Le 9 novembre, l’Église célèbre la Dédicace de la Basilique du Latran, la cathédrale du pape à Rome, appelée “mère et tête de toutes les églises de la ville et du monde”.
Cette fête rappelle que l’unité de l’Église ne se fonde pas sur des pierres, mais sur le Christ vivant, temple spirituel où Dieu demeure parmi les hommes.
Bâtie au IVᵉ siècle par l’empereur Constantin et consacrée par le pape Sylvestre Ier, la basilique du Latran symbolise la communion universelle des chrétiens.
C’est un jour pour rendre grâce pour nos églises, nos communautés et pour la foi qui, siècle après siècle, continue de bâtir le Corps du Christ.
00:00Today, November 9, the church celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, an ancient and universal liturgical feast, also called the mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world, omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput.
00:21This feast does not commemorate a saint but a church, that of the Most Holy Savior at the Lateran, the cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome.
00:33This is the visible sign of the unity of all Christians around the successor of Peter.
00:38The history of the Lateran
00:40It all began at the start of the 4th century.
00:43After three centuries of persecution, Emperor Constantine granted freedom of worship to Christians through the Edict of Milan in 313.
00:54Shortly afterwards, he offered Pope Sylvester I a vast estate in Rome, owned by the family of General Lateranus.
01:03It was on this land that the first public Christian basilica was built, consecrated in 324 under the name of the Basilica of the Most Holy Savior.
01:13Later, the names of Saint John the Baptist and John the Evangelist were added, hence its full name, Saint John of the Lateran.
01:23For more than a millennium, the Lateran Palace was the residence of the popes, before they moved to the Vatican.
01:31The basilica has suffered fire, looting, and reconstruction, but it remains the spiritual heart of the Roman Catholic Church, a symbol of faith that survives all trials.
01:41A celebration for all churches.
01:46Why celebrate the dedication of only one basilica throughout the entire world?
01:51Because in honoring the stone temple, we celebrate the living church, a feast of the spiritual stones that we are.
01:58In today's Gospel reading, John 2:13-22,
02:03Jesus drives the merchants out of the temple and declares
02:06"Destroy this temple and in three days I will rebuild it."
02:11He was talking about the temple of his body.
02:12Thus, the Lateran feast invites us to recognize Christ as the true dwelling place of God among men.
02:20and to become ourselves the place where God dwells.
02:25Our churches, through their beauty, their silence, and their presence in the heart of cities, remind us of this vocation.
02:33to be open doors to heaven.
02:35A symbol of unity
02:38Every year on November 9th, this holiday reminds us that despite our cultures, languages, and traditions,
02:46We are one people, united in faith.
02:49The Lateran, the Pope's cathedral, is a symbol of this universal communion.
02:55rooted in Rome, but open to the whole world.
02:59This is a day to thank God for our parish churches,
03:02a place of meeting, prayer and hope,
03:06but also to renew our desire to be, each of us, a living sanctuary.
03:13Prayer
03:13Lord Jesus,
03:17You who wanted to build your church on the faith of stone,
03:21We give you thanks for the visible sign of your unity,
03:25the Lateran Basilica, mother and head of all churches.
03:28Make each of us a living stone in your church.
03:34a place where your spirit dwells
03:36a witness to your love in the world.
03:40Grant us to love and serve your church with humility, faithfulness, and joy.
03:46so that the whole earth may become a sanctuary of peace.
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