From Archbishop Donoghue

25th Anniversary Mass

St. Ann's Catholic Church, Marietta

September 21, 2003

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Dear Friends in Christ,

Telescopes are amazing instruments. By simply mounting two glass lenses within a large tube, in a certain way, objects at a great distance can be brought close enough to reveal details that the human eye cannot make out on its own. A scientist, of course, will point out the laws of refraction, the laws of how light actually works, and the maker of the telescope will speak of the precise angling of the lenses, and go on about the powers of reflection. But to the ordinary human being, what a telescope can allow us to see, still seems almost like magic. And when, for instance, we use a telescope to look at the moon, and see for the first time the intricate landscape which comprises the surface of the moon, most of us are amazed - moved, to see for the first time something so beautiful, revealed to our eyes - eyes that before, only saw a large white globe in the evening sky.

Anniversaries are like a telescope - a telescope mounted on a stand. We turn it in one direction, and we bring into focus the past - the past which is forever receding, passing from our view, passing from our memories. We swing the anniversary telescope in the other direction, and we see the vision of our hopes, the vision of what we want to happen in the future, from this day forward - a future in every way, based upon our past, upon what we have built, what we have done.

And so it is today at St. Ann 's Catholic Church. We are gathered in the holy presence of our God and Savior, and by His power of presiding as King over all time and space, we lift the telescope of our heritage before the eyes of our souls, and we see and remember the past, even as our hearts surge towards the future, towards the work we have yet to do.

We remember, for example, that it is but 27 short years ago, that Archbishop Donnellan sent his workers out into this field of Cobb County to find a place for the church to be and to grow. They came back, and told him about seven acres of fine land at the corner of Bishop Lake and Roswell Roads, and the Archbishop said, "Fine…let's buy it, and give it to those brave Catholic pioneers out there in Cobb County , and see what they can do." Today, we can sweep our telescope over twenty-five years of labor for the Lord, and for the Lord's people, and see what they - see what you have done. Many of you - most of you, will remember in detail what has been done, from the first ground turned, and the first stone laid, all the way through the various episodes of structural addition, up to the present day.

And you will remember, not only the structures, holy as they are - but something even holier - the people who have moved through this spiritual landscape, from year to year: the priests, servants of God and His Church, servants of our Lady of La Salette, who from day one, have devoted their love and their energy to the spiritual care and growth of all the parishioners at St. Ann's, in service which cannot be surpassed, service which stands as one of the greatest gifts ever given to the Archdiocese of Atlanta; and each of you will remember your own families and friends - you will remember births and deaths, homecomings and leave-takings, baptisms and marriages, and all the events, happy and sad, all the activities and gatherings that surround these events of our lives - events that, in one way or another, we want to connect to God, to Jesus Christ, to make them holy, to make them eternal, to make them a lasting, permanent part of that immense landscape that we view, as we look back on the 25 years of St. Ann's through the telescopic lens of our mind's eye.

And we want to hope - we want to turn the vision of our mind's eye, and the dreams of our heart's desires to the future - to the future of our parish, and the future of our children, and how the two may be inter-related - how we may pass on to those who come afterwards, the Faith we have been given in our own past. What is past is done, and though we may pray for forgiveness for how we have sinned against the love of God in the past, our prayers for the future are for what has not yet happened - our prayers are to implore that God will favor His people, His children, His Church, and this nation which we call our home. This anniversary would be just a sentimental exercise without those prayers for the future, which are on everyone's mind, and which we consciously make a part of our offering today.

But now, we need to wrap up this past and future telescope gazing, and bring the feelings we have summoned, before God, before His Son and Holy Spirit, and before the Ever Virgin Mary, whose hand is on every petition, upon every wish that we place before our Lord and Maker.

When God picked a sign, to reassure Noah, and the human race of His future benevolence, it was one of the most beautiful phenomena to appear in the context of natural creation - the rainbow, which stretches in a graceful arc, from horizon to horizon, and which reveals for all to see, the splendid spectrum of life's colors. It was a sign that the past was done, that the destruction was over, and that the new time had begun. The rainbow still functions as a reminder of this covenant that God made with Noah, and with all mankind, and we should never let those moments when we are privileged to see a rainbow go by, without wondering at the beauty of nature, and the loving generosity of the Father Creator, who has given us this universe in which to pass our lives.

But there is a greater bow in the heavens, a greater arc which stretches out from horizon to horizon, embracing all the earth, and revealing in itself the wondrous spectrum of God's love - and that arc, that bow in the heavens, is formed by the outstretched arms of our Lord Jesus Christ, as He greets us with the salvation He is winning through His suffering and death. And from His mouth come words that are the turning moment in the destiny of man - words that declare the future of His work, of how His life is to be made manifest, for all to see and know and feel, until the end of time. He joins the perfect obedience of His mother, to the perfect service of His disciple, saying to Mary: "Woman, behold thy son." And to John, "Behold thy mother." In this declaration, a new covenant is made, a new future is begun, the first stirrings of the life we know as Church.

Who knows what went through our Lady's mind at that moment - perhaps even thoughts of how her own mother, St. Ann, the patron of this parish, had cared for the young girl Mary, raising her to know the truths of her faith and heritage, and the virtues of her womanhood. And who can know, either, what thoughts came upon St. John, as he remembered our Lord's teaching, and understood that now, that teaching must flow upon the earth, like the blood from the Savior's veins, now pouring out His life, so that our souls might live.

Dear friends, the Church, the Catholic Church, this Church, St. Ann's Catholic Church, is the repository of all that we have considered today, on this 25 th anniversary of her establishment. It is a gigantic picture, that captures at once, a universal reality - the Church in the world - and at the same time, the most detailed realities of what each and every person here feels in his or her heart. It is God and man. It is the past and the future. And because of what Jesus Christ has done, it is everlasting sacrifice and eternal love.

Therefore, in union with our Lord's own sacrifice and love, let us solemnly promise on this anniversary of our spiritual home, to embrace the two arms of our Lord, who reaches to us from the Cross - let us promise to sacrifice what is needed, in order to love what He has given us: each other, and all mankind. And putting the telescope of this day's remembrance aside, let us walk confidently into the future. For,

…whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.

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