St. Joseph Cathedral

Mass of Dedication of the New Altar
The Most Reverend Paul J. Swain

Brother bishops, Abbot Dennis, priests, deacons, consecrated and lay faithful, Mayor Huether, and
other dignitaries, thank you for being here this afternoon on this historic occasion for the Diocese of
Sioux Falls and for the greater community. I especially want to acknowledge the presence of Archbishop
Carlson whose vision began what we complete this day. We also welcome home Archbishop Gullickson
and Bishop Kettler, priest sons of the diocese.

In our first reading from the Book of Genesis we hear of the dream of Jacob, in which appears a
staircase, sometimes called a ladder, connecting heaven and earth with angels going up and down. Jacob
encounters the Lord and is moved to exclaim what we might proclaim today, “How awesome is this
shrine. This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that it is the gateway to heaven. Truly the Lord is in
this place.” Angels abound in our Cathedral which too in a way is a gateway to heaven. Here too we can
encounter the Lord. He will be present in an even more profound way through the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass and with the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle. Truly the Lord is in this place.
It is appropriate that we gather to celebrate the completion of the preservation, beautification and
restoration of the Cathedral on the Memorial of SS Joachim and Anne, by tradition the names given to the
parents of the Blessed Mother and often referred to as the grandparents of Jesus. It was your parents,
grandparents and great grandparents who built and maintained this special place with vision, sacrifice,
perseverance and faith. Bishop O’Gorman and they clearly desired to send a bold message in stone, one of
faith, one of hope and one of invitation. Proclaiming boldly the love and mercy of Christ is as needed
today. Thank you to all of you who have made this day possible. Because of their and your sacrifice, this
is once again a place to come to pray, to rest, to be forgiven, to be restored, but most especially to
encounter God. Truly the Lord is in this place.

Oh how we need signs of hope and places of rest in our world today, so filled with violence,
incivility, injustice, narcissism and disrespect for life. Pope Benedict XVI when he visited St. Patrick
Cathedral in New York several years ago noted the beauty of its stained glass windows, not unlike ours.

He said, “From the outside those windows are dark, heavy, even dreary. But once one enters the Church,
they suddenly come alive; reflecting the light passing through them, they reveal all their splendor. . . It is
only from the inside, from the experience of faith and ecclesial life that we see the church as she truly is:
flooded with grace, resplendent in beauty, adorned with the manifold gifts of the Spirit. It follows that we,
who live the life of grace within the church’s communion are called to draw all people into this mystery
of light.” That is our mission here in the Diocese of Sioux Falls, to respond to the call to new and
renewed evangelization.

But then he continued: “this is not an easy task in a world which can tend to look at the church,
like those stained glass windows from the outside, a world which deeply senses a need for spirituality, yet
finds it difficult to enter into the mystery of the church. Even for those of us within, the light of faith can
be dimmed by routine, and the splendor of the church obscured by the sins and weaknesses of her
members. It can be dimmed too by the obstacles encountered in a society which sometimes seems to have
forgotten God and to resent even the most elementary demands of Christian morality. You who have
devoted your lives to bearing witness to the love of Christ and the building up of his Body know from
your daily contact with the world around us how tempting it is at times to give way to frustration,
disappointment and even pessimism about the future. In a word, it is not always easy to see the light of
the Spirit all about us, the splendor of the Risen Lord illuminating our lives and instilling renewed hope in
his victory over the world. Yet,” he concluded, “the word of God reminds us that, in faith, we see the
heavens opened and the grace of the Holy Spirit lighting up the church and bringing sure hope to the
world.”¹

It is my prayer that this restored Cathedral will be a shining light on the hill outside and in, by the
beauty of sacred things and by the beauty of faith lived well, and therefore be a sign of the hope that can
only be fulfilled in Christ. And so we invite all to come here on pilgrimage and to seek to satisfy the
yearning for the holy, to discover meaning in the midst of trial even fear, and to experience the peace that
comes from knowing Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior and friend.

This place is filled with examples of those who discovered the peace that Christ offers. We will
soon place in the new altar the relics of three saints who can inspire us: Maria Goretti, who at the age of
12 was violently attacked yet forgave her attacker before she died and received the fullness of life;
Thomas Becket, who too was martyred for the faith for his refusal to give in to unjust laws and what was
popular or politically correct; and Pope Pius X, who recognized what a grace receiving Holy Communion
is by urging regular reception, who raised up sacred music, and who stood firm to preserve the unity of
the Church universal. There are more inspiring witnesses portrayed here in window, in relief and in
symbol. There is Peter.

“Who do you say that I am,” Jesus challenged the apostles in the Gospel. Peter’s response has
been called his profession of faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of God.”2 He did not at first fully
understand or live it perfectly. We know that subsequently he tried to get Jesus to change his travel plans
to avoid the danger that was the Passion, and that he denied Jesus three times ultimately breaking down in
tears over his failure to be true. We also know that Our Lord forgave him and missioned him and built the
Church upon him. Strengthened by the Holy Spirit Peter experienced the conversion to which each of us
is invited. He too is a witness of Christ’s love and mercy.

Each of us each day, whatever our vocation, is asked to respond to the question who do you say
that I am. Not what do the polls say or what do others say, but who do we say He is. How we respond will
shape our lives and affect those we love, and the life to come.
Sacred art, beauty can show us the way. As Pope Benedict XVI noted, beauty, “genuine beauty
unlocks the yearning of the human heart, opening afresh the eyes of our hearts and minds, giving man
wings.”

Allow me to share one testimony on how beauty helped change a life. There was a young
reasonably successful professional who felt something missing in his life. Searching for what he knew
not, he found himself spending time in a Catholic church though he was not Catholic, mystified about
why. This confused and aimless young man sat in the back trying to find his way in the missalette, was
moved by the Stations of the Cross and intrigued by the statues of saints he had never heard of. Ever
before him was a haunting crucifix, the body of Christ on the cross. “Who do you say that I am,” Jesus
was asking him. That young man of course was me. It took awhile but I was touched enough in part by
beauty to turn from my old ways and to open my heart to declare in a new way: “You are the Christ, the
Son of God.”² Like Peter I did not know what it fully meant but the “eyes of my heart and mind were
opened afresh”. That response was deepened when I accepted the truth of His real presence Body and
Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist. After that I could not help but come home to His church.
What a joyful day it was when I like Peter professed my faith. Then God called me to the priesthood. And
He topped it off by bringing to South Dakota. Perhaps men or women, young and not so young, will be
drawn to the Lord by pondering the genuine beauty here in this Cathedral which your parents and
grandparents, and you, have made possible.

When asked what was my vision for our new crucifix my response was something to the effect, I
want us to be able to look with awe at our Lord hanging there and then humbly acknowledge: He did that
for me, for us; He loved us that much and still does.

This Cathedral of St. Joseph is not a museum though there is much to admire and ponder; this is
not a concert hall though the beauty of sacred music will lift our souls; this is not a gathering space
though it is a place where we can come together to share our joys and support one another in our sorrows.
This is our Beacon of Hope where we with humble and grateful hearts can declare: “How awesome is this
shrine. This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that it is the gateway to heaven. Truly the Lord is in
this place.”

Mass of Dedication of the New Altar
The Most Reverend Paul J. Swain
Bishop of Sioux Falls
July 26, 2011 ~ Memorial Feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne
Cathedral of St. Joseph

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1- Pope Benedict XVI, Mass Homily, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City, April 19, 2008
2- Matthew 16: 15-16
3- Pope Benedict XVI, Meeting with Artists, Sistine Chapel, November 21, 2009