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Chrism Mass Homily My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: With great joy, I welcome you here tonight to Our Lady’s Cathedral. I am so happy that you have come to celebrate this Chrism Mass with me and with the priests of our Archdiocese. Your presence here and your participation in this Eucharistic celebration is a testimony of faith. It is a great blessing for all of us. A few moments ago, through the proclamation of the Gospel, we heard a specific account of Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth. On that occasion He opened the scroll of the Scriptures and read from the passage of Isaiah the prophet. That passage from Isaiah was well known to His listeners. They heard it read before. They may have read it themselves. They were certainly familiar with this passage which reflects the jubilee-year amnesty for the oppressed. But at the end of the reading from Isaiah, Jesus adds something that really captures their attention. He said: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” Wow! What you just heard is now no longer something simply to be hoped for. Now it is reality. Now the oppressed, those weighed down with sin, are forgiven and healed and saved. Jesus not only talks about good news, He is the Good News! He redeems us. He is Lord. He is Savior. Tonight we gather here to bless and consecrate the oils that will be used throughout the Archdiocese in the coming year. These blessed oils, the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of Catechumens and the Sacred Chrism, will be used principally in the administration of the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Anointing of the sick and the Ordination of priests. They will be used by me, by visiting bishops assisting with Confirmation and by our priests. In these four sacraments, as well as in the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist, the priests and bishops are ministers of Jesus. They act in His Name and His authority. Humbly but gratefully then, we acknowledge the result of ordination to the priesthood. The men, called by God to be priests, who respond to God and are then called by the Church, are ordained by the bishop through the imposition of hands. As ordained priests, they truly act in the Person of Jesus. Therefore, the sacramental acts performed by validly ordained priests accomplish the work of Jesus so that rightly we can say: “Today the Scripture passages are fulfilled in your hearing.” Dear brothers and sisters, how grateful we should be to God Who has called these priests here to be His witnesses, His representatives, His ministers. How thankful we should be to them for responding to God’s call and committing themselves to the service of the Church. Let us always remember our priests in prayer, that Almighty God will bless them and help them to remain faithful and true all the days of their lives. Priesthood is a beautiful vocation but it is not always easy. To be a good priest requires sacrifice and effort and commitment. Above all, it requires the Grace of God. For this reason, I ask you to pray for your priests and to collaborate with them in the mission and work of the Church. Then, too, I ask you to nurture and promote vocations to the priesthood in your family circles and in your parishes. There are young men who are being called by God to be priests. They need your support, your encouragement and your prayers. Pray that they have the courage and the strength to respond to God’s call. In just a few moments, large containers of fresh olive oil will be brought here to the sanctuary. I will bless each of these and designate their use for the anointing of the sick or the anointing of the catechumens or as Sacred Chrism. Following the Mass, your priests or authorized representatives will take some of each of the Blessed Oils to your parish. There they will be enshrined and used for sacred purposes for the next year. However, prior to the blessing of the Holy Oils, I invite our priests to make a public renewal of their commitment to priestly service. Most
Reverend Eusebius J. Beltran |