HOMILY DEDICATING THE CHAPEL
OF MATER REDEMPTORIS
MEMORIAL OF THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY DEDICATION OF THE ALTAR AND BLESSING OF THE CHAPEL OF MATER REDEMPTORIS CONVENT AND HOUSE OF FORMATION, AND BLESSING OF THE CONVENT AND HOUSE OF FORMATION MATER REDEMPTORIS CONVENT AND HOUSE OF FORMATION, LA CROSSE AUGUST 22, 2000
Is 9, 1-6
Lk 1, 39-47We complete today our octave celebration of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary by celebrating her maternal and royal intercession on our behalf before the throne of God the Father. We continue our celebration of our Blessed Mother's full share in the glory which her Son won in our human nature. Mary is Queen of Heaven and Earth because she shared fully in the mystery of the Redemption, conceiving the Redeemer in her womb by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit; following Him as His first and best disciple; standing by Him as He poured out His life for us on the cross; receiving from Him, as He died upon the cross, the mission of Mother of the Redeemed; praying with the Apostles in the Cenacle for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all God's holy People, the Church.
Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, is Mary whom we see represented in the altarpiece of this chapel at the foot of the cross, uniting herself fully with the sacrifice of her Son, bringing to her Son's open Heart all God's children for whom she is, by God's all-gracious plan of Redemption, mother in the Holy Spirit. The fullness of Mary's vocation and mission in the world and now in heaven is expressed in the words of her response to the greeting of Elizabeth at the Visitation: My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit finds joy in God my savior. (Gospel) The joy of Mary is the Redeemer Whom she conceived in her womb, to Whom she united herself totally on Calvary. The joy of Mary is Christ Who is light in the darkness for God's holy People,
Christ the King who saves His brothers and sisters by giving up His life for them. (cf. Reading 1) The joy of Mary continues in her perfect cooperation in the Redemption through her royal mission of intercession on behalf of all her children now before God's throne in Heaven.
Mary's queenship helps us to understand more fully the inauguration today of a house of formation for young woman who hear God's call to consecrate themselves totally to Him and His holy people by uniting themselves to the Redeemer, in imitation and under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here, young women will share in a certain and appropriate way in the life of religious Sisters who have already consecrated their lives to God and to the Church and so come to know better God's will for them. The consecrated life, which our Redeemer established for the Church from the time of His public ministry by inviting certain disciples to leave everything and to follow Him in a life of consecrated celibacy, in poverty and obedience, is the Marian following of Christ. Consecrated women share in Mary's royal vocation and mission of maternal love for all God's children, of drawing God's children to the open Heart of the Redeemer Who guides and accompanies them along life's pilgrimage home to God the Father.
Our Holy Father, reflecting upon the Holy Scriptures and the rich history of the consecrated life in the Church from her first days, reminds us that we must not question that "the profession of the evangelical counsels is an integral part of the Church's life and a much-needed incentive towards ever greater fidelity to the Gospel." (Vita consecrata, No. 3b) Our Holy Father goes on to assure us that, whatever historical changes may take place in the consecrated life, "there will be no change in the substance of a choice which finds its expression in a radical gift of self for love of the Lord Jesus, and, in him, of every member of the human family." (Ibid.) He then reminds us of the importance of the consecrated life for us all in the Church. This certainty, which has inspired countless individuals in the course of the centuries continues to reassure the Christian people, for they know that they can draw from the heart," Christ Who alone has the words of everlasting life.
It is Mary who is mother and queen of consecrated persons in an altogether special way. Consecrated persons, like the Apostle John who stood with Mary at the foot of the cross, are called to take Mary into their homes as mother. Our Blessed Mother in turn "shares with them the love which enables them to offer their lives every day for Christ and to cooperate with him in the salvation of the world." (Vita consecrata, No. 28d) Mary shows consecrated persons "the royal road" of "unconditional discipleship and diligent service." (Ibid )
It should come as no surprise to us then that the Special Assembly for America of the Synod of Bishops asked that Diocesan Bishops more highly esteem and promote the consecrated life. (Ecclesia in America, No. 43c) Let us pray today and in the days to come that this House of Formation, dedicated to the Mother of the Redeemer, may be a fitting instrument by which the Diocese of La Crosse expresses its esteem for the consecrated life and helps to foster the vocation to the consecrated life among our young women who show so many signs of generous love of God and His holy People, the Church. In the name of the Diocese, I thank Mother M. Carmen, Superior General of the Sisters of Saint Francis of the Martyr Saint George, and Mother M. Ingeborg, Provincial Superior, for their generous willingness to assist us in the Diocese in the important apostolate of vocations. Your fidelity to the charism of the Holy Spirit, given to Mother M. Anselma through Saint Francis of Assisi, to give glory to God and to make visible His merciful love, will bring forth rich spiritual fruit in the Diocese of La Crosse, especially in the fostering of vocations to the consecrated life. (Constitutions, No. 103)
The mystery of Christ to which the consecrated life is drawn with so much intensity and for the spiritual benefit of the whole Church is contained fully in the Eucharist we are celebrating. It is represented in the altar which is about to be dedicated, because Our Lord Jesus Christ makes Himself the grace of salvation to us and to our world. At the altar, the priest, acting in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, Head of His Body the Church, renews the Lord's Supper, the sacrificial meal by which we continue to share in the mystery of Christ's victory over sin and death, and His gift of new and everlasting life. For God's people of the Old Covenant, the altar was a sign of their holiness, of their devotion to doing God the Father's will. For us, Jesus Christ Himself is the altar in our churches, for, in Him, we attain holiness of life, communion with God the Father and with one another.
Our Lord Jesus will also remain here in the hosts consecrated at the altar and reposed in the tabernacle after Holy Communion. Here, through participation in the Holy Eucharist and through Eucharistic adoration, God the Father will give instruction and inspiration to the Sisters and help the young women who come here to know His will for them.
The relic of Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro, professed religious, priest and martyr, will be placed in the base of the altar. In perfect imitation of Christ, Father Pro offered His life for love of God and the Church, on November 23, 1927, on this continent, in the country of Mexico. He was executed for continuing to celebrate Mass, to hear confessions and to teach the faith, when the civil authorities forbade him to do so. His crime was his total consecration to God and His People, his consecration in Christ. In following the royal road of Christ with fidelity "to the end," he looked to the Blessed Virgin Mary for inspiration and help, especially under the title of her apparition on our continent in 1531, the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. She led him to offer his life for Christ and his brothers and sisters in Christ.
On the walls of the prison where Father Pro spent the last days of his life, he inscribed the words: Viva Cristo Rey! Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe! Long live Christ the King! Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe! When he stood before the firing squad, he held out his arms in the form of the cross, holding in one hand a crucifix and in the other hand a rosary. Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro had indeed chosen and followed faithfully the royal road, to which our Blessed Mother directed him, the and young women who come here to do God's will by following Christ on the royal road of the Cross.
Because we are truly united with Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Sacrifice of the Mass, we, like Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro, are called to become altars of sacrifice with Him, to give our lives completely out of love of God and of our neighbor. Like our Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to offer our life as a pure and holy sacrifice. It is indeed our identification of self with the altar which calls forth daily the very best which we have to offer, which enables us to go beyond our self-centered and sinful tendencies in order to offer ourselves each day as a sincere gift of love to God and to our neighbor. The altar is anointed with the Sacred Chrism, the sacramental sign of Christ's grace, with which we also are anointed in Baptism and Confirmation.
The importance of the altar for our daily Christian living is underlined from the moment of our entry into the Church through Baptism. Immediately after our baptism, we are brought to the altar to be blessed. Once baptized, every Sunday we gather at the altar of the Lord to be instructed by God's Holy Word and to be nourished by the gift of His Life. Likewise, the Sacrament of Matrimony, the Sacrament of Holy Orders and the public consecration of one's life to God and to the Church are all celebrated at the altar. Finally, at death we are brought to the altar for a final time before our Christian burial. In the altar which is Jesus Christ is found the meaning and destiny of each of our lives.
After the dedication of the altar, the offering of the Mass takes place on the altar. The celebration of the Holy Eucharist is the principal reason for this chapel and, in a real sense, the chapel is only fully blessed when our Lord Jesus Christ is made really present upon its altar through the mystery of the Holy Eucharist and reposed in the tabernacle. (Rite of Dedication of an Altar, Introduction, No. 23)
Queen of Heaven and Earth, let us join ourselves to Him, offering our lives as a sincere and pure gift of love to God and to our neighbor.
May the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, by her example and maternal care, assist all who live the consecrated life in this convent and all who seek to know God's will in their lives in this house of formation.
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