Hi Friend,
This coming Sunday is the Feast of the Dedication of the St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome. Founded in 324, it’s Rome’s oldest church, the oldest basilica on earth, and a sign of the victory and perseverance of the Church after hundreds of years of Roman persecution.
But why do Catholics make such a big deal out of places of worship? Some people criticize our cathedrals and ask: “shouldn’t we give that money to the poor instead?”
I have a three-part answer to that question—and, bear with me, because the last part has everything to do with your soul.
First, I’ve been to cathedrals all around the world, and I can tell you, they don’t take money away from the poor. Cathedrals are for the poor, too.
If you go to any cathedral in the heart of any city it’s usually in the poor part of the city, and you know who you’re gonna find there, soaking up inspiration in the middle of the work day? Not a white-collar business man. You’re probably going to find multiple homeless people who wandered into the cathedral. When you say that it’s either cathedrals or serving the poor you’re overlooking the fact that “the poor,” who are actually individuals just like you and me, need inspiration as much as or more than the rest of us.
Second, despite the accusation that “churchy” people are too heavenly minded to do any earthly good, sociological studies on the topic all point to the reality that the more someone prays, the more good they do.
It’s a well-established fact that people who have deep faith and deep religious convictions are also more likely to do good for the poor and the homeless than people who don’t. And it’s not hard to see why. If you think, as atheists do, that we’re all just self-aware space sludge with no souls, who cares?
I’ve been to the poor in Tijuana, Haiti and the shanty towns in the Philippines, and nine out of ten times the people serving the poorest of the poor are priests, nuns, or Christian missionaries. So… if cathedrals help us think of God, they also indirectly serve the poor by motivating us to serve them.
And third… here’s where it hits home… we love cathedrals because they help you and me live out our true identity as dwelling places of God. We are Cathedrals, in a sense.
The Bible tells us “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Let that blow your mind for a minute.
Close your eyes and think about the most beautiful cathedral you can imagine. Incense rising through multi-colored light shining through stained glass.
St. Paul would say, “Do you not know that temple is you?!”
All that beauty is inside YOU.
St. John Lateran is a sign of Jesus’ victory over the darkness of worldly empires.
But so are you.
Remember that. And carry yourself with a sense of dignity today.
God bless you,
Chris Stefanick
Real Life Catholic
