Mass Of Dedication Of The Church Of Blessed Mary Mackillop, Keilor Downs

Mass Celebrated By Archbishop Denis Hart
at The Church Of Blessed Mary Mackillop, Keilor Downs,
on Sunday, 15th August, 2004, at 3.00pm

Introduction

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am delighted to be with Father Charles Portelli and all of you for the dedication of your new parish church.

From its first burgeonings of two classrooms, established by Father John O’Reilly at St Albans in August, 1983, to the formation of the parish in 1989, Keilor Downs has been a place of faith and growth.

This church expresses in a significant way the fundamental meaning of who we are as Catholics; in one Lord, nourished by the Eucharist, by the teaching of the Church and committed to service of our brothers and sisters.

Congratulations to all who have given time and talent to this wonderful project.

Homily

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exalts in God my Saviour, for the Almighty has done great things for me.” (Luke 1:46, 49)

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

These words of Our Lady are foremost in our hearts and lips as we come to dedicate the church of Blessed Mary MacKillop.

Since August 1983 Mass has been celebrated on this property. Father John Cunningham was the first pastor on 12th November, 1989. The Josephite Sisters, the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood and the Dominican Sisters of Malta have faithfully served in the parish and the latter two maintain a strong presence to this day.

The growth to more than 3,500 families has inspired the construction of this church, which expresses the beauty of the Catholic tradition and is a public witness to our central belief that it is the Eucharist which nourishes and sustains us in the mission Christ entrusted to his disciples - to be the living Gospel for all people to see and hear.

The parish faces two great challenges: to maintain a genuine spirit of prayer and service, and to hand down faithfully the Catholic faith to the young people who are so important to this community.

Truly it can be said that faith has been strongly demonstrated by the initiative to build this church and it will in fact be the house of God and the gate of heaven, the place where God is worshipped, his word is preached, his Sacraments ministered and where God’s holy people can humbly come to worship him, united with the prayers of our Blessed Mother and the saints.

Already we have sprinkled the people and the church with holy water. Each of us is a temple of God. Immediately after this homily we will profess our faith and call upon the saints. This reminds us that the Church is people.

We gather in this church under our parish priest, Father Charles Portelli, and we thank God for what has been achieved in the construction of this church, bringing it to the point of consecration. Watch carefully during the Consecration Ceremony because it spells out that this church is “filled with the presence of the Lord, who will extend his hand to all who call upon him.” (The Opening Prayer)

After the Litany we will pray, “May this building be a house of salvation and grace where Christians gathered in fellowship may worship you in spirit and truth and grow together in love.”

Relics of the saints are placed in the altar because it is in the united tradition of love and service of God shown by the saints that we are called to follow.

In this altar I include the relics of: Saint Lawrence, Martyr and Patron Saint of the Church in Rome; Saint Agatha, born in Sicily, suffered under the persecution of Decius, escaped to Malta and particularly venerated there; Saint Dominic, a teacher of the faith in the twelfth century, who had a profound impact on the development of the Church; Saint Francis Assisi, who was a contemporary of Saint Dominic and whose love of poverty stemmed from his tremendous love of Christ; Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, who was a contemporary of Blessed Mary MacKillop and whose simple teaching of the way of confidence in God’s love has inspired millions of people in the century since her death, including the people of Keilor Downs in March 2002.

The long Prayer of Consecration reminds us that God is “source of holiness and true purpose”, as we dedicate this church to his service. The Church, the people of God, is meant to be the instrument of holiness; from the tree of the cross to be the instrument of grace, to be the place where God lives on earth, to be a light to the whole world.

We ask the Lord, “Send your Spirit from heaven to make this church an ever holy place.” It is through coming to Baptism that we become members, through gathering at the altar that we are fed at the table of Christ’s Word and his Body, through prayer God is begged for the world’s salvation and peace is given.

The anointing of the altar and the walls of the church with the Oil of Chrism used in our Confirmation are reminders that just as we are God’s holy people, so this place is set apart.

Incense, a sign of worship and fragrance, is used in the altar and in the Church as a sign of this setting apart and then once the altar is closed the candles are lit to remind us that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World.

The Mass then continues and after Communion the Blessed Sacrament is placed in the tabernacle as the permanent place where God lives among his people.

This dedication on the feast of Mary assumed into heaven underscores our willingness to be like Mary, the first to hear the word of God and keep it. Saint Francis of Assisi whose relics are placed beneath the altar once described her as “the Virgin made Church.”

This parish is the only one in Australia dedicated to the first Australian saint, Blessed Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Pope John Paul named it in her honour even before her beatification on 19th January, 1995. Mary MacKillop’s Godfather was Alexander Chisholm, the husband of Caroline Chisholm whose cause for beatification is being considered. Caroline was known as the friend of migrants, particularly of women and children who were displaced as a result of the gold rush of 1854. She set up one of her shelters behind the Keilor Hotel (which still serves beer). It is very likely that Mary MacKillop often passed through this district in her journeys, and it would be a tremendous surprise for her to find now a Catholic community which looks to her as its patron. Her motto was simple: it is carved on her tomb and on her statue in this church: Trust in God. May all who worship here draw from her spirit and imitate her goodness.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.