From the Seminarian
By Peter Santandreu
November 9, 2015

Today is the feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran cathedral in Rome. This church was built for the pope by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century and has been called the “mother church of all Latin Christianity.” In considering the meaning of this day I began to think about the significance of the church building itself. Most of us have heard that we, the people, are the body of Christ, that our bodies are “temples of the Holy Spirit,” and, as the song “Christ Be Our Light” prays, “Make us your building, sheltering others, walls made of living stone.” This is all well and good, but what about the building?

More and more I hear couples waning to get married asking why they can’t have an outdoor wedding, or why we put so much money into keeping up these old structures. “If we are the building made from living stones,” some ask, “why don’t we just rent a storefront and have worship services there?” While it is true that the church is much more than her buildings, the fact still remains that the church includes buildings. In the middle ages the town church would double as the town fort in times of trouble. Those days are gone, of course, and the actual building may no longer provide such obviously practical support, but this does not mean that we no longer have use for the structures of inanimate stones.

If you ask any spiritual director about how to pursue a better prayer life, he or she will probably tell you to find a specific place and time and keep that sacred. There is something to be said for consistency that helps form habits. The church building can be that place. It is a space apart, a symbol of all that is right with the world and a true locus of God’s presence. The building is still a place of refuge for those who are weary of the world and need a quiet place to escape and rest in the Lord. We can still run into a church and exclaim (interiorly) “Sanctuary!” from all the woes that weigh us down.

What is so special about a church building? The fact of the matter is, not all buildings are created equal. If spirituality and/or religion is important in your life, get to know the inside of a church. The purpose of some buildings is obvious, others take a little looking into. The church building is now, and always will be, a place set apart, a place where heaven and earth meet, a place to go to find one’s self and come face-to-face with one’s God.

Peter is a Seminarian studying at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, NY and will be at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish for pastorial experience until June 2016. Peter grew up in Hamburg, NY. Following graduation from St. John Fisher College, he spent two years as a volunteer doing missionary work at an Argentinian orphanage where he learned to speak Spanish. He later earned a M.A. in Theology St. Michael’s in Toronto.