The Role of the Cathedral in a Diocese
by Fr. David M. Knight
Saturday, November 9, 2024
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12/1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17/Jn 2:13-22 (Lectionary 671)
Ezekiel 47:1-12 is part of Ezekiel’s vision of the temple in a restored Israel. He saw water flowing out of the temple, and reported: “Where these waters flow, they refresh; everything lives where the river goes.”
We can apply this to the role a cathedral should play in a diocese. Today we celebrate the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, but the building is important, not because it is a basilica—an honorary title which means nothing except that the pope wants to give it special prestige—but because it is the cathedral of the diocese of Rome. This invites us to celebrate the meaning of the cathedral in any and every diocese.
A “cathedral” is where the bishop’s “cathedra,” or official “seat” is, the place from which he acts most officially as bishop. In practice, it is a symbol of the bishop’s function, which is to act as “head of the Church” in his diocese.
The bishop should be a model pastor, and the cathedral parish should be a model parish: a center of instruction in Scripture and the vision of Vatican II; a shocking witness to a divine level of life; a model of collaborative ministry, lay empowerment, and pastoral love applying laws to people in response to Jesus’ plea: “Feed my sheep.”
If these ideals are not realized, we can still see in the cathedral a visible sign that we belong to the universal Church that exists as whole and entire—with everything needed to be the Church of Jesus Christ—in each particular diocese. The Diocese of Smallville is the whole Catholic Church existing in Smallville. And in Smallville the bishop is the head of the Church, not a “branch manager” of the pope. He has the same powers in his diocese that the pope has in his as bishop of Rome. And the same responsibilities. The pope has some added authority over the universal Church because of the responsibility placed on whoever is bishop of Rome to keep the whole Church united. But on the local level all bishops are the same.
In 1Corinthians 3:9-17 Paul reminds us that we all have responsibility to “build up” the Church, wherever we are. Like “bishops” and “elders,” we are all God’s stewards. We have to be involved.
The “foundation” is Jesus. Anything we do that is not based on and directed toward personal relationship with him is just “straw” to go up in smoke on the Day of the Lord.
John 2:13-22 tells us there is always work for stewards to do. The Church is always in need of reform. And it is every Christian’s job, as truly as it is the bishop’s. But we must remember that we can only reform the Church by fostering love, without which anything we accomplish will be destructive.
Initiative: Ask when the bishop will preside at Mass in the cathedral. Go.
Reflections brought to you by the Immersed in Christ Ministry
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