6th Sunday of Easter
Blessing of Renovated Church
St. Patrick, Harve de Grace
May 10th, 2026

I. Congratulations and Gratitude

It is a pleasure to return to St. Patrick’s, and on this occasion
to bless this beautifully renovated church and to consecrate its new altar.
Let me offer you both my congratulations and my gratitude –
my congratulations for a project with truly beautiful results,
and my gratitude for your generosity which made possible this project.
And, of course, all of us owe a special debt of gratitude
to your pastor, Fr. Francis Ouma, for his wonderful leadership!
Together with Fr. Francis, I would also like to thank Fr. Franz
and indeed the whole pastoral team here at St. Patrick – St. Joan of Arc,
for such dedicated service to this parish family.

II. Renovation: A Sign of Hope

A. The renovation of this historic church
and the installation of a new and permanent altar
are more than merely repairs and enhancements.
While the renovations are a delight to the eye,
they are also a tonic to the soul – because they are saying something:
they are saying that we are a people of hope,
that our mission will continue.
that we are intent on handing on the faith for generations to come.

B. What is the basis for our hope?
In today’s reading from the 1st Letter of Peter,
we are instructed always to be ready to offer a reason for our hope –
but to do so with gentleness, reverence, and a clear conscience.
As we see renewed interest in the Church among younger people –
not to mention a record number of people entering the Church at Easter –
we might be inclined to offer sociological reasons for our hope.
For example, might point to the epidemic of loneliness,
and the need for human connection and relationship.

C. Such reasons have merit.
But isn’t the ultimate reason for our hope the Lord himself?
It is the Lord who knows and loves us like no other,
the Lord who offers us the Word of Truth and Life,
the Lord who died and rose to renovate our very lives,
to make us new, to make us live in newness of life!
It is this same Lord whom we encounter in Word and Sacrament.
In consecrating a new altar we bear witness to the hope we share
in celebrating the One Sacrifice of Christ by which we are saved,
and in receiving the Body and Blood of Christ
by which we are spiritually nourished during our earthly sojourn.
It is the Lord himself who fills our hearts with joy and hope!

III. God’s Word: Brimming with Hope

A. Fittingly, todays’ Scripture readings are brimming with hope.
In the Gospel, we encounter Jesus ‘on the night before he died.’
He is instructing the Apostles to await the Holy Spirit with expectant hope –
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments [he says].
And I will ask the Father and he will send you another Advocate…” –
the Spirit of truth by whom the Lord would always remain with his Church,
the Spirit of truth by which his Apostles would bear witness to Christ
whose love is stronger than sin and more powerful than death.

B. Even as the Apostles struggled through the trauma of Jesus’ death
and grappled with the astonishing fact of the Resurrection,
they never forgot that Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit,
the Spirit who would at their eyes fully to Jesus’ true identity
and to the true nature of his mission to save humanity from sin and death.
In the hearts of the disciples, hope never died but blossomed
into a world-wide mission of proclaiming Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.

IV. The Mission of Christ on Display

A. That mission is on display in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
In the midst of persecution, with few if any resources,
the Apostles are spreading the name of Christ far and wide.
Philip is in Samaria bearing witness to Christ.
The people were spellbound by his teaching.
Many in the grip of unclean spirits were released from bondage,
and all who saw this were filled with hope.
Sin and death are not the last word! Jesus has conquered the world!
To seal these new disciples in hope,
Peter and the other Apostles went down to Samaria and prayed over them,
so that they too would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

V. The Mission Continues

A. Under Fr. Ouma’s leadership, St. Patrick – St. Joan of Arc have focused,
perhaps as never before, on its hope-filled mission of proclaiming the Gospel.
You have become an evangelized and evangelizing community.
Like the Apostles, you are reaching out beyond these beautiful walls
to those who are waiting for a word of hope, a word of faith, a word of love.
You are offering friendship and a sense of community –
based on your precious faith in the Risen Lord who makes all things new,
rooted in the real presence of the Eucharistic Lord in our midst.

B. My fondest prayer on this Sunday of grace and joy is
that the mission of this pastorate may experience daily renewal in the Spirit,
be as fresh and beautiful as this church has become,
and never cease drawing people to the center of this venerable structure,
the crucified, risen, and eucharistic Lord Jesus Christ
who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God forever and ever. Amen!