His Excellency, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on August 6th, the Feast of the Transfiguration with 750 of the lay faithful 12 Priests and a Deacon at the Our Lady, Patroness of America Center in Rome City, Indiana. Sixty-Five participated remotely.
Priests came from as far as New York City and pilgrims came from California, Texas, and New York and many states in between. The day was a celebration of Our Lady’s work and the pastoral care of Bishop Rhoades in allowing devotion to Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin Patroness of America to grow and flourish at Center.
He blessed the chapel formerly known as the Our Lady, Mother of Mercy Chapel restoring its sacred nature. He renamed it as the Oratory of the Holy Family, recognizing Our Lady’s call to imitate the Holy Family as a sure path to purity of life that she wants for us, her children.
Bishop Rhoades had this to say about the Oratory in his homily (Read Full Homily here):
Now today we can again call this oratory a sacred place since I have blessed it, or I should say – God has blessed it. It has been blessed with the holy water, a sign of the cleansing waters of salvation in which we have been washed in Christ and made temples of the Holy Spirit. From this day forward, this Oratory is again a place for divine worship. It now has a new title – the title of the Holy Family. Here, I pray, many families will come to be strengthened in faith and love, inspired by the Holy Family to imitate the virtues of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and aided by their intercession.
This Oratory of the Holy Family is the most important part of this Center named in honor of Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of America because here Jesus, her divine Son, who assumed our humanity in her pure womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, will dwell in the tabernacle. His Sacrifice for our redemption will become present here at every celebration of the Eucharist. And His Body and Blood will be given in Holy Communion, nourishing the souls of all who receive this sacrament of His love. Pope Saint John Paul II called Mary the “Woman of the Eucharist.” No Marian Center would be complete without the Holy Eucharist. Mary always guides us to this most holy sacrament. She offered her own flesh and blood to Jesus and became the living tabernacle of the Lord. She opened herself completely to the presence of Christ. She teaches us to open ourselves to Jesus’ presence, to receive His Body and Blood with faith, and to live what we receive. Mary allowed herself to be penetrated by God’s love and she lived the self-giving Eucharistic love of her Son. She helps us to do the same.
It came as a joyful surprise to us that Bishop Rhoades has granted to our Pilgrims the privilege of coming to pray in the presence of the Holy Eucharist; the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. We are working with our Pastor, Fr. Louis Fowoyo to put in place the appropriate protocols and protection needed to protect and respect this Greatest of Gifts.
He went on to unfold the mystery of the Transfiguration on its feast day pointing to its most important part. He said:
And Mary helps us to receive this light. We already know that this has happened through the years here at this center and here in this chapel which today has again become sacred. Of course, this will only happen if we obey the words of the Father at the Transfiguration: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.” This is a place where I hope many people will come to pray, which is fundamentally, listening to Jesus. In Hebrew idiom, to listen to someone’s voice means not only to hear, but also to obey. So, this means that we listen in our minds and hearts to what Jesus teaches us in the Gospels and that we strive to put them into practice. Mary teaches us basically the same thing the Father commands us in her words to the waiters at the wedding feast of Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.”
Concluding his homily, Bishop calls upon Our Lady to guide, intercede and bring the Light of Christ upon her Pilgrims:
Here in this Holy Family Oratory and in this Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of America Center, I hope that many will “climb with Jesus the mountain of prayer and, contemplating His face full of love and truth, allow themselves to be filled with His light” (Pope Benedict). Our Blessed Mother, who was filled with the light of her Son, lives now in the light of His glory in heaven. She waits for us and she prays for us. The Church invokes her as “Maris Stella,” the “Star of the Sea” because on the voyage of our life, she is a star who shines with the light of Christ to guide us along our way. She is a star of hope for us. May she shine upon all who visit and pray in this sacred oratory!
After the Mass the Pilgrims were treated to a free lunch of grilled hamburgers and sausages cooked by the Rome City Volunteer Fire Department. They did a great job and excellent music was provided for the remainder of the afternoon as pilgrims gathered, renewed friendships, and made new ones.
Bishop Rhoades remained after Mass for about two hours to greet, converse and bless the pilgrims and devotional items.
But not everything turned out the way we hoped. We were planning to consecrate the new altar which had been commissioned and was in place without the marble top for the week prior to the celebration. The Mensa (altar top) was delayed in delivery and when it was placed on the day before the Mass it was dropped and shattered. We were in shock as our hopes were dashed and the plan of the Mass was upended. Bishop Rhoades in his generosity continued with the Mass plans, although the order of the Liturgy changed from the consecration of the Altar back to the Feast of the Transfiguration. Through the great teamwork and last-minute sprint of Masters of Ceremonies Fr. Daniel Koehle, Fr. Nathan Maskal, liturgist Mr. Brian MacMichael and our staff everything was re-arranged just in the nick of time.
The good news is that Bishop Rhoades said he would be back when the altar is ready. We will then be doubly blessed!
The Our Lady, Patroness of America Center has so many to thank. Our volunteers and benefactors are at the top of the list. Nearly 100 volunteers had some role in preparing the grounds, coordinating, completing all the details and assisting pilgrims that day. And our benefactors have brought the Providence of God, so that we would afford to prepare for an overflow crowd of 400 pilgrims, live stream Mass and then feed everyone. Thank you!
A Sacred Space deserves Sacred Music. The choir loft was opened and outfitted in preparation of this event. Through the efforts of conductor Sara Balogh some of the finest musicians from throughout the Diocese were brought together. The Oratory was filled with the most beautiful sacred music. I don’t know the last time that the walls echoed such a heavenly sound, but certainly what was heard by these walls was heard in Heaven!
And thank you Bishop Rhoades for your support of this apostolate. You have given Our Lady a home which is now a sacred space. And through your prayers you have asked Heaven to bring an abundance of graces upon us and especially the pilgrims. Our Lady is surely pleased!
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