Chrism Mass: 14.04.25
Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow
Introduction:
The Chrism Mass is the evening of the Oils, the blessing of oil of Catechumen and the oil of the Sick, and the consecration of the oil of Chrism. The Chrism Mass is the evening when Priestly Promises are renewed and priests, working collaboratively with their lay brothers and sisters, are encouraged, supported and affirmed in their ministry.
From wherever you’ve travelled from this evening to our Cathedral, know that you are very welcome. We gather as a family of parishes that on this Chrism Evening takes on a very special diocesan identity.
The word ‘identity’ is key. It reminds us where we have travelled from, our church, our parish, our townland, our people. It equally suggests we are also part of something bigger, a diocese, a wider church, a kingdom not of this world.
A kingdom where the poor receive good news, where those in captivity are freed, where the blind can see and the downtrodden have a load lifted from their shoulders. It is indeed a Jubilee Year of Hope, “a year of favour”[1] …
… and so as we gather in this Holy of Weeks, on this sacred night let us acknowledge our sins, and so, prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries …
Homily:
“The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me”[2], Jesus reminds us in St. Luke’s gospel just read. In quoting directly from the prophet Isaiah Jesus clearly shows how important that prophet is to him.
We are marking the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. A beginning that is born out of prayer, prayer in the desert for forty days and forty nights. Today is technically and appropriately the 41st day of Lent, and we like Jesus are encouraged to find what the spirit might be whispering to us, this Chrism night.
For a moment lets return to the gospel of the First Sunday of Lent, Luke’s account of the temptations in the desert[3], the verses that in fact precede tonight’s Chrism gospel. Jesus was tempted only when he was “filled with the Holy Spirit”[4].
Since February 13th last I have been celebrating the sacrament of confirmation in many parishes. Wonderful encounters that allow me to glimpse the divine, the sacred in what I’m about. Of course we lament that the same young people and their parents may not return to worship the following Sunday or indeed see the inside of a church again until the Requiem of a gran or grandad, but the Holy Spirit is still working.
Chrism reminds us its God’s work, not ours. We priests in our brokenness, in our frailty are the ministers of the sacraments, but the Lord works through us. And he works through those who minister alongside us, our deacons, our parish teams, our religious, our lay sisters and brothers.
In this Jubilee Year of Hope it’s so encouraging that 31 women and men are currently discerning formation to become Lay Pastoral Ministers among us; 5 married men are in the final stages of formation towards the Permanent Diaconate and one young man is on the Propaedeutic Programme for Seminary formation in Salamanca while others are making enquiries around a vocation.
What is the role of the priest in the future? How is our ministry going to change to take account of a changed reality? The last number of years has seen us as a diocese walk a journey we have called “Put Out into the Deep Water”[5]. Indeed those words from Luke closely follow tonight’s gospel verses.
The map on our Chrism booklet is a map of our diocese with its 56 parishes and 11 pastoral groupings. I realise for many this is very much a new way of being Church, and still needs further unpacking and teasing out at meetings in those areas over the next while.
In all our deliberations the individual identity of parish is paramount. Those who plan tonight’s liturgy know my fondness for the procession of Parish Banners. Identity is critical as I said in my opening words and alongside identity comes culture.
From the Romero Prayer we pray: “We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something and to do it well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest”[6].
Before the instruction of Jesus to launch into the deep, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. We can be process-driven towards results, rather than lingering to allow the Holy Spirit to speak and indeed to guide our conversation that helps shape our culture. In the desert Jesus wasn’t interested in short term gains, instead he pointed towards God’s word and the depth of His word. In Luke’s text this Chrism night, we find Jesus among His own, filled with the Holy Spirit and captivating them by His every word.
I’m very conscious this night, of priests who are unwell or facing a challenging diagnosis, be assured you are in all our prayers. As always I congratulate those celebrating significant jubilees of ordination this year and look forward to having a celebration with them later this summer. I thank all my brother priests and deacons for their great ministry and thank all of you who collaborate with them.
Every one of the priestly vocations here began in a family. Many of you were here in the Cathedral on the Vigil of the Feast of the Holy Family when I announced the first designated pilgrimage site in the diocese for the Jubilee Year – and that site was the family home. The family is essential for handing on faith. That is why we were led this evening by the World Meeting of Families Processional Cross in our opening procession.
And families live in parishes – communities of faith where families can discover what it means to have and live faith with others and to feel part of a parish and diocesan family of faith. This Lent many parishes have lit a candle of hope as a reminder of the theme of our Jubilee Year. These candles have been brought to this celebration of the diocesan family of parishes and I will now bless them. May their light give hope to all …
Lord Jesus,
You are the Light of the world:
we praise You,
and ask You to guide our steps each day.
May we always turn to You, trust in You and serve You faithfully.
Bless + these candles.
In this jubilee year,
may their light remind us that You are our hope,
a hope that does not disappoint.
Lord Jesus,
we praise You and give You glory,
for You are Lord for ever and ever.
Amen.
I now at one with the priests, renew my priestly promises. May we all be renewed in hope in this Jubilee Year, in this “year of favour”[7] …
[1] Lk.4:19
[2] Lk.4:18
[3] Lk.4:1-13
[4] Lk.4:1
[5] Lk.5:4
[6] Prayer associated with St. Oscar Romero
[7] Lk.4:19
