Ancient Ritual Makes
Bold
Statement
June 5, 2003
By Toby Westerman
Copyright 2003 International News Analysis Today
www.inatoday.com
The small north Wisconsin city of Wausau (population 40,000) recently witnessed an extraordinary demonstration of faith in an era often marked by cynicism and shattering betrayal.
An ancient ritual - one of the oldest in the history of Christianity - asserted a congregation's belief in the permanence of their place of worship, the central place of God in the life of each individual and in the life of the nation as a whole.
The ceremony - the solemn consecration of a church to God -- issued a bold challenge to popular social trends, which often mock deep belief in God and His commandments, and which base morality upon popular psychology instead of Divine instruction.
The expression of faith through the use of majestic beauty came alive in Wausau, Wisconsin on May 31, 2003 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Oratory of the Immaculate Conception.
The Oratory is operated by the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest, a religious community founded on September 1, 1990, by Msgr. Gilles Wach, S.T.D, which has been given the privilege of celebrating the divine liturgy according to the Traditional Roman Rite.
The faithful, from the most humble to representatives of ancient knightly orders, filled the newly renovated church to capacity. Choirs sang Latin hymns and incense filled the air, as the sacred ritual declared God's union with His creation.
The ceremony stood in stark contrast to the recent headline-grabbing scandals which have plagued the Catholic Church, from faithless clergy to the fraudulent claims of purported religious mystics, prompting some misinformed journalists to proclaim the "death knell" of the Catholic Church.
Wracked by internal dissension from well-publicized criminal acts of some of its own members, the Catholic Church has also been the target of those who hold its teachings in contempt, who regard the Church as an impediment to the evolution of humanity.
Those who would change or destroy the Catholic Church range from "liberal" Catholics in the media to secret societies bearing centuries-old enmities against the Church.
The consecration of St. Mary's proclaimed fidelity to traditional Catholic teaching, and the permanence of the faith. The May 31st solemn ritual provided a focal point for faith and its expression, not only for those in the Wausau area, but for the entire world as well.
The solemn ritual of consecration is defined by the Catholic Church as imprinting an indelible mark upon a particular house of worship to be set aside for God, and never to be used for any other purpose. The act of consecration implies that the structure will be used as a house of God for centuries to come. Other ecclesiastical stipulations apply, including the requirement that the church be debt free, with a reasonable prospect of remaining debt free.
An essential element of the proclamation of belief is attention to the church interior, making the structure a "house of God" and "gate of heaven."
Two years of renovation of the church's interior preceded the consecration. The guiding principle of the reconstruction, expressed by the great 19th century parish priest St. John Vianney, was that "nothing is too good for the Lord," a precept often cited by Msgr. Michael R. Schmitz, Vicar General of the Institute in the United States and Rector of St. Mary's Oratory.
A fire in 1953 had seriously damaged the original interior of the church, built in 1891, which was representative of an "exquisite neo-Gothic style." The neo-Gothic church had replaced an earlier church structure dating back to 1849.
With the current restoration of St. Mary's, the Institute and its supporters have sought to give full expression to the tradition of original Gothic artistry.
A church should "lift the mind and spirit," declared Msgr. Schmitz, opening to rich and poor alike the beauty of heaven.
European and American artists labored to produce the intricate woodcarvings and iconographic paintings faithful to the finest in Gothic aesthetic tradition. Natural minerals were crushed and expertly applied, including gold and silver leaf.
Artistic representations - some purchased, others commissioned for the renovation -- stand out from the brightly painted white "Bavarian Gothic" interior of St. Mary's, giving the church a sense of spaciousness, and directing the eye of the visitor to stirring presentations of the life of Christ, the Blessed Mother, the angels, and saints
In the center of the High Altar, establishing a focal point for the entire church, stands a statue of the Madonna with the Divine Child, made in 1470.
The solemn consecration formally reopened the renovated church to the public.
Raymond L. Burke, Bishop of
La Crosse, Wisconsin, conducted the ancient ritual, which had not been performed worldwide for some eighty years*. Each movement in the hours-long service possessed special meaning, with every gesture pointing to the saving act of Christ on the Cross and His Resurrection.
As the last chants of the venerable Latin hymns faded away, as the gray clouds of incense vanished, and the last dignitary processed out of the church, several lone figures, without any noticeable claim to notoriety, remained alone with their God, and a small glimpse of Heaven.
The meditation of these lone figures gives the real justification for the renewal and consecration of St. Mary's Oratory.
All the artistic renderings, the gold and silver, the precisely carved wood, are only tools with which to elevate the mind to God, to provide a fitting dwelling place for Him, and establish a "place of pilgrimage" for the faithful, Msgr. Schmitz affirmed.
Msgr. Schmitz, who is devoted to Our Lady of Fatima, will solemnly celebrate each First Saturday of the month at St. Mary's Oratory in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
For parishioners and those able to make a pilgrimage to St. Mary's each First Saturday, there will be High Mass at 11:00 AM, followed by a Marian Conference by Msgr. Michael Schmitz at 1:00 PM, and concluding with a Marian Procession and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Oratory is located at 325 Grand Avenue, Wausau, Wisconsin; phone: 715-842-9995 or 715-843-5336.
The limited financial resources of St. Mary's faithful were augmented by generous contributions from the Scholz Family Foundation.
* Since the publication of this article, a reader of
INA Today informed us of another church consecration,
using a similar, if not precisely the same, ritual.
Photos of this ceremony are available at St.
Francis de Sales Catholic Church administered by
the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter.
Copyright 2003
International News Analysis Today
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