Week beginning: 9th November, 2025
Today, instead of the usual Sunday liturgy, we are celebrating the feast of the dedication of a Church – the Lateran Basilica in Rome. Built by the Emperor Constantine, it was solemnly dedicated on the 9th November, 324. As the first and oldest Christian basilica, it is considered ‘the mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world’. As such, it is the Pope’s Cathedral as Bishop of Rome.
In celebrating this feast, we express our union with our Pope, Leo, and our loyalty to him as supreme leader of the Church. The feast also invites us to reflect on the important role of church buildings in our lives as communities of faith, called to worship and pray together in a sacred space set apart for personal and collective encounter with God.
When we celebrate its dedication to God, we celebrate the mystery of God’s special presence and indwelling in buildings set apart for divine worship, including our own parish church. When the people of God erect a building and dedicate it totally to God’s service, God’s glory comes to dwell in that building in such a way that the building can now be called the house of God. So, while we celebrate God’s special indwelling in a temple, we must remind ourselves that God’s presence is not confined in the temple.
God is still everywhere, but shows His glory in a special way in some persons, places, and things. A temple or church is one such place. Today we are asked to realise more fully the beauty of who we are and our calling to worship God together, as individuals and as families, in all that we say and do in our daily lives – today’s celebration helps us to realise our prayer and worship reach out to the whole world as we honour Bishop Leo’s Cathedral!
Please find the link to this week’s Newsletter below:
