Feast of the Dedication of Saint John Lateran Basilica in Rome

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of Saint John Lateran Basilica in Rome. This church  was constructed in the fourth century by the Roman Emperor Constantine after his conversion to Christianity and when Christianity was legalized. It has survived many natural and man-made disasters over the centuries. It is the oldest Basilica in Rome and Europe and is the Mother Church of Roman Catholics around the world. Until about 1800's the Pope would be installed in this Basilica and not at Saint Peter's Basilica. It is the Cathedral Church of the Pope who is the Bishop of Rome. The Basilica is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
The readings for today's mass are from 1 Corinthians 3, where Saint Paul says that we are God's building and we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. That is each person is a church or a temple and God comes to reside within us. We need to take care of our body and soul and keep it a fitting place for our Lord and King to live in. We can do this by making frequent spiritual communions or by just meditating on the Holy Name of Jesus. One exercise practiced by many Christians is to say the name of Jesus quietly in the mind as we inhale and as we exhale we exhale all of our shortcomings and weaknesses and repeat this for 20 minutes.
Today is a good day to think of the many people, young and old, who's temples of the body are destroyed by war, crime, abortion, death penalty, poverty and violence. We can pray for the victims and victimizers and for us to be more sensitive to these issues and the people impacted by it.
May the Holy Spirit lead us to treat each other with reverence as we make progress in our journey of spiritual growth and holiness!