One year ago this Friday 1^st May, during an impressive ceremony, our beloved parish church of St Mary’s was set apart forever for the worship of God when it was consecrated by Bishop Patrick McKinney of Nottingham.  Those privileged to be present witnessed something very rare in our times. It wasn’t just a simple ceremony of blessing – it was God Himself taking full possession of a house built for His glory. I remember one of the Rosminian sisters commenting after that she felt she had been in Heaven. Bishop Patrick said in his sermon that evening, “the Consecration of a church is one of the most ancient and beautiful ceremonies of the Catholic Church – one that few Catholics ever witness.” When a church is consecrated, it is as if Heaven steps down to earth and marks every stone and piece of cement indelibly for sacred use.

The Bishop preached a wonderful sermon that evening, and said things that we would do well to ponder over and over again. He likened the Consecration of a church to the initiation of a Christian soul through the three Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. The church itself was, in a sense, “baptised” by sprinkling the walls with specially blessed Holy Water. It was “confirmed” when the Bishop marked the walls in twelve places with the Sacred Oil of Chrism. And it was finally made ready for the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by the Consecration of the High Altar, again by being anointed with the Sacred Oil of Chrism, after which relics of St Peter and St Paul, St Dominic Savio and St Therese of Lisieux were placed inside and sealed with cement, recalling that from the earliest days of Christianity, the Church celebrated Mass on the tombs of the saints, especially martyrs. The church and the altar were incensed, and in the Bishop’s words, “representing our prayers rising up to God.”

The Bishop also reminded us of the most urgent message for us today: “As you witness today’s Consecration, I ask you to let yourselves be re-consecrated also.” In other words, a church may be consecrated, but without fervent souls, it is like a lamp without oil. What happens inside these walls? The ordinary becomes extraordinary. Bread and wine are changed into the very substance of Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Similarly, sinners are transformed into saints, through the Sacraments, especially Confession and the worthy reception of Holy Communion. These things are not merely symbolic. It is the divine breaking into our fallen world, where Calvary is made present and eternity touches time.

And so one year on, we must ask ourselves, have we lived up to the graces given us on that special night? Have we allowed ourselves to be re-consecrated? Have we deepened our reverence for the Mass? Have we received the Sacraments with greater devotion? Have we filled this sacred place not only with our bodies, but with our holiness? So the Consecration of St Mary’s wasn’t an end. It was a beginning – of renewal, mission and greater sanctity.

We will mark this important anniversary on Friday with a Solemn Mass at 6.30pm. To remind us what happened one year ago, all the Consecration candles will once again be lit around the church, recalling the moment when these walls were claimed for Christ and filled with His light. And for us, this anniversary is observed as a Solemnity – the highest grade of Feast the Church has. Our Solemnity happily coincides with the Feast of St Joseph the Worker, because if ever there was a saint totally consecrated to God, he was it.

So I strongly encourage as many of you as possible to come to the Mass next Friday evening. The doors will be open, the candles lit, and the altar gloriously prepared for the offering of the Holy Sacrifice. Be there and experience it.

Fr Paul Gillham, IC