91����

Sermon on the Solemnity of the Dedication of
Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel
at 91����

Offered for the Repose of the Souls of
Sir Daniel and Countess Bernardine Donohue
Founders of the Dan Murphy Foundation

 

by Rev. Hildebrand Garceau, O.Praem.
Head Chaplain & Assistant to the Dean for Religious Affairs
91����
March 7, 2015 

In the early 9th century, Charlemagne completed his Palatine Chapel, which has since become part of the Cathedral at Aachen in Germany. Likewise, in 1248 the French king St. Louis IX presided at that consecration of the Sainte Chapelle in Paris. Both of these architectural wonders were substantially endowed by their royal patrons. Their intention was to provide an inspiring place of worship where the sacred liturgy could be offered for the benefit of God’s people, living and dead. Down through the ages other men and women, many of them saints, have provided for the construction of some of the world’s most beautiful and inspiring churches.

A church building fulfills its purpose if it is suitable for sacred worship and also is itself the expression of an act of worship. In other words, the building should be functional as a place for worship and inspiring for those who pray there.

We give thanks today for this inspiring church building on its 6th anniversary. We also give thanks to Sir Daniel and the Dan Murphy Foundation, who provided for its construction. Sir Daniel and the Countess Bernardine join in the long line of great patrons who have built inspiring churches and have served God’s people, especially the poor, in so many ways.

If this chapel serves its purpose as a place for divine worship, we who worship here must respond to its twofold purpose to serve and inspire. Are we pleased by the beauty of this chapel? We should also seek to please God by the beauty of our lives. Jesus calls us to build ourselves up in love, becoming the living stones of God’s holy temple. As members of Christ, we form that building which rises on the faith of the Apostles. We are members of God’s household if we serve Him not only with beautiful architecture but also through service to our neighbor in need.

Jesus’s words to Zacchaeus should ring in our hearts today: “Come down, for today I must stay at your house.” Jesus stayed in the house of that sinner Zacchaeus. Surely Zacchaeus was not spiritually fit to receive Jesus before Jesus called him. But God’s grace worked wonders in his soul and made him something beautiful, a benefactor to the poor. God’s grace is also working in us to make us something beautiful for His heavenly kingdom. We are still “under construction” as we strive to grow in virtue and overcome temptation. We must permit the Holy Spirit to work on us daily through prayers, sacrifice, and the sacraments that we receive here in this chapel.

Zacchaeus made a good start on the road to holiness after only one encounter with Jesus, whom he received with joy. Today we receive Jesus again. He comes; He “enters under our roof.” And though we are not worthy to receive Him, He comes to heal and save us.

Let us then give thanks above all to God who has given us so loving a Savior. Let us give thanks for this chapel, where we receive grace through the Sacraments. Let us pray for the eternal rest of its donors. And let us pray that we will all one day form part of that eternal dwelling, the heavenly city of God.