Today, 7th February, Bishop Tim Costelloe blessed the new Ambry, Ambo, Font,Presiders Chair, and Altar in St Anne’s Church and con-celebrated Mass with Father Bert, Father Peter, and Father Kevin.
Fr Kevin spoke on the Parish Renewal process that was adopted in order to ascertain the parishioners Values, Needs, and what they considered their Treasures. Several meetings were held, facilitated by Sr Margaret Smith sgs, Very Reverend David Orr osb, and Randall Lindstrom.
Randall Lindstrom then spoke of the ideas and symbols behind the various works, such as the Ambo representing a book being opened to the gathered people of God while the Altar shape represented (among many things) a drawing in towards the centre in Communion of the people.
Bishop Tim started his homily with a promise not to talk for more than 45 minutes but he is such a spellbinding speaker with the gift of drawing all his listeners along with shared enthusiasm, that no one would have noticed the time.
His final point was that the Church, in it’s buildings and in it’s people in Sunbury and surrounds, is like a sacrament. Our parish with our buildings and people are an outward sign of the presence of God in our community. Jesus still helps the poor, teaches those who will listen, and works for the Kingdom of God here today in our community just as he did when he walked through Palestine all those years ago. Today he does it through his mystical body, us. We, the ordinary people of our parish, provide Jesus with his hands and feet in our time.
The Symbology of the Dedication
The Anointing of the Altar
By being anointed with consecrated oil of Chrism, the altar becomes a symbol of Christ, who before all others is called “The Anointed One”; for the Father anointed him with the Holy Spirit and constituted him the High Priest who on the altar of his body would offer the sacrifice of his life for the salvation of all.
Incense
Incense is burned on the altar to signify that the sacrifice of Christ, which is then perpetuated in mystery, ascends to God as an odour of sweetness, and also is a sign that the prayers of the people rise up pleasing and acceptable, reaching to the throne of God. The People of God are incensed for they are the living temple in which each faithful member is a spiritual altar.
The white cloth on the altar
The cloth indicates that the Christian altar is the altar of the eucharistic sacrifice and the table of the Lord; standing around it priests and people, in one and the same action but with a difference of function, celebrate the memorial of the death and resurrection of Christ and partake in the Lord’s Supper. The altar is prepared as the table of sacrificial banquet and adorned as for a feast. This is the Lord’s Table at which all God’s people meet with joy to be refreshed with divine food, namely the Body and Blood of Christ sacrificed.
The lighting of the altar
This teaches us that Christ is “a light to enlighten the nations” (Luke 2:32), whose brightness shines out in the Church and through it upon the whole family of humanity. (Taken from “Rite of Dedication”)
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Sunbury 
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