On July 15th, 2023, His Excellency Bishop Kevin Rhoades celebrated the Mass for the Dedication of an Altar at the Oratory of the Holy Family. There to celebrate with him were a dozen clergy from multiple dioceses, over 400 pilgrims from all over the country, and over 100 more live-streaming the event online.
The new ambo arrived just in time to have Bishop Rhoades bless it at the beginning of Mass. From it, special readings for the Mass for the Dedication of an Altar were read. This included the recounting of the dedication of the altar in the book of Maccabees, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians about participation in the Body, and Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman about true worship recounted in the Gospel according to Saint John. Additionally, Bishop Rhoades preached an inspiring homily. In his homily, Bishop talked about the celebrations that took place in the First Reading and likened them to our own celebrations for the day. He also connected the consecration of an altar using Sacred Chrism to our consecration at Baptism:
“When I consecrate this altar, I invite you to think about your own consecration. What does it mean to be consecrated? It means to be ‘set apart.’ This altar will be set apart for divine worship, nothing else will be done on it, it cannot be used for any other purpose other than for the offering of the Lord’s sacrifice. When we were consecrated, we were set apart for the service of God and the building up of His Kingdom. This demands our continual conversion, a sacrificial dying to ourselves so that we belong more and more to God. This is the path of holiness, the journey of our Christian life: living our baptismal consecration.”
He further emphasized this by highlighting the similarities between the rites of Baptism and the rites of the dedication of an altar. He also emphasized the constant invitation to love and unity with one another and to “live the mystery that we celebrate at the altar,” particularly amid the Eucharistic Revival. Connecting the worship Jesus spoke of in the Gospel and the participation in the Body of Christ Paul spoke of in the Second Reading, Bishop Rhoades continued:
“Today’s liturgy reminds us of our calling to become living altars, where Christ’s sacrificial love is made present as an inspiration and a source of spiritual nourishment to everyone we meet; That’s the Christian life, the life of discipleship. It’s the life that the Blessed Virgin Mary teaches us and shows us. She is our greatest model of discipleship. Her life, and also Saint Joseph’s life, mirrored their Divine Son’s own loving self-oblation in obedience to the will of the Father. In imitating the Holy Family, we discover true freedom and joy. This joy, the joy of love, draws others to the Lord and his Church; it’s the greatest means of evangelization. I pray that the pilgrims who come here to this Oratory and who worship the Lord at this altar will experience the joy and love of the Lord. May all of us here today who receive Christ’s Body and Blood at this Eucharistic banquet, celebrated on the newly consecrated altar, go forth at the end of Mass to glorify the Lord by the witness of our lives.”
Following the homily and the creed, the anointing and dedication of the altar took place. The new altar of sacrifice was modeled from the altar depicted in the stained-glass window on the East side of the sanctuary. The Lamb of God centerpiece was also chosen to mirror the bottom of the stained-glass image. The window depicts the Holy Mass being celebrated within the three states of the Church: the church triumphant, the church militant, and the church suffering. The altar was designed by liturgical architect Phillip Breckler, and constructed by Barry Campbell of Te Deum LLC.
As part of the rite for the dedication of an altar, relics are placed within the altar top. Thanks to the tremendous generosity of a local FSSP priest, we were blessed to receive relics of both Saint Agnes and Saint Gallicanus. These two Saints were both early martyrs in Rome, and both were witnesses to purity. How fitting that heaven would give us two Saints to intercede for us who understand well the challenges and the goodness of the gift of purity.
At the conclusion of the Mass, Bishop Rhoades blessed the lilies, as is tradition here at Our Lady Patroness of America Center, so that they could be distributed to pilgrims as a sign of the invitation of Our Lady to a life of purity. Following the Mass and distribution of the lilies, all were welcomed to a free lunch served by The Orchid Catering. Pilgrims enjoyed pork sandwiches, wraps, mac and cheese, chips, fruit, and lots of cookies. There was even cake as we celebrated our beloved staff member, Ruby Ramey, who was just named citizen of the year in Rome City. All were well-fed, fellowship was shared, Bishop remained for conversation and blessings, and we soaked up some beautiful sunshine and the graces of a great day in the Kingdom.
Last August, Bishop Rhoades had come to bless and rename the
chapel, and to consecrate the new altar. However, due to a mishap while
installing the altar top in which the marble was broken, Bishop was unable to
dedicate the altar at that time. He still blessed and renamed the chapel to the
Oratory of the Holy Family and granted us the grace to reserve the Blessed
Sacrament here. Due to ongoing construction within the building, and at the
instruction of our chaplain, Father Louis Fowoyo, we are not yet ready to have the
Eucharist present daily. We hope that with our continued progress on remodeling,
and with the ever-growing number of pilgrims, we will soon be able to welcome this
great grace with reverence and proper devotion.
The Lord works all things for our good; while Bishop Rhoades
was unable to consecrate the new altar of sacrifice last August, we were still
blessed to have him celebrate Mass for the blessing and renaming of the chapel.
Bishop Rhoades’ choosing of the name, the Oratory of the Holy Family, shows his
great depth of understanding in regard to the devotion. Throughout this past
year, we have seen many graces that have come through the anointing of this
space, and the honoring of the Holy Family. One tremendous grace of being
unable to consecrate the altar that day was that it insured Bishop Rhoades
would be returning the following year to finish the work that was begun.
That day has come; now forever marked as a historic day for the
Our Lady Patroness of America Center, July 15th, 2023, Bishop
Rhoades returned to consecrate the new altar of sacrifice in the Oratory of the
Holy Family. We are ever grateful to Bishop Rhoades for his support of the
devotion, his guidance in our mission and throughout the Diocese of Fort
Wayne-South Bend, and his work to consecrate this space as a place for prayer,
healing, and renewal. With his continued blessing, we pray that together we can
make this a place where the Holy Family is honored, families are renewed, and
great graces for healing and conversion are received and spread throughout our
nation and into the whole world. We look forward to many more Masses celebrated
on the new altar, and many more days of joy and celebration with our pilgrims
all to the honor of the Holy Family and the glory of God.
How beautiful. Thank you for sharing this day for those who couldn’t be there! May God bless you and may the Blessed Mother’s plans be realized there.