Today (August 5) we celebrate as a Church the dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major. I've been blessed to visit this magnificent Basilica three times in my life, one of those time I was able to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (see picture). It may seem odd that we celebrate, as a universal church, the dedication of a building (we also celebrate the dedication of St. John Lateran). I know I certainly found it odd when I started paying attention to the liturgical calendar in seminary. While the universal church celebrates the dedication of major basilicas (like Mary Major and John Lateran), local churches celebrate the dedication of their diocesan Cathedral. So why do we celebrate the dedication of a church building?
First, it will help us to understand the reason by looking at the rite of dedicating a Church building. Church buildings are dedicated by the diocesan Bishop through a beautiful ritual that involves sprinkling the building with Holy Water and walking around the church with incense. The Altar is also consecrated by the Bishop by anointing it with Sacred Chrism (like we were in Baptism and Confirmation) and dressing it with in white (again, as we were in Baptism). This reminds us that the Altar is a person, Jesus Christ, during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We see this clearly in the way a priest instances the Altar during Mass much like he incenses a casket at the end of a funeral Mass.
These signs and symbols are meant to remind us of the sacredness of a church building. Churches are not just a civic building where a community gathers. A church building is the home of Christ’s body; both the Eucharist and us, the Body of Christ. Just as the Tabernacle is a sacred space where Christ's body in the Eucharist is held, so the church building is a sacred space where the Body of Christ gathers. This is a very difference space than any other building. It’s a sacred space.
So, we celebrate the dedication of certain churches to remind us of these important truths. The Church chose these particular church buildings because of historical reasons (both the basilicas in Rome and our own diocesan cathedrals); however, we should all celebrate the dedication of our own parish churches, the minimum being our patron saint feast day. I’ll even go a step further and say that a family, being the domestic church, should celebrate their own church dedication…their home. The home should be a place of encountering Jesus Christ like church buildings are. Families should celebrate the anniversary of when they moved into their home.
Hopefully this brings some clarity as to why we celebrate the dedication of church buildings like St. Mary Major. Through the intercession of our blessed mother, lets pray that we are all able to see our own parish church and our homes as a sacred space where the Body of Christ is kept and where we can encounter Christ in each other.
P.S.- Check out the video on this news site for the dedication of a new Cathedral in Raleigh, NC.