Dedication of St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral

When Jesus died and rose again he became the true and perfect temple (John 2:21) of the New Covenant, replacing the old. "Destroy this temple and in three days, I will rebuild it" (John 2:20). Jesus Christ gathers together a people to be his own through Baptism, through proclaiming the Word of God and celebrating the Eucharist.
This holy people of God, made one through Baptism in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the Church, the temple of God built of "living stones" (1 Peter 2:5) where the Father is "worshipped in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). Rightly, from early times, the word "church" has also been the name given to the building in which the community called "church" gathers to hear the Word of God, to pray together, to receive the Sacraments of salvation, and to celebrate the Eucharist.
Because it is a visible building that we call a "church", it stands as a special sign on earth of the church on pilgrimage and reflects the church dwelling in heaven. The old saying is that the church building is "the House of God and Gate to heaven!" The church building is the House where the people of God assemble and where the Gate to heaven through prayer, Word and Sacrament is opened to them.
When a church is erected as a building destined solely and permanently for assembling the people of God and for carrying out sacred liturgical functions, it is fitting that it be dedicated to God with a solemn rite, in accordance with the ancient custom of the Church.

Community

Religion is, and always has been, a communal affair. Ezra brings the Word of God (the Book of the Law of Moses) before the assembly, to men, women and children (Nehemiah 8:2-6; 8-10). The Israelites knew themselves as a People of God, the Chosen People. They gathered as a people to worship, first at the meeting tent in the Sinai desert and later at the temple in the Promised Land. Just as Ezra proclaimed that day sacred to the Lord, so do we tonight, dedicating our Cathedral. St Paul tells us, the Baptised, that we are God's building and that Jesus Christ is the foundation stone on which we are built. Church is made up of "living" stones - people built, centred and supported by Jesus Christ, the solid foundation who won't let us down (cf I Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17).
The point is that people, even the most secular, feel compelled to build places of gathering for human beings, because we are social by nature. We build theme parks, entertainment centres, opera houses and sports stadiums; also, quite consistently, we build temples, synagogues and churches.
St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, therefore, this lovely and historic building is not a novelty, the project of a few religious fanatics of 162 years ago! It is a human work and represents a human need being met. St Francis Xavier's Cathedral exists as a place where the people of God can come together and proclaim without apology, or embarrassment, that "Jesus Christ is Lord!"
Here something more takes place in a shared and collaborative worship, where Jesus' words come mightily true, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). Most profoundly, in this house of the Church where the Word of God is proclaimed and the Eucharist is broken and shared, we the people, know that our collective prayer and our communal worship has engendered something more than just our individual selves: a faith community is affirmed, strengthened and expanded - God is worshipped by the people whom God has summoned.
Among the secular buildings which meet and fulfil our bodily needs - among the Woolies and DJs, pubs and clubs, among the new modern cathedrals we call "Stockland" - St Francis Xavier's Cathedral and the other church buildings in our city stand out as a reminder that we do "not live by bread alone" (Deuteronomy 8:3). Our Cathedral church building is high notice, very high indeed, to remind us of the transcendence of God. God is always both beyond us and yet also with us, "Emmanuel" (Matthew 1:23).
This dedication tonight then is a testament to our humanness, a testament to our need for communal worship, to our holy compulsion to support one another and to bear collective witness to the God who loves us all.

Being Church Constantly

In our Second Reading, where St Paul tells us, the Baptised, "You are God's building" and "Jesus Christ is the foundation stone", he introduces us to another profound and related thought: that this Church "works" and is effective on a Sunday only to the extent that we, the people, are "church" the other six days. That is to say, when we the living church, the people of God, live our religion and find God in the everyday shopping centres, market places, neighbourhoods, clubs, sporting venues and our homes, and then bring our victories, our failures and our brokenness to the altar, where we place our lives on the paten with the bread and in the chalice with the wine, we find ourselves not alone, but in the company of fellow believers. When we draw strength from our communal prayer, verbal and sung, from the Word of God proclaimed and from the Eucharist celebrated, then all is whole and complete. Then the weekday Church of God's people trying to live the moral life and the Sunday Church of God's gathering, becomes authentic.
If we are truthful, I guess what bothers us all, what causes most scandal and embarrassment and evokes Jesus' disdain, is when people worship on Sunday but put aside what God wants most - mercy, goodness, and justice - on Monday. Or, as we put it, when we divorce our religion from our everyday lives. We come to church on Sunday and cease being church on the other six days. Then our church building rings hollow and saddens the Lord, who comments that "these people honour me with their lips but their hearts are far from me" (Isaiah 29:13).
You and I are God's building, built on the foundation who is Jesus Christ. You and I are God's temple and God's Spirit lives in us (I Corinthians 3:16). The Church is people – this building is the house where the Church gathers.
Can you ever forget the searing scene from the movie, The Godfather? At his sister's baby's baptism, at which he is the Godfather, Michael Corleone, in a grand church building, in a repeated litany to the credal questions, is mouthing the words "I believe". At the same time, his henchmen, at his orders, are simultaneously brutally murdering a half dozen people! The camera is able to let us witness the scene of mass murder, intercut with Michael's words in church to jar our sensibilities, to make us sickeningly notice that Michael has profaned that beautiful church building. His body is present but his heart is far, far from God. Church (the building) only works when church (the people of God) works at following Christ.
A priest I heard of used to teach continually and bring home to his people that "They are the church - they are God's building!" So, if a visitor wandered in and said to a parishioner, "What a beautiful church!" the parishioner would respond, "Yes, and the building is nice, too." The church building should be as beautiful as the church people are!

Ecclesial Content

We belong to the Church throughout the World. We, in the Diocese of Wollongong, in communion with Catholic Dioceses which are also in communion with the successor of Peter, are connected with our brothers and sisters in Catholic churches throughout the globe. The link to that connection from the beginning, from Peter and Paul and Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp and Clement, St Patrick, Polding, has been the overseer, the episcopus, the bishop. The anniversary of the death of Archbishop Polding today, and my presence here as your Bishop now, is the link to remind St Francis Xavier's Cathedral that it can never be insular, never be self-serving, never focussed only on Wollongong, this particular district. St Francis Xavier's Cathedral is a part of the universal, worldwide mission of the Church. In fact, the mission of Jesus Christ has a church to promote it and we are that church. Through your Bishop, our Diocese is joined to the bishops of the other churches whose unity in love and charity is centred on Pope Benedict, the Bishop of Rome, where Peter and Paul died in the holy witness of their blood shed for Christ.
Our concerns must be bigger than ourselves and bigger than just our own Diocese, broad enough to be truly Catholic, to be a sign and proclamation of the Good News – that the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus Christ, has come "to seek out and save what was lost" (Luke 19:10).

Holy by Use

An historic church like St Francis Xavier's Cathedral is sanctified by its use. It is a sacred place, through the fervent prayers of generations of parishioners who have prayed and worshipped here. Just think of the Masses offered in this building over the decades – the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Think of the children and the adults who have been Baptised and Confirmed here; the couples who have been married here and begun their family life from here; the people who have been reconciled here through the Sacrament of Penance; and those who have been anointed with the Oil of the Sick, to heal and comfort them in their illness.
You can reflect on the parishioners buried from here; the nearby cemetery at Andrew Lysaght Park is a stark reminder of that. Also, think of the community that has been built here.
I pray that this community of St Francis Xavier's Cathedral in Wollongong and our diocesan community, with our long and rich history of Catholic faith and culture, will continue to contribute to the good of the community of this district and for our Diocese. Our Catholic faith should be impelling us to make a contribution, and I pray that the signs of the Spirit of God; "love, joy and peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control," (Galatians 5:22) will be evident in us. As Jesus said, "By their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 12:33).
May we have ongoing ecumenical collaboration with other Christians and people of other faiths, and may we make a contribution to the good of the wider civic community, bringing those lovely signs that God's Spirit is alive in us; and may we continue to be witnesses to Jesus by the way we live - holy people emerging from a holy dedicated place.
God bless you and congratulations on this significant event.