5 AUGUST 2022 - The feast of the dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome - Friday of the 18th week in ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 16:24-28

      “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, denying oneself and voluntarily taking up a cross is very revolutionary and goes against what most people in our society want most.

         As we hear this Gospel calling us to take up our crosses, 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 a 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 are the Church.  Yet, this basilica is an important center of worship of our faith. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  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. 

     Back 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 Bernard Law at the Basilica of St Mary Major while he was rector there. 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 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.