One last word on the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, today, 9 November.
One of the best things about the Lateran is the 8-sided Baptistery, which I really love, though it is a beautiful church in general. There one reads:
Here is born a people of noble race, destined for Heaven, whom the Spirit brings forth in the waters he has made fruitful. Mother Church conceives her offspring by the breath of God and bears them virginally in this water. Hope for the Kingdom of Heaven, you who are reborn in this font. Eternal life does not await those who are only born once. This is the spring of life that waters the whole world, taking its origin from the Wounds of Christ. Sinner, to be purified, go down into the holy water. It receives the unregenerate and brings him forth a new man. If you wish to be made innocent, be cleansed in this pool, whether you are weighed down by original sin or your own. There is no barrier between those who are reborn and made one by the one font, the one Spirit and the one faith. Let neither the number nor the kind of their sins terrify anyone – once reborn in this water, they will be holy.
And so we say with the words of Scripture:
AnaStpaul 