This post is
not the leap that one might think it is, upon reading its title, Lateran Fat. Today the Church celebrates the
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. This
building was built by the Emperor Constantine, and since it was the first
church ever built in Christendom, it is honored as the mother church.
The reading
this morning is the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17. Paul tells us that we humans are God’s building. We are temples of God.
In the
Gospel, John 2:13-22, Jesus refers to Himself as the temple.
In the
Preface, the priest prayed:
For in your
benevolence you are pleased to dwell in this house of prayer in order to
perfect us as the temple of the Holy Spirit, supported by the perpetual help of
your grace and resplendent with the glory of a life acceptable to you.
All these
readings came to mind when I reflected on the rest of my day. Today I have T.O.P.S. My friends in T.O.P.S. are very, very,
conscious of their bodies. Whether or
not, they call their bodies “temples of the Holy Spirit” or not, they are
conscious that they should take care of their God given bodies. That’s not so easy. It can be depressing when you do take all the
care you possibly can, and your body is not perfect.
The basilica
of Saint John Lateran needs constant care.
It is old. It needs more and more
care the older it gets. Sometimes
scaffolding around its structure seems permanent. It’s a money pit. One could become depressed and give up on
maintenance.
Would
history ever forgive us?
Are we not
more important than a building? Paul
reminds us:
Do you not know that
you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will
destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.
This is why my T.O.P.S. friends don’t give up. They instinctively know that they are
important in God’s eyes. They can’t give
up. They have to constantly eat
mindfully and live healthfully.
I also add that the spiritual health of all of the T.O.P.S.
people, in my chapter, anyway, is conscious that they reflect images of
God. They are very, very, supportive of
each other. We have all become
friends. We attend other functions, not
related to T.O.P.S. at all, just to support another member. We visit and call when one of us is
sick. And we pray for each other. We pray to meet each other in heaven some
day; where we’ll all have perfect bodies.
