Nov. 9, 2008: Feast of Dedication of St. John Lateran
If you had to look around your house, what would be the oldest thing that you own? In my room at my parents’ home in Plano, Texas, the oldest thing I owned used to be a photo of myself when I was only a year old. That photo would have been taken 1974; at the photo studio, my mom thought that I looked cute in my birthday suit. So now I have hidden that photo so that she won’t show it to people saying, "Oh look what Fr. Paul looked like when he was only one." Photos and religious objects are some of the oldest things that we brought to U.S. when my family immigrated from Korea. Even when we were thousands of miles away from our original home, these photos and religious objects gave us a sense of connection and history as to where we came from.
For some of us in the pews today, St. Aloysius is not the original home parish. Some have moved to our area since Katrina. What have you brought from your original home to help to give a sense of connection with your roots? Unfortunately, those who grew up in St. Bernard parish such as Chalmette in particular, have lost everything—not even photos were salvageable. What gives them a sense of connection and roots, is the Church. Although St. Aloysius is not Our Lady of Prompt Succor in Chalmette, our welcoming community and the presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist give them that sense of home.
Half away around the globe in Rome, there is a church that serves as the original root and connection to all of our Catholic churches in the world. Its name is St. John Lateran. And today we celebrate the dedication of that church. It is the oldest, and ranks first among the four great basilicas of Rome. The four principal basilicas of Rome are St. Peters, St. Mary Majors, St. Paul’s, and St. John Lateran. And St. John Lateran is more important than St. Peter’s Basilica. If you remember in history, Christians were heavily persecuted in Rome by various Roman emperors.
It was only with Constantine becoming emperor and declaring the edict of Milan in 313, that Christians began to enjoy freedom from persecution. Emperor Constantine gave as a gift to the pope at that time, a palace formerly owned by Laterani family. And that palace became the very first cathedral of the Catholic church.
Those who visit the Basilica on pilgrimage, visit it not just because it is the head of all churches and the Pope’s cathedral. In side the main altar is believed to be the wooden altar on which St. Peter celebrated Mass while in Rome. This may sound gruesome, but the heads of Sts Peter and Paul were once believed to be inside busts above the main altar. Part of the table on which the Last Supper was celebrated is said to be behind a bronze depiction of the Last Supper. At one time the stairs in Pilate's house on which Jesus is said to have walked during his trial was inside this church. It is a marble stairs and is now covered with wood to protect it and is now relocated in an adjacent church.
Pilgrims ascend the stairs on their knees contemplating Jesus’ Passion and on the way up drops of blood may be seen on the marble stairs beneath protective glass. The stairs was brought to Rome by Constantine’s mother St. Helena.
It is from these roots that Baton Rouge Diocese and St. Aloysius derive their existence. It wasn’t too long ago that Baton Rouge Diocese was carved out of the Diocese of New Orleans. This happened on July 20, 1961 by Pope John XXIII. He named then St. Joseph Church as the new cathedral of the new Baton Rouge Diocese. And it wasn’t too long ago that St. Aloysius was formed by Archbishop Rummel in the year 1955 with 625 families and Fr. Daniel Becnel as the pastor. St. Aloysius school was formed from Sacred Heart and St. Agnes parishes. And the first masses were celebrated at Southdowns Elementary School. Only a couple of years later, seven sisters of Daughters of Jesus from Spain arrived to serve the parish. At that time Sr. Rosary was made the principal. In 1967, St. Aloysius became large enough that St. Jude parish was carved out of St. Aloysius. No church just springs up on its own. They build upon the foundation.
In the same way that the visible church like this one just does not exist apart from the first cathedral St. John Lateran, we don’t just become Body of Christ apart from those who built it up before us. Think about why you chose St. Aloysius as your parish. People often tell me that they feel like there is a community here. Much gratitude goes to those 625 founding families back in 1955 who built not only the physical bricks of this church but spiritual bricks to make this place where people feel community. We stand on the shoulders of those who built this spiritual temple. We also are called to let our shoulders become the living foundation for others.
For some of us in the pews today, St. Aloysius is not the original home parish. Some have moved to our area since Katrina. What have you brought from your original home to help to give a sense of connection with your roots? Unfortunately, those who grew up in St. Bernard parish such as Chalmette in particular, have lost everything—not even photos were salvageable. What gives them a sense of connection and roots, is the Church. Although St. Aloysius is not Our Lady of Prompt Succor in Chalmette, our welcoming community and the presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist give them that sense of home.
Half away around the globe in Rome, there is a church that serves as the original root and connection to all of our Catholic churches in the world. Its name is St. John Lateran. And today we celebrate the dedication of that church. It is the oldest, and ranks first among the four great basilicas of Rome. The four principal basilicas of Rome are St. Peters, St. Mary Majors, St. Paul’s, and St. John Lateran. And St. John Lateran is more important than St. Peter’s Basilica. If you remember in history, Christians were heavily persecuted in Rome by various Roman emperors.
It was only with Constantine becoming emperor and declaring the edict of Milan in 313, that Christians began to enjoy freedom from persecution. Emperor Constantine gave as a gift to the pope at that time, a palace formerly owned by Laterani family. And that palace became the very first cathedral of the Catholic church. Those who visit the Basilica on pilgrimage, visit it not just because it is the head of all churches and the Pope’s cathedral. In side the main altar is believed to be the wooden altar on which St. Peter celebrated Mass while in Rome. This may sound gruesome, but the heads of Sts Peter and Paul were once believed to be inside busts above the main altar. Part of the table on which the Last Supper was celebrated is said to be behind a bronze depiction of the Last Supper. At one time the stairs in Pilate's house on which Jesus is said to have walked during his trial was inside this church. It is a marble stairs and is now covered with wood to protect it and is now relocated in an adjacent church.
Pilgrims ascend the stairs on their knees contemplating Jesus’ Passion and on the way up drops of blood may be seen on the marble stairs beneath protective glass. The stairs was brought to Rome by Constantine’s mother St. Helena. It is from these roots that Baton Rouge Diocese and St. Aloysius derive their existence. It wasn’t too long ago that Baton Rouge Diocese was carved out of the Diocese of New Orleans. This happened on July 20, 1961 by Pope John XXIII. He named then St. Joseph Church as the new cathedral of the new Baton Rouge Diocese. And it wasn’t too long ago that St. Aloysius was formed by Archbishop Rummel in the year 1955 with 625 families and Fr. Daniel Becnel as the pastor. St. Aloysius school was formed from Sacred Heart and St. Agnes parishes. And the first masses were celebrated at Southdowns Elementary School. Only a couple of years later, seven sisters of Daughters of Jesus from Spain arrived to serve the parish. At that time Sr. Rosary was made the principal. In 1967, St. Aloysius became large enough that St. Jude parish was carved out of St. Aloysius. No church just springs up on its own. They build upon the foundation.
In the same way that the visible church like this one just does not exist apart from the first cathedral St. John Lateran, we don’t just become Body of Christ apart from those who built it up before us. Think about why you chose St. Aloysius as your parish. People often tell me that they feel like there is a community here. Much gratitude goes to those 625 founding families back in 1955 who built not only the physical bricks of this church but spiritual bricks to make this place where people feel community. We stand on the shoulders of those who built this spiritual temple. We also are called to let our shoulders become the living foundation for others.
