Dear Parishioners and Friends,
As I mentioned at the end of my letter in last week’s bulletin, the feast which we celebrate today – the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran – has a Franciscan connection.
In 1209, Francis of Assisi, along with a group of his brothers, trav-elled to Rome by foot to meet with the Holy Father, Pope Innocent III. Francis was hoping to get an audience with the pope to petition him to grant his approval for a new religious order in the Church.
The early biographies of Francis describe how the pope had a fitful dream in which he saw the church of St. John Lateran start to crumble and begin to fall down. Suddenly a little robed figure of a man appeared who pushed his shoulder against one of the pillars of the building. All at once, the great church settled back into its foundations, and the dream was over.
When Francis and his brothers were admitted into the pope’s presence, Innocent recognized Francis as the little man who had saved St. John Lateran. The pope knew that this man would be a source of strength and renewal for the Church. The words Francis had heard a few years earlier in the chapel of San Damiano were coming to fulfillment: “Francis, go and repair my house which, as you see, is falling into ruin.”
Francis and his brothers returned to Assisi and began the new Order of Friars Minor by going out among the people to preach the Gospel and to help rebuild the faith of God’s people by wishing them “Pax et Bonum”– “Peace and Good.”
Today, a bronze statuary group of St. Francis and the friars stands in front of the great Basilica of St. John Lateran, reminding us of that event that started the Franciscan Order.
Imagine what our lives would be like if we took seriously St. Paul’s words and phrases that describe and define each of us as God’s building, temple of God, indwelling of the Spirit of God, and holy. What would our lives look like if we lived from our holiest, most divine self? What would change in us if we lived fully in the powerful, creative, expansive, and inclusive presence of the Spirit of God within us? How would our relationships and the way we treat others change? Would we have a greater capacity to love and engage with other “holy” ones (since we are all “holy”) in a deeper, more meaningful, way?
Living as God’s temple, God’s Spirit, and holy ones empowers us to be fully alive as God’s extraordinary presence in what can otherwise feel like a very ordinary world.
Best wishes for a good week ahead!
Fr. Tim Shreenan, O.F.M.
Pastor
