"You are Peter, and upon this rock I shall build my church." (Mt. 16:18)

Excerpt from Archbishop Andrew Bellisario’s Homily
on Sunday, September 5, 2021

   In 1910 the early faithful of Juneau built this Catholic church for their growing community, replacing the early church from 1886.
   Forty-one years later, the diocese of Juneau was created, and this church was dedicated and served as the cathedral for 110 years. This simple wooden cathedral stood the test of time and shone brightly as a beacon of faith on this hillside, beckoning all to come through her doors to worship God.
  With the unification of the two southern Alaskan dioceses last year, thus becoming the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau, this cathedral became the co-cathedral for the new archdiocese while the bigger and newer church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Anchorage became the cathedral.Nevertheless, this church retains its dignity as a cathedral that was granted to it in 1951. It is undoubtedly, as you know (and we’re all proud of this), the smallest cathedral in the United States and, arguably, one of the most memorable.
It is remembered by those many people who have called Juneau their home from those early days. For those who go way back, it was remembered by the scores of settlers, pioneers, prospectors, and travelers who passed through the inside passage of yesteryear, and it’s remembered by the millions who sail as tourists on the same waterways today on grand ships that the builders of the cathedral could hardly imagine.
   Now for a moment, let’s try to place ourselves on this hillside 111 years ago. Using our imagination’s eyes, we can see them hard at work: preparing the foundation, cutting the wood, erecting the frame, placing the siding and the roof, and carefully and reverently appointing the interior for the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments. Many of us have seen pictures of those early days.
   As we move forward through time, we can see:

• The renovations needed to keep the church beautiful in its simplicity and dedicated to our Blessed Mother.

• The maintenance needed to keep the building in good condition.

• The installation of the beautiful stained glass windows by our artist-in-residence, Deacon Charles.

   In both the past and the present, we can see the faithful of Juneau gathered around the church, and, in their sacred space, posing for photos to commemorate the faith events of their lives just as we do today: baptisms, first communions, confirmations, weddings, and funerals--all of them loving acts of faith by so many of the people of God through the years. We see them building the church, maintaining it, worshiping God, and building up the Catholic community here in Juneau in this cathedral, all dedicated from the beginning to the Nativity, the birth, of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
   Our Blessed Mother is honored through representation in our new Archdiocese on the Crest by Polaris, the North Star. On the shield of the archdiocese it represents the Blessed Virgin Mary, the ever-constant guide of spiritual mariners under her title of Stella Maris.
   Mary was born to be the mother of the savior of the world, the spiritual mother of all of us, and the holiest of God’s creation. Because of her son’s infinite merits, she was conceived and born immaculately and full of grace. The celebration of her birthday is December 8th, 9 months before the solemnity feast of her Immaculate Conception.
   God prepared Mary from the moment of her conception to be the Mother of God. Quote, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God with us.”
Through Mary, Queen of heaven and of earth, all grace is given to us through her by the will of the trinity. The unbelieving receive the gift of faith through her. The afflicted are tendered the works of mercy through her. The sailor, the wayfarer, and the lost souls are brought to the safety of the shore and the bosom of her son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through her, the members of Christ grow in likeness of their head. Through Mary, all human nature is exalted.
   I suspect that many of you, like me, are wearing a miraculous medal. Sometimes we wear it but don’t even know what it’s called. It was originally called the Medal of the Immaculate Conception. However, the people of God quickly changed its name to the Miraculous Medal because of all the graces and favors received by those who wear it.
 The medal was a request directly from the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady manifested the medal to St. Catherine Labouré on November 27th, 1830, in the motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in St. Louise Marillac in Paris, France. St. Catherine saw Our Lady standing on a globe, crushing a serpent beneath her feet and with dazzling rays of light streaming from her outstretched hands. Framing the figure was an inscription: “Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,”—a very simple prayer to say and to memorize.
 Describing the original vision, St. Catherine said, “The Blessed Mother appeared radiant as a sunrise, quote, ‘in all her perfect beauty’,” unquote.
  Then Mary spoke to St. Catherine and said, “Have a medal struck upon this model” (the one that St. Catherine was seeing). “Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck.”
  St. Catherine noticed that some of the rays coming from the hands of Mary did not shine. When she asked, Mary reportedly replied, “Those are the graces for which people forget to ask.” What a blessing for us knowing that all we need to do is to ask for God’s grace, her son’s, through our Blessed Mother.
  As we continue another effort (this church is undergoing a campaign to raise funds for another renovation of our co-cathedral--and you’re all invited, of course, to participate), let us join together, inspired by our brothers and sisters of yesteryear and today. Do not forget to ask, through the intercession of Mary, for those many graces that God has for us all. Recall the words of St. Paul to the Romans: “We know that all things work for good for those who love God and who are called according to his purpose.”
  And so as we come this day and ask for God’s healing in our own lives, and as we ask for that healing and for the many graces God has for us, we ask our Blessed Mother for the success of all of our efforts through her intercession.
  So we pray, “Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

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