November 7, 2004

Our parish is singularly blessed this Sunday in the octave of All Saints to dedicate the new sacred images in our sanctuary. Given the prominence of our parish's location in this world capital, I am grateful that these works of art have already attracted international interest. In times past we may have underestimated the potential of our parish, and this public attention is one small step in recognizing that we are coming of age in proclaiming the heavenly Kingdom.

The benefactions we have received from outside the parish to install these fine works of art are true gifts of God, and free us to use our own money for the crucial work of restoring the roof and walls of this House of God. Such generosity should move us to examine our consciences: Are we this generous in terms of our own resources, whatever they may be, to promote the good works of our parish?

Some years ago one of our parishioners brought to Mass a fine young son who, like many fine young sons, was a little rambunctious. She was informed by a matron that the Church of Our Saviour "is not a family parish." I am glad this got her Irish up and she stayed. Her fine young son is now a fine grown young man and today we have more young people in the parish than ever before. We are also graced with many glorious senior people who have been faithful pillars of our parish for a long time. None should think that this parish's principle mission is entertaining ourselves. I am all for happy parties and hope that our approaching fiftieth anniversary year will provide more of these, but we are redundant if our first purpose is not the preaching of the Gospel and the salvation of souls.

The great image of Our Saviour, blessed today, will preach in silence to those many who come here between the liturgies. The saints surrounding Him will remind us of our baptismal vocation to serve Christ as His soldiers until our life's end. Anything less than the best art we can provide is unworthy of Our Saviour and too bourgeois for the beautiful building entrusted to us. For the Catholic, art is a necessity and not a luxury.

The youth of those artists and craftsmen who have worked on our new paintings is a bright hope for the future. They are recovering the classical traditions which the iconoclasts of the fading last generation scorned. One of our young artists was trained by his mother and grandmother who studied art in their native China but were compelled to use their talents for propaganda art promoting cruel Communism. Their gifted grandson and son now lives in freedom and has painted not a dictator raising his fist but Christ Our Saviour raising His hand in blessing over us.

Fr. George W. Rutler