Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory’s Jan. 23 Mass and blessing of the new altar at Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Waldorf, Maryland, marked a special milestone in the parish’s four-decade history and helped parishioners reflect on the altar’s significance for worship and for their lives. During the Mass, he said the altar is like a family table and is a “gateway to heaven.”
“This morning, the parish family of Our Lady Help of Christians gathers to bless a precious vehicle and location for a special form of prayer that has no rival. We are here to consecrate a new altar for this place of prayer,” the cardinal said in his homily.
The archbishop of Washington noted how people correctly contend that churches are not the only places where they can pray. He noted people can pray at home, at the beach, in their garden, even on the golf course. None of those, he said, are “comparable to the Lord’s altar around which God’s family gathers.”
“The altar is the place where the Church’s prayer – the perfect prayer, the liturgy, is offered,” the cardinal said.
Cardinal Gregory pointed out that people gather as a family of faith around the altar, where Christ’s words are repeated and where His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary is made present.
“The altar is the place where all hearts are united in Christ. That is why the altar is consecrated, smeared with sacred chrism – the oil of Christ Himself,” he said.
Altars can be constructed in different designs, the cardinal said, noting they can be ornate and large or small and simple, and can be constructed of stone or wood. But he said that no matter how they are built, altars are sacred places where God the Father hears the prayers of His people.
Referring to the first reading at the Mass from the book of Genesis describing Jacob’s dream of a stairway leading to heaven, Cardinal Gregory said, “We bless the altar because we believe that this truly is the place that can and should be called the very gateway to God.”
The gospel reading for that Mass from Matthew indicated a special instruction that Christ gave regarding altars, the cardinal said.
“If you come to the altar and recall that you have something against your sister or your brother, leave your gift at the altar and seek reconciliation with your brother,” Cardinal Gregory said, repeating Christ’s message from that gospel passage. “It is not acceptable that we approach the Father around the altar while holding grudges, hatred or bitterness against any one of His children.”
Continuing that point, the cardinal said, “The altar is thus most like a family table where the Father will not tolerate any bickering or rancor. The altar is the place that belongs to all of us, and where we must be a family at peace.”
Cardinal Gregory said that like a family with a new piece of furniture, people should admire and carefully watch over their new altar, but also promise that they will be a better family because the place where the Father hears their prayers has been enhanced and made more beautiful.
“We consecrate a new altar for this parish family, because the house of the Church must always be renewed, its people transformed and thus this sacred table needs to be sanctified,” the cardinal said. “The family is the same, the faith is the same, the Father is the same, but we as members of the family ought to be renewed.”
An honor guard of eight Knights of Columbus led the opening procession for the Mass, which was concelebrated by Father Alain Colliou, the pastor; and Father Art Mallari, a retired priest who serves there. The range of parishioners from different backgrounds gathered there included senior citizens and families with young children, all of whom wore face masks in accord with COVID-19 safety guidelines.
The new oak altar with a marble top was designed by members of the parish and hand-crafted by a parishioner who wants to remain anonymous, and the altar was funded through the generosity of two parishioners who also have chosen to remain anonymous. On the side of the sanctuary is a striking portrait of Mary as Our Lady Help of Christians, the parish’s patroness.
The Eastern Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco donated two relics for the altar: a relic of St. John Bosco, the founder of the Salesians order who had a special devotion to Mary Help of Christians; and a relic of St. Mary Mazzarello, who with St. John Bosco founded the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, known as the Salesian sisters. An essay by Father Colliou in the parish bulletin noted that today, the Salesians are the world’s second largest community of religious men with more than 15,000 members of that order, and the Salesian sisters are the largest community of religious women in the world with more than 11,000 sisters. Locally, the Eastern Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco sponsors Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park, Maryland with The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
At the beginning of Mass, Cardinal Gregory blessed the altar, sprinkling holy water on it. After the Scripture readings, homily and reciting of the Creed, the cardinal dedicated the altar in an elaborate rite.
The sung litany of the saints included prayers to Our Lady Help of Christians, St. John Bosco, St. Mary Mazzarello and many other saints, including two contemporary saints who were famous after Our Lady Help of Christians Parish was founded in 1980: St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of Calcutta. After the litany, the cardinal placed the relics of St. John Bosco and St. Mary Mazzarello in the altar.
Standing with his arms outstretched over the altar, Cardinal Gregory then offered a prayer of dedication that highlighted how the Old Testament figures Noah, Abraham and Moses built altars to pray and offer sacrifice to God, and how Christ through his sacrifice on the cross allowed for a new covenant to be made between God and humanity.
The cardinal prayed that the altar might be a table where people “may gain new strength of spirit for new paths ahead” and that the altar might be “the center of our praise and thanksgiving” to God, “with Christ, the High Priest and living Altar.”
Cardinal Gregory then anointed the altar, pouring sacred chrism in the middle of the altar and on each of its four corners. Moments later, praying, “Let our prayers arise, O Lord, like incense in your sight…” the cardinal incensed the altar.
Then after the top of the altar was wiped with towels and a water-proof covering was placed on it, the altar was adorned with an altar cloth and candles.
After the cardinal prayed, “May the light of Christ shine upon the table of this altar, and may those who share the Lord’s supper shine with His light,” Deacon Richard Dubicki of the parish lit the candles on the altar.
In 2020, Cardinal Gregory had celebrated Mass at Our Lady Help of Christians Church, helping the parish mark its 40th anniversary, and while there, he blessed the church’s new steeple and its Adoration chapel.
After Communion at the Jan. 23 Mass, Father Colliou noted the parish has embarked on a Year of Eucharistic Renewal, and he said they would take to heart the cardinal’s words from that day when Masses are celebrated there on the new altar.
In columns in the parish bulletin before the new altar was dedicated, the priest wrote that “the altar represents Jesus Christ at every Mass,” and he noted that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1383) states, “The altar, around which the Church is gathered in the celebration of the Eucharist, represents the two aspects of the same mystery: the altar of the sacrifice and the table of the Lord.”
Our Lady Help of Christians’ pastor wrote that he hoped the dedication of the new altar would “strengthen the unity of our parish and deepen our understanding of the Mass,” and after the liturgy, he said, “I pray this will help us continue to focus on the Eucharist.”
Parishioners were invited to pray a novena to St. John Bosco beginning Jan. 22 and ending Jan. 30.
Before the Mass, some members of the parish council at Our Lady Help of Christians reflected on what the church’s new altar meant to them.
Sharon Caniglia, a founding member of the parish, said, “When they took the cloth off this morning, I almost cried, it was so beautiful.”
Caniglia, the longtime principal of St. Mary’s School in Bryantown who retired in 2020, said it was especially meaningful to her that the altar contains a relic of St. John Bosco, the patron saint of youth.
Larry Sutton, another parish council member, said the new altar has a lot of meaning for the church, and “it symbolizes all the years of faith for our Our Lady Help of Christians community.”
Also reflecting on the new altar at Our Lady Help of Christians Church was Steve Fisher, the chairman of the parish council, who noted that in the process of its design and construction, parishioners learned more about their Catholic faith.
“From my perspective, it’s an opportunity to refocus on what’s most important in the Mass. It (the altar) is the centerpiece, it’s where we celebrate the Eucharist,” he said.
