Yes, you read that correctly: today we are celebrating the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. It probably sounds like a strange thing to be commemorated / celebrated. But if we consider that that church, the Lateran Basilica, is the oldest of the four major basilicas in Rome; that it is considered the “mother of all churches in the world”; and that it is “the official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope”; then perhaps we see how a celebration is fitting.
Today’s feast prompts us to reflect on both the Church and churches. Regarding the Church, one description, from the Second Vatican Council, is that the Church is “the People of God”.
Another description of the Church, from Pope Francis, is that it is, or should be, a “field hospital”. A field hospital is a temporary hospital that is close to the battlefield or near the disaster zone. This image of the field hospital suggests that the Church should be out in the middle of the action – and should not only be in the church. At one point, Francis wrote: “I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets.” At another time, he said: “I see clearly that the thing the Church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful. I see the Church as a field hospital after battle.”
As we pray in the church and outside of it, let us pray that we may know how to be, and have the strength to be, a good Church!
Fr. Paul Robson, SJ
