Forty years ago, Father Thomas P. Ferguson was an altar server when Bishop John R. Keating dedicated the altar at Good Shepherd Church in Alexandria.
Now pastor, Father Ferguson watched as Bishop Michael F. Burbidge dedicated the new altar June 23, thus completing the renovation of the church sanctuary.
“To go from being an altar server at the dedication of an altar 40 years ago to being the pastor at the dedication of this new altar in our sanctuary means the world to me,” said Father Ferguson. “It is an occasion for us as a parish to renew our love and devotion to Jesus, present in the Eucharist — to renew this sacred space in such a way that we’re better able to enter into the mystery of the Mass.”
The altar dedication is the fulfillment of a major building project that began four years ago to construct a smaller, more intimate chapel for daily Mass, weddings, and funerals, and new meeting spaces. The sanctuary renovation also includes a new ambo, crucifix and tabernacle, that has been moved directly under the crucifix.
“Jesus has to be the center of our life,” said Wilson Calderon, a parishioner of Good Shepherd Church since 2006. “It’s really nice to have the tabernacle now in the middle of the sanctuary.”
The dedication began with a Litany of Supplication, asking for the prayers of all the saints. Following the litany, relics of Sts. Elizabeth Ann Seton and Oscar Romero were placed in the altar, then after a prayer of dedication, Bishop Burbidge anointed the altar with the oil of chrism, making the altar holy.
In his homily, Bishop Burbidge said the anointing of the altar is a “very reverent and powerful moment of the ceremony, preparing for the sacrifice that will take place, reminding us that Jesus is God’s anointed one, the faithful servant, ever obedient, even to accepting death on the cross.”
After the anointing, Bishop Burbidge blessed the altar with incense as a sign of its place of sacrifice, where prayers ascend, “rising to God as an odor of sweetness,” he said. “Jesus reminds us that the here and now is not our ultimate destination. We are seeking to draw closer to him each day, so that when he calls us to himself, he will raise us up, we too will ascend to the throne of God.”
Elizabeth Schwenk and her husband, Robert, who witnessed the altar dedication 40 years ago, arrived at Mass 30 minutes early to soak it all in. “We were parishioners here when we were going to Mass in the hall,” said Elizabeth, who was delighted that the statue of the Blessed Mother had been relocated. “We have moved the statue to a focal point, so that no matter where you are in the church, you can see it. All of the renovations have a beauty and a simplicity that says, ‘This is God’s house and you are welcome.’ ”
“You have provided a lovely and fitting dwelling place for the Lord our God,” said Bishop Burbidge. “Don’t forget that we too are temples of the Holy Spirit, and every day we need to strive to make sure that within ourselves that we are providing a fitting dwelling place for the Lord to live.”
