For Mass (Knights): In full regalia, the Knights of Columbus led the procession for the Year of Faith Closing Mass Nov. 24. (Catholic Herald photo by Anita Draper)
Anita Draper
Catholic Herald Staff
SUPERIOR — Bishop Peter Christensen was the principal celebrant at a Mass, Sunday, Nov. 24, at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Superior, marking the close of the Year of Faith.
“We are citizens of another kingdom,” he told the faithful who gathered to commemorate the occasion on the cathedral’s patronal feast.
Pope Benedict XVI declared that the Year of Faith would be a period of evangelization and faith renewal. The diocesan equivalent, the Pilgrimage of Faith, concluded in reflective tones.
“It was a jump start to really think about our faith,” Bishop Christensen said during his homily. “I know, personally speaking, my faith has grown.”
Bishop Christensen celebrated Mass twice Sunday, both of them titular feasts. He had just returned from presenting a weekend retreat at Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo, Minn.
At the Year of Faith closing Mass, he recalled losing his driver’s license at an out-of-state business meeting and the panic of feeling “alien in my own house.”
The bishop said he left the matter in God’s hands and thought about his citizenship in another, greater dominion. His identity — the driver’s license — turned up in a shoe, but not before the lesson was learned.
“You and I are on a journey to the kingdom of heaven,” the bishop said. “We don’t live for this life alone. In some ways, the Lord is my passport.”
The kingship of Christ also inspired a program of exultant choral music from the Superior Diocesan Chorale, led by director Kathy Turba.
Bob Arnold, Turtle Lake, sings bass in the choir. He felt the Mass was beautiful.
“I think we did well today,” he said of their performance.
Superior resident Mary Davis-Heikkila volunteered to serve during the Mass.
“I loved it,” she said afterward.
Following Mass, clergy and laity were invited downstairs for fellowship and refreshments in Kress Hall.
