By Fr. Glenn Jones:
An interesting and somewhat unusual feast for Catholics this weekend (Nov. 9)—the feast of the dedication of the basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. Like the cathedral in Santa Fe is the central church of the Archdiocese, St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the city of Rome and the actual cathedral of the pope in his role as Bishop of Rome. St. John Lateran is the oldest church in Rome, first dedicated in the 300s after Constantine legalized Christianity. Thus, it is considered the “mother” of all Catholic churches—many considering it the mother church of all Christianity.
But why a day which celebrates the dedication of a church? For Catholics, this devotion recognizes the unity of the Church worldwide, and with it the authority of the Pope as having the role as Peter had in the early church as leader of Christ’s disciples—and unity of not only Catholics around the world, but all Christians as well in their common love and devotion for Jesus.
This feast, of course, recalls the Jerusalem Temple’s grandeur and significance in the Old Testament—not merely historical but deeply symbolic, prefiguring the transformation that Jesus would bring about in the hearts of Christian believers. For Christians, the New Testament reveals a fulfillment: the temple no longer a building but now finds its deepest reality in the soul made to be God’s dwelling place—the beauty of the ancient temple blossoming into the spiritual mystery of the Christian soul.
While no individual church has the significance as did the ancient Jewish Jerusalem Temple did (does) for Jews, there is much analogy. The Jerusalem Temple was the center of Israelite worship, an architectural wonder embodying both physical beauty and rich spiritual symbolism—“the dwelling place of God” (1 Kings 8:10-11), where the cloud of God’s glory would fill the sanctuary, signifying that heaven and earth met in this sacred space. The Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber, was veiled from everyday sight, and only the high priest could enter once a year—illustrating the transcendence of God and the need for atonement and purification (Leviticus 16:2-34). The Temple’s layered architecture—from outer courts to the inner sanctum—reflected the journey from the ordinary to the divine, drawing the worshipper closer to God. The Temple expressed the covenant bond between God and His people—a place where “the Lord’s eyes and heart would always dwell” (1 Kings 9:3).
The New Testament ushers in a transformation of this imagery. Jesus identifies Himself as the true temple: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19-21) Christ’s Body becomes the definitive meeting place between God and humanity, fulfilling and surpassing the old Temple. In His death, the veil of the Temple is torn (Matthew 27:51), granting access to the Holy of Holies—God’s very presence—through Christ who “opened a new and living way” for believers (Hebrews 10:19-20).
St. Paul speaks of the mystery for every Christian: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). The Temple now is the soul of each believer, whose body and spirit have become a dwelling place for the divine. The physical temple—its grandeur, rituals, and architecture—Christians consider as early figures pointing to the spiritual reality realized in Christ and in His members.
The Church Fathers also saw in the Temple both a figure of Christ and of the human soul redeemed and sanctified. Origen compared the Temple’s structure—outer court, inner sanctum, Holy of Holies—to the architecture of the soul and body, writing: “What was foreshadowed in the temple is fulfilled in the Church; more profoundly, in the soul that has become a dwelling for God through grace” (Homilies on Leviticus). St. Gregory of Nyssa described the human person as “an integral unity composed of body and soul” whose dignity is revealed most fully in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The resurrection confirmed that this temple—each person—was sanctified in both body and soul as God’s eternal dwelling.
Christianity teaches that every human person, created in God’s image, possesses both body and soul, and is called to communion with God. The Catholic Catechism states: “In Sacred Scripture the term ‘soul’ often refers to human life or the entire human person. But ‘soul’ also refers to the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God’s image: ‘soul’ signifies the spiritual principle in man” (para. 363). The Church teaches that the spiritual soul is immediately created by God and immortal (Catechism, para. 366).
The spiritual architecture of the Temple offers a powerful analogy for the Christian soul. The whole person, in this mystical temple, is gradually consecrated, becoming fitting for God’s indwelling. Each act of purification, every prayer and sacrament, is a work of spiritual renewal—God forming anew His dwelling within each believer. The stages—from outer court to inner sanctum—reflect the journey of conversion.
This mystery reaches its peak in Revelation: the New Jerusalem is revealed as “a new kind of Holy of Holies,” the eternal temple where God dwells with His people (Revelation 21:3, 22:1-5). Christians are destined not merely to become temples, but to dwell eternally in God’s presence, in a communion that the beauty of the temple is a foreshadowing. Thus, St. Paul writes to Christians: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? … God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
So, from stone and gold to soul and spirit, the beauty and meaning of the Jerusalem temple find their fullness in the Christian—where God’s glory dwells in humanity. The Christian becomes a living temple, formed for divine presence. The mystery once veiled now comes forth in Christ, raising humanity to the dignity for which it was created—a destiny reflected in the magnificence of the ancient temple, and perfected in the soul’s union with God.
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“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (Psalm 27:4).
Editor’s note: Rev. Glenn Jones is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos.