When I lived in Washington, D.C., I was a frequent visitor to the Basilica of the National Shrine. Perhaps you have visited there yourself or have seen the Shrine on television.  It is a magnificent church, the largest Catholic Church in the United States and certainly one of the largest in the world. 

I always enjoyed being there and always found something that I had never noticed before.  Whether I was alone or at Mass or some ceremony with thousands of others, that sacred place always gave me a sense of the presence and majesty of God.

That's what churches are supposed to do: to put us in touch with God. To lift our hearts and minds to God in prayer.  To make us realize that no matter who we are, no matter what our status might be, no matter where we fit in during this precious life, there is someone bigger than ourselves.  We can kneel or just sit in quiet, in prayer and pour out our very souls to God, bringing before him, bringing to him our pain, our joy, our issues, our needs, our gratitude, people we love and care for, everything really. 

In the beauty and bigness of the structure, our smallness in this world doesn't matter.  Why? Because God is present here.  Jesus is present here.  And he loves us as we are.  All that we see around us in churches is supposed to lead us to that realization.

Today, we re-dedicated this, our beautiful parish church.  It is a great day for your pastor and for all of you who are members of St. Gabriel's Catholic community of faith.  As you bishop, I am happy and honored to be here with you.  But I want to tell you something ... All of this means nothing at all if it's not in here, in your heart.  A church is a building, a sacred building, a holy place.  But, unless you are an architect or engineer or artist, the building is only a means to an end: an the end is the realization that God is present here calling us not simply to have a church but to be the church.

Our readings today help us understand what that means.  That from this holy place, from the community that gathers here, we recognize God's presence in one another.  That we, as church, are called to share bread with the hungry, as Isaiah says to us today; to shelter the oppressed and the homeless, to be a light in the darkness.

That we, talented though we may be, as Paul writes to the Corinthians, that we might depend upon the Word and wisdom of God that we hear in this place...that we take it home with us each week. 

Finally, as our Gospel from Matthew tells us, that we are salt and light ... And that light must shine before others. We are hearing this message from Pope Francis but we have been hearing it all our lives.  In this sacred place, on this holy day when we re-dedicate our parish church, let's re-dedicate ourselves to all that we hear and all that we should be.