Juntos en el camino: Palabras semanales del Arzobispo Hebda
This past Saturday, Bishop Izen, Bishop Kenney and I joined Father Dennis Zehren, Deacon Kevin Conneely and many of their Annunciation parishioners and school families to celebrate a Rite of Reparation in the context of the Eucharist, making it the first Mass held in Annunciation church since the tragic loss of life that occurred there on Aug. 27. I was so proud of our priests and deacons who came out in great number to pray with us and to show their support for a community that still grieves for Harper Moyski and Fletcher Merkel.
The ritual is one that no bishop ever wants to celebrate. Nonetheless, I felt very privileged to have been able to preside on Saturday. I sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit from the moment that we all solemnly processed into the church, accompanied by the chanting of the Litany of the Saints, recalling the great cloud of saintly witnesses who continue to pray with us and for us from heaven. I felt especially close to them as the congregation sought the intercession of the Holy Martyrs: Stephen, Ignatius, Lawrence, Perpetua and Felicity, and Agnes. In our Church, we never walk alone.
Particularly meaningful for me was the sprinkling with holy water. Much as Archbishop Binz would have done when the present Annunciation church was consecrated in 1963, Fr. Zehren and I blessed with holy water the altar and sanctuary and then slowly processed throughout the congregation, blessing not only the nooks and crannies of the church but also the “living stones” who make up the congregation.
It was an honor to have a part in restoring this space to its sacred purpose. The highlight for me and for many was seeing Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament returned to the tabernacle. My prayer is that the sanctuary lamp, now burning bright, will be a comforting reminder for the Annunciation community that Jesus is indeed present in that holy place and that he desires to be with them in their suffering. While it understandably may be some time before the community returns to the church for the regular celebration of Mass, I know that many were grateful that they could now return to the church for Eucharistic adoration and for the daily recitation of the Rosary.
How providential that this Rite of Reparation was celebrated in proximity to today’s celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today’s solemnity reminds us not only of the singular grace that God granted our Blessed Mother (i.e., that she was free from the stain of original sin from the moment of her conception) but also of the Father’s loving commitment to restoring the order disturbed by the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve. As a loving father, God desires to bring healing into a world weakened by sin.
The violence of Aug. 27 tragically disturbed the harmonious order that God intended for his church and his creation. We know all too well that only He can restore that right order. What happened at Annunciation was a horror, but we know that God’s love is even greater. As is revealed in the Immaculate Conception, our Heavenly Father has plans for each of us so that we might have a “future filled with hope” (Jer. 29:11). Indeed, as our patron, St. Paul, proclaimed, “where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more” (Rom. 5:20). Please join me in asking the intercession of the Immaculate One for an outpouring of that grace this Advent: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
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