Bishop Donald Sproxton described interior renovations to St Mary, Star of the Sea church as enhancing the existing beauty of the church during his homily at a special Mass on August 20.
“It makes us think of God through the beauty of the environment in this building; that’s what the architecture, what the elements we have placed in the church here, are meant to do – to help us enter into that communion with God through something that is absolutely beautiful,” Bishop Sproxton said.
In describing the Church as the Body of Christ, he likened the arrangements of the new elements – the presider’s chair, the ambo, the altar and the baptismal font – to that of a human body.
“The chair… represents the place of Christ. Christ is the head of the body,” Bishop Sproxton said.
“When the liturgy is celebrated in this church, the priest is acting in the person of Christ – Christ the head… The ambo or lectern is the place where the word of God is proclaimed and preached. This is the mouth of the body… The table or altar is the place where the sacrifice of the Eucharist is celebrated. This is the place where we are nourished with the Body and Blood of Christ… It is where the food of life is received.”
Bishop Sproxton said the baptismal font was like the “womb” of the church.
“It is from the font that new Christians are born… They are, in a sense, generated as new sons and daughters of God… New life is given to the community whenever a baptism is celebrated, whenever the Holy Spirit is given, whenever faith is received.”
God was calling the entire community to bring Christ to the world, the bishop said.
“We pray that the Lord will give us that faith… that he will fan that faith into a fire within us; that always, when we enter this church we will sense the presence of the Lord within this community calling us to be the Body of Christ – a community of faith to continue this important mission to go into the world, to baptise, and to bring people to Jesus Christ.”