Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This is it! We are now three days away from the Dedication of our new church! Nine years after the first Mass was held at St. Maria Goretti, we celebrate our birthday by moving into our magnificent new church. And isn’t it beautiful! It rises out of the western fields of Westfield and stands as a monument to God’s love for all of us. This is going to be a great week!

The Dedication Mass will be Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM. This is our only Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which is a holy day of obligation. Interestingly enough, this is the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of the Immaculate Conception. We are expecting quite a crowd for the Dedication, with many visitors coming from all over. It is very important to note that the main sanctuary of the new church will be locked, until the keys to the new church are presented to Bishop Higi, by Mr. Tom O’Brien, who is the Head of the Building Committee. At that time, Bishop Higi and the priests of our Diocese will lead us into the new church. We will gather then for this first part of the Mass of Dedication in the new Narthex. It is going to be very crowded. We will need to get as many people in as possible. We are extremely blessed that the new narthex is wired for sound and we should all be able to hear what the Bishop is saying. As we enter the new church together in procession, we will need to proceed in an orderly and safe fashion as far up front as you can go. The ministers of welcome will assist us in getting seats. We will fill the new church front to back. If we do not all fit, the chapel behind the main altar will be used. If we fill up even the Daily Mass Chapel, then we will have additional seating in the new narthex, which will be set up after we enter the church. You cooperation is needed to make this safe and effective. Priority seating is being made available to the sick, the handicapped, the aged, expectant mothers and anyone else who needs it. Those with these needs should be seated on the wooden benches located in the new Narthex, along the southeast wall.

I would also ask that you please do not take flash photography during the celebration of the Mass. Several people have asked about camcorders. We have asked the media department from Blessed Theodore Guerin High School to assist us in digitally recording the event. It is my understanding that recordings of the Dedication will be made available in the very near future.

The Mass of Dedication is very different. Most Catholics do not ever get the chance to attend such a Mass. The Bishop, and/or his representatives, will bless the new church with Holy Water. The walls of the new church will be anointed with four crosses in oil. Permanent Dedication crosses with candles attached will mark the places of anointing. The Altar will be anointed with Sacred Chrism. Incense will be used as a sign of the purification of the building that takes place, as the building becomes a church. Candles will be lit. The decorations are carried in, in procession. And the first Mass is celebrated in the new church, on the new Altar. At the end of Mass there will be a Eucharistic Procession as the Bishop and the priests process around the new church, eventually putting the newly consecrated Eucharist, into our new Tabernacle. It’s a lot to take in. It’s going to be great! The Mass of Dedication will take approximately two and a half hours. We will remember this the rest of our lives.

We are extremely pleased to welcome Mr. Bud McFarland Sr. to St. Maria Goretti this week. Mr. McFarland will be speaking in the new church on Thursday night. Mr. McFarland will join us as one of our special guests for the Dedication Mass on Wednesday. Hopefully, you can join us for his talk on Thursday.

My sincerest thanks to EVERYBODY who sacrificed so much, who worked so hard, and who put their Faith and trust in God enough to get involved in building this Parish. This week, may you enjoy what God has created through us. We’ve been building the Church here at St. Maria Goretti for nine years now. The Church is not a building. But the new building, the church with a little “c”, is going to be awesome and will hopefully help us to build Church with a capital “C” that much better!

Have a great Dedication Week!

In Christ,

Fr. Kevin

Church is not just some place you go. It is something that you are.