{"id":84481,"date":"2014-11-09T13:23:24","date_gmt":"2014-11-09T21:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=84481"},"modified":"2014-11-09T13:23:24","modified_gmt":"2014-11-09T21:23:24","slug":"from-living-and-chosen-stones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/from-living-and-chosen-stones\/","title":{"rendered":"From Living and Chosen Stones"},"content":{"rendered":"

You would be forgiven for thinking that the Pope’s main church is St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. It’s certainly the largest. But no. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

San Giovanni in Laterano,
front fa\u00e7ade.<\/p><\/div>The Pope’s own church – his episcopal seat as Bishop of Rome – is in the church of Saint John Lateran<\/a>.<\/p>\n

W<\/span>hich Saint John? <\/p>\n

Good question. Two of them, actually, for the full name of this church is the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist at the Lateran<\/em>.<\/p>\n

(In the original Latin, that’s Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris et Sanctorum Iohannes Baptista et Evangelista in Laterano<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

So technically, it’s named after Christ, with a couple of Saint Johns in support. Even so, in Rome it’s generally called San Giovanni in Laterano<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We visited<\/a> this church in 2005, where I took the photo above. It\u2019s really hard to capture the scale of the place. Those are larger-than-life statues of Christ and the apostles up top. Each of the apostles is carrying symbols of their martyrdom; I think that\u2019s Saint Simon on the far right, holding a timber saw.<\/p>\n

Today is the anniversary of the founding of this church, and therefore a feast day in the Universal Church. It’s one of the few that trumps a normal Sunday celebration.<\/p>\n

Why? As the Pope is to be the symbol of unity in Christ’s church on earth, so the Pope’s church is the mother church, if you will, of the Church Universal.<\/p>\n

\n

My fellow Christians, today is the birthday of this church, an occasion for celebration and rejoicing. We, however, ought to be the true and living temple of God. Nevertheless, Christians rightly commemorate this feast of the church, their mother, for they know that through her they were reborn in the spirit. <\/p>\n

At our first birth, we were vessels of God\u2019s wrath; reborn, we became vessels of his mercy.<\/em> Our first birth brought death to us, but our second restored us to life.<\/p>\n

(from today’s Office of Readings,
\nA sermon of Saint Caesarius of Arles<\/em>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>

“The Most Holy Church of the Lateran, Mother and Head of all the churches in the City and the World”<\/p><\/div>\n

My friend Andrew Casad<\/a> brought to my attention a carving that may be found in the baptistery of this ancient church.<\/p>\n

Inscription on the Architrave of the Lateran Basilica:
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Gens sacrandapolis hic semine nascitur almo
\nquam fecundatis spiritus editaquis
\nvirgineo fetu genitrix ecclesianatos
\nquos spirante deo concipitamne parit
\ncoelorum regnum sperate hoc fonte renati
\nnon recipit felix vitasemelgenitos
\nfons hic est vitae qui totum dilvit orbem
\nsumens de Christi vulnere principium
\nmergere peccator sacro purgante fluento
\nquem veterem accipiet proferet undanovum
\ninsons esse volens isto mundare lavacro
\nsev patrio premeris crimine sev proprio
\nnullarenascentum est distantiaquos facit unum
\nunus fons unus spiritus unafides
\nnec numerus quemquam scelerum nec formasvorum
\nterreat hoc natus flumine sanctus erit<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Englished:
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Here is born in Spirit-soaked fertility
\na brood destined for another City,
\nbegotten by God\u2019s blowing
\nand borne upon this torrent
\nby the Church their virgin mother.
\nReborn in these depths they reach for
\nheaven\u2019s realm,
\nthe born-but-once unknown by felicity.
\nThis spring is life that floods the world,
\nthe wounds of Christ its awesome source,
\nSinner sink beneath this sacred surf
\nthat swallows age and spits out youth.
\nSinner here scour away down to innocence,
\nfor they know no enmity who are by
\none font, one Spirit, one faith made one.
\nSinner, shudder not at sin\u2019s kind and number,
\nfor those born here are holy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So let us contemplate our divine adoption by God the Father through the Incarnation of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, who became our brother in the flesh. We are now all sons and daughters of God in Christ, and children also of the Church His bride.<\/p>\n

\n

O God, who from living and chosen stones
\nprepare an eternal dwelling for your majesty,
\nincrease in your Church the spirit of grace you have bestowed,
\nso that by new growth your faithful people
\nmay build up the heavenly Jerusalem. <\/p>\n

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.<\/p>\n

Amen.<\/p>\n

(today’s collect)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You would be forgiven for thinking that the Pope’s main church is St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. It’s certainly the largest. But no. The Pope’s own church – his episcopal seat as Bishop of Rome – is in the church of Saint John Lateran. Which Saint John? Good question. Two of them, actually, for the full name of this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holy-days","category-pray"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-lYB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":90191,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/from-living-and-chosen-stones-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":84481,"position":0},"title":"From Living and Chosen Stones","author":"Thom","date":"09 November 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"You would be forgiven for thinking that the Pope's main church is St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. 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