Today around the world the Church celebrates the dedication of the Church of St. John Lateran. Why do we celebrate this or any other building?
The short answer is because we are human.
Some Christians erroneously talk if we were angels, as if the only part of us that matters was the soul. But we are not angels we are made of body and spirit, and ultimately both will be resurrected. Because we are body and spirit we are shaped by our environment, influenced by sight, sound, taste, smell and touch.
Things like art and music are not luxuries, they are essential to experiencing a truly human life . They can communicate to us truths about God that no words can capture. From our earliest days Christians have used music and art, and architecture to express our faith.
Perhaps today we need to take a few minutes to listen to music, look at art, or visit a beautiful Church, and soak in the beauty of God.
