Archbishop of Sydney

Holy Spirit Church, Carnes Hill

Neh 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Cor 3:9-11, 16-17; Jn 2:13-22

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
15/7/2007

Most of us take it for granted that Christian Churches are spread through our suburbs and country towns, a regular and expected part of the landscape.

It took an Asian migrant to our shores to point out the obvious to me, that such churches are not found everywhere and in every country.  In fact it was these churches, houses of worship and local advertisements for Christian faith, hope and love which prodded this woman towards becoming a Catholic.

Just recently a friend remarked to me on the dull monotonous suburbs constructed in the vanished Communist empire, where new churches were not allowed and no spires pointed heavenward to remind us of the Transcendent, of Godly love and the divine requirements for us.

Catholic Churches are places where heaven and earth should meet, where believers regularly go to worship and to nourish their faith; to open their hearts to the invisible and loving God and to resist those voices in our society which claim that God is not necessary.

An architect recently claimed that a Catholic Church is a gathering place for those searching for God, but this is a mistake.  A Catholic Church is where worshippers who have found God in Jesus Christ his Son gather to pray and to celebrate the sacraments.  That is why we labour so hard to make God’s house so beautiful; and you have succeeded.

When families are thinking about building a home in a new housing area, a lot of preparations need to be made – as you all know very well.  When we build a new house, we expect that the basic services will be in place: that electricity supply is available, that water and sewerage services run to the site, that the road will come to the house.  We expect these to be ready first, before we can build a house there for our family.

But when the house is built, we set about turning it into a home: we fill it with things we treasure, we make it the place of family life together. We bring to that house the things that make it a home: our relationships, our love, our times together, our family’s values, our hopes for the future and our daily work and play.  And as Catholic families, we also bring into our homes our faith and our prayers: in fact, because of your baptism and your faith in the Lord Jesus, you bring the Church into your new homes, and together you make the Church present in your newly formed neighbourhood.

The electricity and the gas and the water could be connected and ready for you: but you had to bring the Church with you when you came to form this new community.

Of course, the domestic Church, another definition of your families, is only one part of the full picture: we need to live out our faith, and nourish our faith in community to gather for the proclamation of God’s Word, and the celebration of the Sacraments.  We pray at home, but we also know that we are called by God to pray together.  As Catholics we serve God and serve our neighbours through the good works we do, especially for those in some special need: but we also serve God by our worship and by coming together to pray for our neighbours.

Here at Carnes Hill, a new parish community of the Holy Spirit has come into being because you good people have made your homes here, have brought your faith here, and have gathered together to pray, to welcome Christ among you in the sacraments, and to work co-operatively for the good of your children, families and the whole community.

The Church, as we know, is not just a building.  The Church is not just a human organisation.  The Church is, as Saint Paul wrote, the sacred temple of God which is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ.  You are God’s temple and the Spirit of God is living among you. Do not forget this, especially in the bad times.

In this beautiful new church building, we see the outward signs of the deeper spiritual reality of the Church.  We heard in the First Reading how the Jewish people, after years of captivity in the foreign land of Babylon came back to their spiritual home, Jerusalem, and heard once again the Law of God proclaimed to them.  Now in this new church you have your spiritual home where you gather for the proclamation of the Gospel.  We heard how Jesus in the Temple spoke of the Sanctuary that was his own body: and we are aware that through the waters of Baptism, which now flow in this church, we have become members of the Body of Christ.  And we know that the Lord Jesus, on the altar of his Cross, has offered himself as a sacrifice to take away our sins: so in this church, at this altar which you have built, that sacrifice is made present for us in the Mass and Jesus feeds us with his sacred body and blood.  To this church you will come to find forgiveness for sins, here you will come to celebrate married love and have your babies baptised, here you will come for healing, here you will come to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, just as the apostles gathered together for prayer received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

The gospel today is a stern passage, not usually chosen for the opening of a new church, because you are reminded to keep your priorities correct, not to put the horse before the cart, not to allow everyday concerns about money to change this community from God’s house into a market.  That precise alternative is not very likely, but in our society it is not too difficult for the heart of things i.e. our faith to slip away from us and our children, smothered by the busy concerns of daily life.  This beautiful sanctuary which you have built is a material echo of the perfection of God himself. We need to recall this regularly in prayer.

This church is already a sacred place because of the sacraments celebrated here, because of your prayers and because of this celebration.  But it will become more and more of a sacred place, a powerhouse of faith and love for this local community, through the prayer of many generations of believers.

I congratulate Fr. Pat Hurley, Fr. Lee, your first parish priest Fr. Danny Meagher, the parish leaders and all your community on what you have accomplished.  It is a marvellous beginning, but only a beginning.  I thank too those other parishes in the Archdiocese who continue to assist you.  It is a privilege and an honour for you to be pioneer builders of Holy Spirit Parish in both a spiritual as well as a material sense.

Your new parish church stands on a hill.  That is significant, too: Jesus, in his sermon on the mount, told his followers: “You are a light for the world.  A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden.  In the same way your light must shine in people’s sight, so that, seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:14-16).  May your parish church of the Holy Spirit on the this hill always remind you of Jesus’ call to faith, hope and love so that these flames continue to burn brightly here for many generations and your continuing good works across the generations entice more and more of your neighbours to share our faith and praise our Father in heaven.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.