8/5/2016 – Friday - Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major – Matthew 16:24-28

     Today, we celebrate the dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome, one of the four major basilicas in that holy city.  It might seem strange to us that we dedicate an important feast day in our Church to a building, especially since the emphasis after the Second Vatican Council has been about how the Church is more than a building, how the people themselves are the Church, the Body of Christ.  Yet, this basilica is an important center of worship of our faith; it's dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary tells us a lot about our faith as well.  The Basilica of St Mary Major dates back to the 4th century, with the current building dating from the 5th century, right after the Council of Ephesus declared Mary to be the “Theotokos,” the God bearer, the Mother of God.  Before I came to Tupelo, I was the pastor of St Mary Catholic Church in Yazoo City, a parish that was founded prior to the Civil War and that had a beautiful church building built in 1907, so I feel a deep emotional connection to the feast we celebrate today. 

      The feast we celebrate today is a testament to the faith that has been passed down to us throughout the centuries.  Jesus tells all of us today: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”  Most likely, we have heard this command that Jesus makes in today’s Gospel countless times.  We know the words, but if we truly listen to them, then we realize that their meaning is so radical, so revolutionary. In a society that prides itself in individualism and accomplishments and the accumulation of material wealth, denying oneself and voluntarily taking up a cross is very revolutionary and goes against what most people in our society want most.

       In December of 2010, when I had the opportunity to travel to Rome for the international choir congress with the St Richard Youth Choir, we had the honor of having a private mass with Cardinal Bernhard Law at the Basilica of St Mary Major where he was rector that at that time. That mass was one of the greatest moments of our trip.  When Cardinal Law greeted the youth and their parents personally, I saw their faces light up with great awe and joy.  What a faith-filled experience that mass was, as we celebrated mass in that beautiful church dedicated to the Blessed Mother, as we received Christ in the Eucharist in a basilica dedicated to his mother.  As Catholics, as we honor Mary, as we honor the Mother Church in Rome, may we grow closer to our faith, may we gain in our understanding of Mary as the Mother of God, our Mother, and the Mother of our Church.