Note: According to the Catholic Church’s General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar, the anniversary of the dedication of a church is to be celebrated as a solemnity by the members of the community in which it exists. Thus March 7, 2016 — the seventh anniversary of the dedication Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel in 2009 — was a solemnity at Thomas Aquinas College. Head Chaplain Rev. Paul Raftery, O.P. offered a special Mass at 11:30 a.m. Below is the full text and audio  of his homily:

The Inner-Dwelling of God

By Rev. Paul Raftery, O.P.
Homily, March 7, 2016
Solemnity, Dedication of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel

Audio:

Rev. Paul Raftery, O.P.We all have a special love for this chapel and great gratitude to Dr. Thomas Dillon, who led the way for its construction. It is a wonderful blessing for our campus, a place of prayer, a building that lifts our hearts to God. So we honor it in a special way today through a solemn feast and a Mass on the anniversary of its dedication.

But we also remember how it is at the service of Christ. It is a an instrument of Christ, and the way it serves Him is hinted at in this Gospel, where we have Our Lord bestowing a great honor on a man who had not been considered particularly devout. Zacchaeus, a tax collector, had an occupation that no one liked — as today one way to cut down on the friends one has is to join the IRS — which was notorious for over-charging and extortion. And so Zacchaeus makes a point of generously committing, then and there, half of his possessions to the poor. In doing that he shows the merciful heart that Christ loves to see in us, and which allows Him to enter not just the physical home of Zacchaeus, but the more important dwelling of his soul.

What our Lord was really after, in offering to come to his home, was that He might entice Zacchaeus to come further and open the door to this inner-dwelling — reminding us of Christ’s “door” in Revelation. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” He says. “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him and eat with him, and he with me” — reminding us, also, of that passage from the second reading we just heard: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

Any physical building we call the House of God is really meant to foster this more important inner-dwelling of God, in the soul, which is the real temple He seeks to dwell in and is delighted by. So the great beauty of our chapel is found, above all, in how well it fosters this inner-dwelling of Christ in our souls. It moves us to think of Him through the prominence of the tabernacle; just as the altar of sacrifice speaks of Christ offering Himself to the Father. All the religious imagery inspires love for Our Lady and the saints. The order and symmetry of the architecture settles our souls and brings a sense of peace.

All the speaking of how great a gift this chapel is to our campus leads us to God. It opens our minds to His truth and our hearts to His goodness. Above all, it speaks of His longing to dwell in our souls — if only we would open the door through frequent prayer and partaking of the Sacraments; if only we would frequently come here and put ourselves in His presence. He loves us and has made us for Himself.

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