'What happens in St. Mary Church...' (Sunday homily)

 Today we have a feast day special for just this church. 

That’s why the readings are different today, 

and apologies to anyone who expected something different.

Today we recall when this church was consecrated by Archbishop Schnurr.

The bishops consider such an occasion so important 

that it can be celebrated on a nearby Sunday, so that’s what we do; 

it was actually August 14, 2016, 

when this structure changed from merely a building into the House of God.

And that right there is what we celebrate:

God dwelling among his people.

And that makes this church, and every church so consecrated, holy ground.

A bit of heaven on earth.

You may think I’m speaking figuratively or using a metaphor, 

but I am speaking very literally. I mean my words with full force.

You and I live in a secular age, in which increasingly, 

people speak of God as if he is just a figure of speech.

And if he actually exists, we really can’t say anything definite about God.

God becomes kind of an ink-blot test, remember those?

Someone shows you an ink-blot 

and you say, “Oh, I see a bird” or “I see a tree.”

The funny thing is, humanity was supposed to be so much better off 

when science and reason prevailed, 

and any claims about faith and the supernatural 

were segregated off to be purely personal.

But that doesn’t seem to be working out.

Like it or not, some part of us seems to be oriented toward mystery, 

toward the transcendent, toward – dare I say – the spiritual?

And so, if you look around, you may notice more and more people who,

in declaring themselves not to be interested in religion, 

End up embracing a world-view that is not more rational, but less, 

grounded not in science but subjectivity?

How else to explain those who insist emotional experience 

is more real than objective biological facts – 

which is what the “transgender” issue boils down to?

So, let me return to what I said a moment ago.

This church is a bit of heaven on earth. God is here with us.

This is no more than an extension of the words we recite in the Creed:

“For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven,

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”

This – God becoming what we are and becoming knowable by us – 

is the only remedy for our friends, neighbors, or any of us 

to avoid being lost in the abyss of our own subjectivity.

Of course, this feast day is not only about a sacred building.

It is about the consecrated people who are changed by what happens here.

That takes the matter to the next level:

This building’s holiness is demonstrated by our holiness.

People will believe God is here by what they see in you and me.

There’s a TV ad that says, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

That statement has many problems we can talk about another time, but: 

This cannot be true about this place. 

What happens in St. Mary’s church, if it’s real, 

cannot and will not stay in this church!

Through baptism, through confession, through prayer together, 

through the Holy Mass, through mourning and rejoicing together, 

The Holy Spirit is working to shape each of us into the likeness of Jesus.

What happens here pushes out from here:

In a readiness to forgive and seek peace amidst strife;

In a calm steadiness amidst the uncertainties of the world around us;

In an unrelenting generosity to those most in need.

As the hymn says, “They will know we are Christians by our love”;

And they’ll know God dwells here by meeting us.