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Dear Friends in Christ,

St. Paul teaches us, ÒYou are no longer strangers and visitorsÉbut members of the household of God.Ó These words have a very special meaning today for the members of this community, the Church of the Korean Catholic Martyrs.

For twenty-five years you good people have braved every challenge in order to worship God, to attend the Holy Mass, the Holy Sacrifice of GodÕs Son and our Lord, and to keep yourselves joined together, as a loving and devoted family within this Archdiocese and within this great and sprawling city.

You were not strangers to one another Ð you are a true family, of mothers and fathers, of sons and daughters, of the young and the old - and your devotion to one another is known well throughout the Catholic Church in North Georgia.

And you were not merely visitors to the Faith, nor to the place of your worship Ð whether the conditions were good or bad, and the times hard or easy, you did not come for a day, and then leave to find another place, a place more comfortable, or easier to get to, to make your spiritual home. You came and stayed, and made this mission, named in memory of the Martyrs of Korea, your spiritual home. You made it the place where you would look for our Lord, on the altar and in the tabernacle, and in the hearts of the men and women and children who dwell together here, in the peace of the Lord. No, you were not strangers and visitors to the Faith Ð for your love and your faithfulness never wavered, and you never went away. You have lived the Faith.

But there was something missing Ð something that left a longing in your hearts - that left you with an unquiet feeling of wandering Ð the same feeling that haunted the Chosen People, as they traveled forty long years with Moses through the desert.

But finally, even as the day of their homecoming arrived, the day of your homecoming has arrived Ð the day when you now have a church to call your own - a true home Ð the church where you will live and raise your children in the Catholic Faith, the Faith of your ancestors, of your mothers and fathers Ð the church where you will give your sons and daughters in marriage Ð the church where you will celebrate the most important moments of your lives Ð and the church where you will finally bid farewell to earth, and in death, rise to a new life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

And so, in this sense, today you are no longer strangers and visitors Ð today you become the stewards, the keepers, and the guardians of this new church Ð and you become even more than before, the proud and faithful family of ChristÕs Church, founded under the name and given into the protection of the Holy Martyrs of Korea.

You bring many gifts today, for the glory of God, and to show Him the love of this community.

You bring before God your reverence, and the tears you still shed, for the courageous faith of those martyrs whose spirit fills this community - the more than eight thousand men and women and children who died between 1839 and 1867, and whom you revere to this day - not as distant figures of the past, but as your great-great grandfathers and grandmothers - members of your own family, still missed, still mourned.

Before God today, what a precious gift you bring, to remember and be so near these holy martyrs, these dear ones whom God chose to water the Faith of Korea with their own blood, and in whose memory, you choose to name and dedicate this church - the work of your hands, but also, the work of their undying faith

You bring before God, the faithful ministry of His priests, the priests who have worked among you so long, who have lead you and comforted you, according to the words of Jesus Christ, and who now, as before, pledge to you, as Christ did, the total gift of their lives, in service and support.

You bring before God, the selfless ministry of the Religious women, the sisters, who have come into your midst, and who never look elsewhere to find a meaning for their lives, for they want nothing but to love you and serve you for the sake of Jesus Christ.

You bring before God, the generosity of your hearts and pockets, the work you have contributed to the funding and the building of this church, the money you will faithfully give to its upkeep and running, and the talents with which you will fill its space - the sound of your voices, your music, and the arts and crafts of your minds and your hands.

And you bring with you, as I attest, the good will of your Catholic brothers and sisters throughout the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

All of these things, and so many more, you bring now before God. And since God loves the gifts of His children, we now bless and consecrate every part of this building where we will present our gifts to Him. Its doors and walls, its windows and floors, the very light that enters, the very air of its interior Ð all these we bless, we wash with the holy water of our Faith, we anoint with the oil of royalty and consecration - and on the clouds of fragrant incense we burn, we offer it all to God, as it rises to Him on the wings of our prayer. For we want everything in and about our church, our place of worship, our place to bring our gifts - we want everything to be acceptable to Him, a sign of our love, and our humility before His greatness.

For before Him we kneel and confess, that we cannot begin to understand how generous He has been. We are like the Jews, led back to Jerusalem after their terrible exile, who stood before the newly raised walls, who gazed on the rebuilt Temple, who listened again to the word of God, and who wept - who wept because it was so good, so great, and so generous of God the Father to do all this for them.

For us, He has done even more. He has given us His Son, Jesus Christ Ð given us our Lord's life and death Ð His words and His actions. By them we are made alive, we are made holy and wise, and we are saved from sin and eternal death. Of all the things we bless and ask God to make holy today, the most important is this Ð the altar, where priests, acting in the person of Christ, will bring into being, time after time, His Body and Blood. For these are the food of our souls Ð these are the meal of our salvation Ð these are the only way, for us to find happiness, peace, and the thing which is desired above all things, eternal life. And upon this altar, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ will be made, for our sake Ð even as He said: ÒThis is my bodyÉthis is my bloodÉTakeÉeat and drink and do this in memory of me.Ó

Dear friends, may this Feast we keep today, the feast of our Lord's Ascension in to Heaven, be evermore a reminder to your community, of what God has done for you, of what He has brought to completion on this first day of June, 2003. Let it be a day to remember all those who worked so hard, especially those who worked to establish the first mission of the Korean Martyrs. Some of them are still with us Ð and some have gone on to their heavenly home. Let it be a day to remember the hard work, the great challenges, and the wonderful victories of all who strove to build the mission into a permanent and dependable home for the Korean Catholics of Atlanta. And let it be a day of anniversary, to remember the dedication of this church, and the day you entered first, its welcoming doors, and the portals of salvation.

But also, dear friends, let it be forevermore a day of beginning as well Ð the beginning of all the great things that now remain to be done by you Ð great things for yourselves and for your children - great things for the Church, and great things for the glory of God. For from God all good things come, and to Him all good things must be offered, for as long as we live. And even if we give everything we have, it will never make up for what He has given us Ð the Lord Jesus Christ and our Holy Catholic Faith.

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