority of the Vicar of Christ, they lost the significance of the Mother of God. And if
we do not understand the Mother of God, then we truly begin to doubt and call into question who
Christ really was. And so it is very important that we hold in our hearts that we may be able to
defend the honor of the Vicar of Christ, because ultimately, if we disrespect the Holy Father, then
we will lose the understanding of exactly who our Lord was and who his mother was. And so this truly
is a universal feast in which we hold together that which truly binds Christianity, Christ, Mary,
and the Vicar of Christ, the Holy Father, the successor to the Bishop of Rome. And so
let us pray earnestly this day for the successor of the Vicar of Rome, and let us pray for each and
every church throughout the Catholic world, that the faithful gathered in those churches may pray
for the Vicar of Christ, but most especially may acquire that virtue so necessary in Christendom,
so necessary to preserve the faith in our hearts and in the world, that is, the virtue of filial
devotion to the Vicar of Christ.
To love him as a child loves his father, not to call in question that which he intends us to believe
in matters of faith and moral, and even to respect those decisions that are rooted in human
providence. But like the explanation of the fourth commandment goes, if the Holy Father asked the
members of the church to do what is not sinful, then they should respect his decision. If he is
imprudent in human terms, it does not mean that he will not be able to do what is not sinful.
It does not even constitute a sin. It simply constitutes that like him, all of us are affected
by original sin. And so we do not postulate in the body of Christ that the Holy Father is impeccable.
We postulate that he is infallible in faith and morals. But because he is impeccable, he is in
need of the love of his children and hence of their prayers, so that that most marvelous witness
to the world may continue. Or as one professor in the seminary said,
he pointed out, he would challenge everyone in the world to take up the mantle and try to
discredit the vicar of Christ. And most especially, he was talking about in matters of faith and moral,
but he also meant for the most part to try to destroy the vicar of Christ by calling out his
sinfulness would also end in a revelation to those who did so. For throughout the history of the
church, very few Holy Fathers have been able to do that. And so I would like to ask you to
join me in saying this, that the Holy Fathers can be accused of that which truly is mortal sin.
And so we have great reason to rejoice because for the most part, not only have the Holy Fathers
defended Holy Mother Church in matters of faith and moral, but also in their own personal lives,
they truly showed that they had zeal for the house of God. And so let us by loving him like a true
father, acquire from him that zeal for the house of God, that zeal that's
scripture tells us will consume us so that we may truly come to understand the scriptures and
believe as the vicar of Christ believes all those saving doctrines that the church is called to give
to the world. And so let us always go to drink from the waters of salvation. Let us always go
and understand that God truly is in our midst and that truly Holy Mother Church
is the fountain of salvation because she is entrusted with the fountains that first
cleanse us from original sin and help us to overcome all our sinful inclinations. That is
the seven fountains that flow from the wounded lamb, the impaled lamb on Mount Calvary. That is
the sacraments of Holy Mother Church to which the Holy Father is particularly a devoted defender
and also a devoted receiver of.
And so let us strive to imitate him so that we may truly come to know and to
experience the visitation of the Lord this day and all the days of our lives
so that we may enjoy him for all eternity and the life to come.
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