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Exploring the word

09 Nov 2008 - Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Cycle A

WHAT WOULD YOU INCLUDE on a list of holy places: Jerusalem? Rome? The local cathedral? We might agree that houses of worship, cloisters, shrines, retreat centers, and burial grounds are consecrated places. Yet the personal encounters we have with the Holy Presence may be far from mutually determined spots. I remember a hill my older brother and I climbed when I was 10. From the top we could see the whole valley of our small town spread before us. The church steeples were visible, all in a row, as were city hall, the firehouses, Main Street, and—tiny but perceptible from that distance—our house. Available to us from that exalted perspective was our whole world, a vastness that opened our hearts, expanded our minds, and caught our breaths. Something like reverence settled over us, and we were quiet as we stood up there. We were gazing at what was, to our young selves, a view of everything. Holy places like these are as unique as each of us. We may be overwhelmed by a sense of the sacred in the middle of a forest or at the shore of the ocean. As impressive as such grandeur is, we may also find the holy in microcosms: a spider web sparkling with drops after a rain, or the sighting of a rare and wonderful bird. We may be tempted to take off our shoes in the presence of a gracious act of kindness, or in the demonstration of a noble spirit rising from the labyrinth of suffering. God’s dwelling place, we come to understand, is not limited to tabernacles and sanctuaries. Artistic achievement can also inspire awe, and love blooming in our hearts assures us that God lives within as much as without. Today we celebrate a basilica in Rome named after Saint John and its original donor, the Lateran family. It is a consecrated place which withstood centuries of destructive forces and yet endured—like the universal church itself. We celebrate the Lateran basilica as a symbol of all the holy places in this world, communal and personal, that elevate our thoughts and move our hearts to the grand contemplation of “everything.” Such sites help us to see as God sees: from an exalted and unified perspective across the isolation of given moments and particular places. They help us leap from the personal to the universal, from the present hour to the eternal. Jesus once cleared the Jerusalem temple to prepare for the radical replacement of its authority with himself. Holy places invite us to consider how the Holy One once pitched a tent among us. We who believe in “God-with-us” become quite literally that sacred meeting ground in flesh and blood. Our very lives are holy places. Related scripture links Isaiah and the temple: Isa. 2:1-5; 6:1-4; 56:7; 60:1-22; 66:1-2 Other prophets: Mic. 4:1-3; Mal. 3:1; Jer. 7:1-15; 26:1-19; Ezek. Chs. 40-48 Jesus and the temple: Matt. 12:5-6; 24:1-2; Mark 13:1-2; Luke 21:5-6 The church as temple: 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:19-22

Authors Alice Camille

holy places sacred places

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Featured Exploring the Word

09 Nov 2025 - Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Cycle C

What would you include on a list of holy places: Jerusalem? Rome? The local cathedral? We might agree that houses of worship, cloisters, shrines, retreat centers, and burial grounds are consecrated places. Yet the personal encounters we have with the Holy Presence may be far from mutually determined spots. I remember a hill my older brother and I climbed when I was 10. From the top we could see the whole valley of our small town spread before us. The church steeples were visible, all in a row, as were city hall, the firehouses, Main Street, and—tiny but perceptible from that distance—our house. Available to us from that exalted perspective was our whole world, a vastness that opened our hearts, expanded our minds, and caught our breaths. Something like reverence settled over us, and we were quiet as we stood up there. We were gazing at what was, to our young selves, a view of everything. Holy places like these are as unique as each of us. We may be overwhelmed by a sense of the sacred in the middle of a forest or at the shore of the ocean. As impressive as such grandeur is, we may also find the holy in microcosms: a spider web sparkling with drops after a rain, or the sighting of a rare and wonderful bird. We may be tempted to take off our shoes in the presence of a gracious act of kindness, or in the demonstration of a noble spirit rising from the labyrinth of suffering. God’s dwelling place, we come to understand, is not limited to tabernacles and sanctuaries. Artistic achievement can also inspire awe, and love blooming in our hearts assures us that God lives within as much as without. Today we celebrate a basilica in Rome named after Saint John and its original donor, the Lateran family. It is a consecrated place which withstood centuries of destructive forces and yet endured—like the universal church itself. We celebrate the Lateran basilica as a symbol of all the holy places in this world, communal and personal, that elevate our thoughts and move our hearts to the grand contemplation of “everything.” Such sites help us to see as God sees: from an exalted and unified perspective across the isolation of given moments and particular places. They help us leap from the personal to the universal, from the present hour to the eternal. Jesus once cleared the Jerusalem temple to prepare for the radical replacement of its authority with himself. Holy places invite us to consider how the Holy One once pitched a tent among us. We who believe in “God-with-us” become quite literally that sacred meeting ground in flesh and blood. Our very lives are holy places. Related scripture links Isaiah and the temple: Isa. 2:1-5; 6:1-4; 56:7; 60:1-22; 66:1-2 Other prophets: Mic. 4:1-3; Mal. 3:1; Jer. 7:1-15; 26:1-19; Ezek. Chs. 40-48 Jesus and the temple: Matt. 12:5-6; 24:1-2; Mark 13:1-2; Luke 21:5-6 The church as temple: 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:19-22 Adapted from a previously published Exploring the word.

Authors Alice Camille

holy places

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