The Archbishop wore Combat Boots! This is the title of the exceptional book about the life and times of our beloved Archbishop Philip M. Hannan, of happy memory. We all know of the incredible leadership Archbishop Hannan provided our Archdiocese for about 24 years. He arrived right after Hurricane Betsy struck and grew the church in and of New Orleans. Many of us also know that Archbishop Hannan was also a friend and confidant of President John F. Kennedy and eulogized the only Catholic President at the funeral mass after Kennedy's assassination. And perhaps quite a few of us might also know that the good Archbishop was a proud member of the military and actually a paratrooper.
Somehow, his memory came back to me when I was preparing for this feast of St. John Lateran Basilica. This basilica is the mother church of the Bishop of Rome, therefore it is the mother church of all Catholicity. While most of us would believe it to be the Vatican, it is St. John Lateran Basilica that is the church of the Pope. Think about this; today's feast day is the only feast day of the liturgical year for a church or a building.
This basilica cathedral is a beautiful church, a wonderful place to give glory, honor and worship to God. So is our wonderful cathedral church that serves as the mother church for the Archdiocese of New Orleans: the Cathedral of St. Louis, King of France. Our own cathedral is one of the oldest continuously operating churches in all of America. We here at Most Holy Trinity are so excited about our new church being built about a mile away. It will be an awesome place to give glory and honor and worship to God. In the meantime, we worship in this place, a former retail building that housed a fish and pet store. And still, this place, where we gather today, is a wonderful place to give glory and honor and worship to God. And this takes me back to our beloved Archbishop Hannan. He offered Mass in the great cathedrals of Washington, D.C. and even Rome. When he was here, as our Archbishop, he offered Mass at St. Louis Cathedral. Yet Archbishop Hannan spoke often of offering Mass on the hood of an army jeep, in tents, on the side of a war-torn cliff, in a chow hall and a military mobile army hospital. And in each of these "cathedrals", each of these "temples", God indeed received honor and glory and praise.
We heard the word "Temple" quite a bit in today's readings. Jesus caused a little havoc in the temple; and rightfully so. But did you catch what Jesus said about the Temple? Destroy it and I can rebuild it in 3 days. we certainly know now what He was truly talking about; giving us a glimpse of His death, burial and gloriously, His Resurrection! Jesus was talking about the "temple" of his body. Now in today's 2nd reading we hear St. Paul tell us that we are a temple of God! And so we are! In a way, we can say that we are the church! The building indeed is important, but we, when we enter the church, make it church. And as previously mentioned, church can be in a war zone, or in a converted retail office space and it can be even inside the walls of a prison, like Rayburn Correctional.
And because we are temples we should take to heart the admonition we hear St. Paul give to the Galatians. No one should destroy the temple; and that means we should not destroy one another either. To harm another, whether physically, emotionally and yes, spiritually, is an attempt to destroy the temple. When we hurt, slander, ignore, make fun of, are uncaring, inconsiderate, spiteful, mean-spirited; we are trying to destroy the temple.
When we come to Church, most of us try to care for these sacred buildings with our reverence and respect. So too are we charged to act toward one another. My goodness, we have heard in just these past few weeks to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we have not worked on that lesson in weeks past, can we make that our homework in the week ahead?
And remember, whether in a basilica like St. John Lateran, a cathedral like St. Louis Cathedral, a Catholic Church worshipping in Mr. Fish, or on the hood of a jeep or a gathering space in a prison, God is worshipped and adored for they all are temples. And when we treat one another in love, that too is reverence and respect for the temple. Thank you Archbishop Hannan for teaching me that, over and over again!
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