Drawing Down Heavenly Dew

The eighth anniversary of Holy Spirit Chapel of Perpetual Adoration finds its full meaning in these words of the Prophet Isaiah. Yes - for eight years, in this special sacred place, the Heavenly Dew of Grace has come down in Christ our Saviour.

In Chapter 45, Isaiah foretells the coming of the Messiah who will bring dew to the parched land - a parched humanity. This prophecy is used during Advent as we prepare for the Birth of Christ which never ceases in us. In Advent we cry out: “Drop down dew, you heavens from above. Let the clouds rain down the Just One. Let the earth open and bud forth a Saviour”.

Our Holy Spirit Chapel is one of the ways in which Christ is present for us, with us and in us. Communion with our Lord is our life now and forever - not alone but with all his members. Jesus invites everyone: “Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you. Your souls will find rest” (Mt 11, 28-30)! His invitation has drawn countless people for two millennia. He remains with us until the end of the world. This oneness with our Saviour and his members is the basic theme and goal of the New Testament. Remember Peter, overcome with joy in the presence of the transfigured Christ exclaimed: “Lord, it is good for us to be here”. Jesus speaks of this communion at the Last Supper, in Chapters 14-17 of John. He is the vine and we are the branches. The branches are to abide in the vine and thus bear fruit. In that image of the vine, and branches, Jesus speaks of ‘abiding’ eight times.

Before his Passion and Death, Jesus spends the night in prayer with Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemane. To the sleeping apostles, he says: “Could you not stay awake with me for even an hour?” After Good Friday, two disillusioned disciples left Jerusalem for the village of Emmaus. On the way, a stranger joined them. They told of all that happened to Jesus and listened to the stranger open their minds to the full truth about Jesus. Nearing Emmaus, they pressed the stranger to join them at an Inn. “Stay with us. It is nearly evening, the day is practically over”. They finally recognized Jesus at the Breaking of the Bread. After Jesus had vanished from their sight, they said to each other: “Were not our hearts burning as he spoke to us and explained the Scriptures to us”. Yes - what happened then happens now in us. What Jesus taught and did then continues now for us. His words stand: “I will be with you always”.

Pope John Paul II gave us the Encyclical ‘Church of the Eucharist’ on Holy Thursday, 2003. These brief excerpts say it all: “The most holy, Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth: Christ our passover and our living bread”. “The Eucharist stands at the center of the Church’s life”. “The Church draws her life from the Eucharist”. “The Eucharist, as Christ’s saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession which the Church can have on her journey through history”.

With great joy and thanksgiving, I remember the Groundbreaking for the Chapel on April 22, 1998. The confident hopes of all have been fulfilled. It truly is ‘a powerhouse of spiritual joy; a powerhouse of divine grace’. The official Decree of establishment was issued on April 22, 1999. It establishes this Chapel of Perpetual Adoration and the Catholic Lay Association of the Holy Spirit Oratory as a Public Association of the Faithful.

I thank all of you for this ‘heavenly dew’.

†Carl F. Mengeling
Bishop of Lansing