+ Our celebration today is of two important church buildings of the Catholic Church: the basilica of Saint Peter, and that of St. Paul, in Rome. The reason why we celebrate the feast of these material objects is because of the spiritual value that they hold. They are two of the four major basilicas in Rome (St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran being the other two). All other basilicas are minor ones (like the one we have in Lewiston). These particular two have to do with the persons Jesus chose to cofound his Church with him: Peter and Paul: it was on Peter's faith, and Paul's teaching that the Church was built. Each basilica was constructed over the relics of the apostle they honored: St. Peter over St. Peter's relics on the Vatican Hill; St. Paul over his relics on the Via Ostia outside the gates of the city! Each basilica faced many renovations over the centuries due to many reasons including earthquake, war, and fire. They are the two most famous churches in Christendom.
What St. Paul teaches and St. Peter demonstrated is that it is living faith in Jesus the Lord that makes any person a true temple of the Holy Spirit and fit dwelling place, church, basilica of God! If we are not already such a dwelling place internally, then how can we truly honor such external dwelling places of God such as chapels, churches and basilicas that we visit?
May we today be living stones in the true temple of God, the Body of Christ, the Church: may the activities we perform of loving service to all in need be the living mortar that keeps the stones together; may we make a direct and specific request of Jesus, in deepest faith, to be the capstone of the spiritual framework which is our pilgrim lives on earth: so that one day we will qualify to share in the glory of eternal life that Saints Peter and Paul now share in, and to which we each are called!
Sing praise to the Lord with trumpets and the sound of the horn!
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