If the blessed sacrament chapel is not inaugurated, then the bishop leads a Prayer after Communion (83). Following, there is the threefold blessing. The official text:
The Lord of earth and heaven
has assembled you before him this day
to dedicate this house of prayer.
May he fill you with the blessings of heaven.God the Father wills that all his children
scattered through the world
become one family in his Son.
May he make you his temple,
the dwelling place of his Holy Spirit.May God free you from every bond of sin,
dwell within you and give you joy.
May you live with him for ever
in the company of all his saints.
The 2003 ICEL draft:
May God, the Lord of heaven and earth,
who today has brought you together
to dedicate this house,
enrich you with his heavenly blessings.May God,
who wills all his scattered children to be brought together in his Son,
grant you to become his temple
and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.Since you have been wonderfully cleansed of sin,
may you be ready to have God dwelling in your midst,
and to possess with all the Saints
the inheritance of eternal bliss.
And in number 85, the deacon dismisses people “as usual.”
This rite is the cornerstone of the RDCA, and with it, we’re about halfway through our posts. We’ll continue tomorrow with the dedication of a church already in use. But for now, any final comments on dedicating a new church?
