REFLECTION:

Have you ever wondered why the Church celebrates the feast day of a building?

Think about it. We celebrate saints, we celebrate important events in the life of Jesus, but today we're celebrating a building!

The Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.

And here's something interesting. Many people think St. Peter's Basilica is the Pope's cathedral. But actually, it's St. John Lateran. It's known as the Mother Church of all churches throughout the world.

And interestingly enough, just last week, we celebrated the 112th anniversary of the dedication of our own Sacred Heart Church.

So why does the Church make such a big deal about dedicating a building? Well, I think St. Paul gives us a beautiful answer in today's second reading.

He says, "You are God's building."

And then he goes on to say, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" Think about that for a moment.

We spend so much time, effort, and money taking care of our church buildings. We clean them, decorate them, repair them, and make sure everything looks beautiful. And rightly so, because these are sacred places dedicated to God.

But here's the question: If we spend so much time taking care of God's physical house, how much time do we spend taking care of God's spiritual house, which is us?

When something breaks in the church, we fix it. When something gets dirty, we clean it. When something needs attention, we make time for it.

But what about our hearts?

When anger, jealousy, resentment, or pride begins to build up inside us, do we take the time to clean those things out? Or do we just leave them there?

And St. Paul reminds us of something else. He says that no one can lay a foundation other than Jesus Christ.

Now, anyone who knows anything about construction knows that it doesn't matter how beautiful a building looks on the outside. If the foundation is weak, eventually the whole structure is in trouble.

And the same is true of our lives.

We can look good on the outside. We can be successful, respected, and admired. But if Christ is not the foundation of our lives, what happens when difficulties come?

And remember, when St. Paul says, "You are God's temple," he's not just talking about us individually. He's talking about us as a community. We are God's building together.

And that means the way we treat one another matters. Our words and actions can either build up the Church or tear it down.

So perhaps today's feast is not just about remembering the dedication of a basilica in Rome. Perhaps it's also an invitation for us to rededicate our own lives to God.

So here's my challenge for us today. Take a look at the temple you're building.  Is Christ still the foundation? Is there something that needs repairing? And are you helping to build up the people around you? Because we come to church to encounter God, but we leave this church carrying His presence into the world.

The building is dedicated to God. The question is, are we?