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| Incense rises in the air as Fr. John Blewett, pastor, incenses the altar in the Adoration chapel altar of the new Mary, Mother of God Chapel at St. Aloysius Church at Divine Mercy Parish in Sauk City on January 1. (Photo by Jim DeSchepper) |
SAUK CITY — Bringing in the new year was a very special occasion at Divine Mercy Parish in Sauk City, where Bishop Robert C. Morlino held a dedication Mass and ceremony for the new Mary, Mother of God Adoration Chapel on January 1, fittingly the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
“Let Us Go Rejoicing to the House of the Lord” was the processional hymn sung as the bishop, Divine Mercy Pastor Fr. John Blewett, and Mass servers entered the chapel for the dedication.
Parishioners persevere
It was no small task getting to this day, but the perseverance and faith of many parishioners who have helped keep a successful Eucharistic Adoration (EA) program going for over 12 years at St. Aloysius Church at Divine Mercy Parish made this day a reality.
Until now, Eucharistic Adoration has been held in the church proper. The “new” chapel is actually a renovated chapel that was “hidden” in the old Sisters convent located between the church and the school, according to Father Blewett.
“It is almost like it was waiting there,” he said, to be discovered and brought out through Divine Providence.
According to Bishop Morlino, a dedication ceremony for an altar or for a church or chapel is somewhat like a consecration ceremony for a new priest: it is preparing a temple to be worthy of the sacrifice of Christ in the Eucharist, he said.
Bishop Morlino blessed Cristobal Padilla, a candidate for Holy Orders at the beginning of the dedication Mass to symbolize the similarity in the rites.
Role models for adorers
During his brief homily, Bishop Morlino told the attendees that the most important thing to remember as we bless a church is that we become more faithful as the people of God.
Two role models who can help us do this are Anna, the prophetess in Luke 2:37 (the Gospel reading on December 30), who remained constantly in the temple praising God night and day.
“She represents all the adorers who will come and pray at this chapel night and day,” Bishop Morlino said.
This is a beautiful heritage that we all take a part in, he explained. Anna was 80 years old and Jewish, and she represents the many centuries that the Jews spent preparing for and longing for the coming of the Messiah — centuries spent in prayer, intercession, and obedience to God.
Mary, the mother of God, unlike Anna, did not spend all her days in the temple, but she is also a great role model, the bishop observed.
“She didn’t spend all her days in the temple . . . She was the temple. As we become more like Mary (in our prayer life growing closer to Jesus), we become the temple,” the bishop said.
“The beauty of Anna and Mary can bring a deeper faith for all of us and our loved ones,” he said. The fruit of this beautiful Mary, Mother of God Chapel will likely be more vocations from our young people and many other answered prayers, he said.
Anointing the altar
After the homily and a Litany of the Saints, Bishop Morlino blessed and placed the relics (of Saints Verecundus and Blanda) in the altar and anointed the altar with holy oil.
During the ceremony, the mason and Divine Mercy parishioner who did masonry work in the chapel refurbishing, Dondi Nelson, sealed the relics under the altar before the bishop anointed it.
The altar and chapel were then incensed and the little chapel was “filled with smoke” that lingered for the rest of the dedication.
The bishop commented with a touch of humor that this truly is a reminder of the Bible verse of God’s glory, when the threshold of the building shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
Renovation in two phases
The chapel houses nine pews which can seat 25 to 30 people at most, so the chapel is small. According to Father Blewett, in the process of renovating the chapel, the first goal was to make it “comfortable and worthy,” as an Adoration chapel.
The renovation is being done in two phases, he explained in the weeks before the dedication was to take place. The cost of the first phase of the chapel came totally from donations.
Phase II will involve more design and artistic effort and will be provided by Conrad Schmitt Studios of New Berlin. Some of the added amenities will be stained glass windows portraying Mary in various scenes and Stations of the Cross, he said.
Since space in the chapel is limited for larger groups, the dedication ceremony was projected into the school gym by Jim DeSchepper from Relevant Radio, so that more parishioners could view the ceremony.
Among those seated in the new chapel for the dedication were the representatives of those involved in renovating the chapel and members of the parish’s Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Core Planning Committee and staff members of the parish. Knights of Columbus Honor Guards Bill Liegel and Brian Dischler participated in the event.
Goal: Perpetual Adoration
The goal of the parish and its Adoration committee is to expand its Eucharistic Adoration Program to a Perpetual Adoration program soon.
The parish has had a successful, two-day a week (from Wednesday at 9 a.m. through Friday 8 a.m.) Eucharistic Adoration program for the past two years and an ongoing one day a week program for 10 years before that.
The “Perpetual” goal was hoped to be completed before the dedication, but it was an ambitious goal for the short time frame, according to committee members — and the fact that it was trying to be achieved during Advent may have made it more challenging.
PEA Committee member Bill Liegel has been a key believer –and instigator — in the parish’s ability to accomplish this devotion to the Lord.
St. Mary Church in Fennimore is one of the two Perpetual Adoration sites in the Diocese of Madison (the other is at Holy Redeemer Church of Cathedral Parish in downtown Madison) and as the Divine Mercy EA committee began planning for a Perpetual Adoration program in Sauk City, they called in “experts” from other programs. One was Jeff Jackson from Fennimore.
Jackson told them, “Obviously God wants to see Perpetual Adoration happening in our parishes . . . but it doesn’t just happen. It takes lots of prayer time and lots of sacrifice.”
Jackson was in attendance at the dedication ceremony and has been a great source of encouragement to the committee.
In Father Blewett’s message to parishioners in the December 28 bulletin, he said, “You may have noticed we were having trouble finding people for the weekend shifts for Adoration. For now we will close down Adoration on Saturdays, probably at 10 a.m., and reopen on Sundays, probably at 2 p.m. We will still boast a good, strong six days of Adoration. That final day will come in time.”
Beacon of light
According to lead PA committee member Bill Liegel, “This is a great honor and privilege for St. Aloysius to be able to bring this devotion to our community. The people of the parish need to step up and seriously consider dedicating an extra hour a week to the Lord.”
He encourages people who have never participated in the program before to sign up for an hour — any day of the week — and people from surrounding parishes or towns are also encouraged to come and sit with the Lord in this new quiet, holy chapel.
“We always are given back much more than we give when we freely give of our time to the Lord,” Liegel said.
Back in August when the committee began gearing up for the expansion of their Adoration program and renovation of the new chapel, a movie was shown to inspire, encourage, and show where the true meaning of spending time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament began centuries ago.
The movie, Hostia, is highly recommended by committee members for anyone who wants to learn more about the devotion.
According to PA committee member Dr. Michael Peeples, “The film woke me up. I saw the people for 2,000 years praying to Jesus to help in their lives. And now I realize how important Adoration is for my life. It is an opportunity for me to focus on my prayer life in a quiet place. I know that I receive strength and courage to live a better, faith-filled life.”
In the conclusion of the dedication of the new chapel, Bishop Morlino pointed out, “The new altar, the new chapel is really a beacon of light — an altar worthy of the sacrifice of Christ.”
To get involved and sign up for time with Jesus in the new chapel, call Bill Liegel at 608-643-8674 or the parish office at 608-643-2449.