On Oct. 14, the Cathedral of St. Paul held a Mass honoring the dedication of the Cathedral with Archbishop Bernard Hebda presiding.
The dedication Mass this year in particular celebrated year two of implementing Archbishop Hebda’s pastoral letter “You Will Be My Witness: Gathered and Sent From the Upper Room” and its emphasis on the Mass and the Eucharist.
The Mass also comes on the cusp of next year’s celebration of the 175th anniversary of the archdiocese.
Archbishop Hebda began his homily acknowledging that the dedication Mass was a celebration of the whole archdiocese, and that the Cathedral was consecrated and set aside for God’s glory.
“In those same spots where the archbishop would have placed oil … that chrism oil that’s consecrated here every Holy Thursday, it’s the same chrism that would have been a part of every baptism in this archdiocese, it’s the same chrism that would have been used at every confirmation,” Archbishop Hebda said. “We’re so blessed, my brothers and sisters, because this is a Cathedral unlike any other. It’s just spectacular in helping us to lift our hearts and minds to the Lord in prayer.”
Archbishop Hebda said he believes those who have been baptized and received the sacraments at the Cathedral have a sense of how it is the source of new life. Archbishop Hebda pointed to the Gospel, and how the faithful are meant to be the living stones.
“We hear about how it is that all of us are called to be living stones,” Archbishop Hebda said. “How interesting that the Church on the feast of the dedication in some ways provides readings that humble even the structure. While we could be speaking about the magnificence of this church, we’re reminded that we brothers and sisters are living stones. … Jesus, as we heard in the other prayers, is the cornerstone. … My brothers and sisters, the image I would like to suggest to you this evening is that the Cathedral then is that place where we’re able to draw that connection, to build on that foundation that is placed in Peter and how it is that we’re able to be transformed into living stones. It’s a place of great transformation.”
Regarding next year’s 175th celebration of the archdiocese, Archbishop Hebda said, “It’s a time for us to take stock of how God has blessed us even in the course of the past year, how it is that this church has been that place for renewal throughout all of the years in the history of our archdiocese. … We give thanks for that past.”
The archbishop fondly recalled Memorial Day when the Cathedral was filled with participants of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, processing from The St. Paul Seminary to the Cathedral. He also remembered the ordination of 13 priests this year. Archbishop Hebda offered his gratitude to Father Joseph Johnson, who now leads the Cathedral parish.
Archbishop Hebda also looked ahead to the future of the archdiocese.
“We also commit ourselves to going deeper in our appreciation of who Jesus is and how it is that he feeds us at the Mass,” Archbishop Hebda said. “Here we are in the second year of our pastoral letter implementation that focuses on the Mass and the Eucharist, and this evening we have the opportunity to give God thanks in an intimate setting and to be able to offer our great praise to God who is the source of all that is good in our lives.”
