Well, I am sure you all noticed the church looks different. Hopefully you saw that over the weekend, but if not, I’m sure when you saw it yesterday it was quite a surprise. The church really, really needed to be painted, but we didn’t just want to slap a coat of paint on the walls and ceiling. When the church was built, that’s what had to be done because there wasn’t money to do much else. So in painting the church this time, we wanted to take the opportunity to do what art in the Church has always been used to do, and that is to tell the story of the Gospel and teach us the faith. In the early days of the Church, most people could not read and write, so in order to teach the faith, people were taught to read the churches. So the artwork and the decoration of the church was meant to preach the Gospel and call people to Jesus. We wanted to do the same here at Saint Mary’s.
So there are two major themes going on here. First and most importantly, we wanted to express the truth that this is the holiest place on our campus, the place where heaven meets earth, the place where Jesus Christ dwells with us until the end of the age. Some of you who have come to a class Mass with me have heard me say that. So the dome was painted as a night sky, complete with stars; the cupola was painted a light blue to allow natural light to reflect and illuminate the sanctuary; the Tabernacle was raised on a step, and placed on an altar with a stone top; and the reredos was painted with a stunning mural depicting the light of God coming down from heaven and enveloping us all as he calls us into his presence. The text on the upper border of the reredos says, Agnus Dei Qui Tolis Pecatta Mundi; which is Latin and it means, Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
The second theme is that our parish church is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Immaculate Conception. So the deep blue which support the architectural features of the sanctuary, and the earthy green on the wings of the church proclaim that Mary is Queen of Heaven and Earth. The golden rim around the “sky” above the sanctuary reminds us of her crown, and the gold rays in the ceiling symbolize her merciful love reaching out to the world.
Along the back of the church, we have installed four “medallions” of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which ask for her intercession for our parish, our families, and our community. The text along the back “ribbon” above the doors are selections from the Litany of Loreto: Mother of Mercy, Mother of the Church, Seat of Wisdom, Help of Christians, Queen of Peace, Cause of our Joy, Holy Mother of God, and Queen of Families. These have been presented in English, Spanish, Polish, and Tagalog, some of the languages spoken by our parish family. Finally, above the doors in the center aisle, the resurrected Jesus has been cleaned by our artist, and the blue from the sky has been painted as a background. This reminds us the Ascension of Our Lord, giving us a command as we leave the church: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Today we gather in this beautiful church dedicated to our Blessed Mother, to celebrate her Assumption, body and soul into heaven, to reign with her Son, Jesus. We believe that our Lord did not want any taint of death to corrupt his Blessed Mother, who was conceived without sin. What is important for us to see in this feast is that it proclaims, with the most joy that we can, that what happened to Mary can absolutely happen for us who believe. We too have the promise of eternal life in heaven, where death and sin and pain will no longer have power over us. Because Jesus brought his Blessed Mother back up into his life in heaven, we know that we too can go to heaven. On that great day, death, the last enemy, will have no more power over us, as Saint Paul tells us in our second reading today.
Like Mary, we are called to a specific vocation to do God’s work in the world. We are called to make sacrifices so that God’s work can be accomplished in us and through us. We can be joyful because God is at work in us. We are called to humility that lets God’s love for others shine through our lives. We are called to lives of faith that translate into action on behalf of others, a faith that leads God’s people to salvation.
All of that can be pretty hard to handle. Disciples are called to live saintly lives so that they can be caught up in the life of God, reign with him in God’s Kingdom, and one day live forever with him in heaven. Obviously, don’t have to, aren’t even supposed to, do all that on our own. To get there, we receive the gift of grace, and we count on the intercession of the saints, especially the Blessed Virgin, who is Queen of heaven and earth. Depending on her intercession, we set forth to accomplish great things for the Lord, and one day, we hope to share in the glory that Mary has already received.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.