Bishop Joseph's Homily for the Mass of Chrism April 2009
http://www.rcdai.org.uk/articles/161/1/Bishop-Joseph039s-Homily-for-the-Mass-of-Chrism-April-2009/Page1.html
By Website Editor
Published on 15/11/2009
The opening prayer of tonight’s Mass invoked the mystery and presence of the Holy Trinity – “Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you anointed your only Son Messiah and Lord of creation.”
Mass of Chrism April 2009
The opening prayer of tonight’s Mass invoked the mystery and presence of the Holy Trinity:
“Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you anointed your only Son Messiah and Lord of creation.”
The whole of the our lives of faith and the every action and aspect of the Church are imbued with the mystery of the Trinity, often described as a communion of three persons indwelling in each other in a fellowship of life and love.
The outpouring of God’s love for us is portrayed in this particular prayer as the gift of the Father, made possible by the power of the Spirit, in the person and presence among us of the Son, the Messiah and Lord of creation. Our sharing in the Son, and through him the life of the Trinity, is described as follows:
“you have given us a share in his consecration to priestly service in your Church”.
“Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you anointed your only Son Messiah and Lord of creation.”
The whole of the our lives of faith and the every action and aspect of the Church are imbued with the mystery of the Trinity, often described as a communion of three persons indwelling in each other in a fellowship of life and love.
The outpouring of God’s love for us is portrayed in this particular prayer as the gift of the Father, made possible by the power of the Spirit, in the person and presence among us of the Son, the Messiah and Lord of creation. Our sharing in the Son, and through him the life of the Trinity, is described as follows:
“you have given us a share in his consecration to priestly service in your Church”.
Our Baptismal Vocation
This
calling to priestly service in Christ Jesus is a gift to each of us
through our baptism and confirmation, at which we are anointed first of
all before baptism with the oil of catechumens and immediately after
baptism and again at our confirmation with the Holy Chrism – the
anointing with Chrism is a blessing, strengthening us in the person of
Christ, preparing us to go forth and be his witnesses in the world,
exactly as the final words of the prayer suggests,
“Help us to be faithful witnesses in the world to the salvation Christ won for all mankind.”
The prophet Isaiah spoke of the blessing of the Lord’s anointing and the fruits it would produce in the ‘priests of the Lord’ and ‘the ministers of our God’:
“He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken, to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison, comfort to all those who mourn.”
Jesus himself in the gospel proclaims that these words were being fulfilled in his person, and we believe in each one of us through our baptismal sharing in his priesthood. Through the waters of baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the anointing with Chrism, each of us shares in the person of Christ and the mysteries of his life, death and resurrection come alive in our lives and with him we offer the whole of our lives to God, thus sharing in his priestly offering to the Father, who in turn bestows his promised blessings upon us.
These sentiments are expressed this evening as the bishop and priests invoke the Father’s blessing on the chrism:
“Make this chrism a sign of life and salvation
for those who are to be born again in the waters of baptism.
Wash away the evil they have inherited from sinful Adam
and when they are anointed with this holy oil
make them temples of your glory, radiant with the goodness of life,
that has its source in you.”
“Help us to be faithful witnesses in the world to the salvation Christ won for all mankind.”
The prophet Isaiah spoke of the blessing of the Lord’s anointing and the fruits it would produce in the ‘priests of the Lord’ and ‘the ministers of our God’:
“He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken, to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison, comfort to all those who mourn.”
Jesus himself in the gospel proclaims that these words were being fulfilled in his person, and we believe in each one of us through our baptismal sharing in his priesthood. Through the waters of baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the anointing with Chrism, each of us shares in the person of Christ and the mysteries of his life, death and resurrection come alive in our lives and with him we offer the whole of our lives to God, thus sharing in his priestly offering to the Father, who in turn bestows his promised blessings upon us.
These sentiments are expressed this evening as the bishop and priests invoke the Father’s blessing on the chrism:
“Make this chrism a sign of life and salvation
for those who are to be born again in the waters of baptism.
Wash away the evil they have inherited from sinful Adam
and when they are anointed with this holy oil
make them temples of your glory, radiant with the goodness of life,
that has its source in you.”
The Vocation of Ordained Priesthood
Those
of us who have been ordained as priests, and me as bishop, have
received further anointings with this holy chrism – as priest on our
hands and as bishop on the crown of my head. Thus by virtue of the
sacrament of holy orders we have been conformed or configured to Christ
the High Priest in a new and special way, and are called to teach,
sanctify and shepherd the family of the baptised, from which we have
been called to share in the special dignity of the apostolic ministry
conferred firstly upon the apostles by Jesus at the Last Supper, and
passed on to us through the centuries by the laying on of hands and the
prayer of ordination or consecration.
It is our privilege this evening to acknowledge again the great blessing bestowed upon us at our ordination, and to renew our dedication to Christ as priests of his new covenant, resolving to unite ourselves more closely to Christ by growing in his likeness and in our love for Him and his Body the Church, and asking for the grace to continue to serve him and his people as faithful ministers of God’s mysteries in celebrating the Eucharist and other sacraments, imitating him the Shepherd and Head of the flock as teachers and preachers, and ministering to the people we are sent to serve with his love and care.
In renewing our own promises we ask for your prayers, not only this evening but every day, that we may remain faithful to our calling and, that despite our weaknesses and failings, and perhaps through them, we may show something of the loving and saving presence of Christ among us, the mercy of our heavenly Father, and the love and fellowship gifted to us by the Holy Spirit.
It is our privilege this evening to acknowledge again the great blessing bestowed upon us at our ordination, and to renew our dedication to Christ as priests of his new covenant, resolving to unite ourselves more closely to Christ by growing in his likeness and in our love for Him and his Body the Church, and asking for the grace to continue to serve him and his people as faithful ministers of God’s mysteries in celebrating the Eucharist and other sacraments, imitating him the Shepherd and Head of the flock as teachers and preachers, and ministering to the people we are sent to serve with his love and care.
In renewing our own promises we ask for your prayers, not only this evening but every day, that we may remain faithful to our calling and, that despite our weaknesses and failings, and perhaps through them, we may show something of the loving and saving presence of Christ among us, the mercy of our heavenly Father, and the love and fellowship gifted to us by the Holy Spirit.
Our Bond of Unity in the Spirit
The
gift of the Holy Spirit, acknowledged by Jesus in his own life –“The
Spirit of the Lord has been given to me”, and promised by him as his
parting gift to the Church unites as one in the Lord and we all through
our share of Christ’s priesthood work together to build up the Body of
Christ. Some words from Lumen Gentium express this unity among us:
“And if by the will of Christ some are made teachers, dispensers of God’s mysteries, and shepherds on behalf of others, yet all share a true equality with regard to the dignity and to the activity common to all the faithful for the building up of the Body of Christ. For the distinction which the Lord made between sacred ministers and the rest of the people of God entails a unity, since pastors and the other faithful are bound to each other by a common bond. The Church’s pastors, following the example of the Lord, should minister to one another and to the rest of the faithful. The faithful in their turn should cooperate gladly with their pastors and teachers.”(Lumen Gentium 10).
The sharing of the common bond and the cooperation of working together for the Lord is a reflection of the presence and life of the Holy Trinity. I began by speaking of the indwelling of the three persons of the Holy Trinity within each other, and the relationship of the common priesthood of all the faithful and the ministerial priesthood of the ordained is a similar indwelling which is founded in the Trinity and reflects in Christ’s Body the Church the communion of life and love which is the Holy Trinity.
This communion of God’s presence among us is seen in the common witness given to faith by all the faithful, founded on and taught by the apostles and their successors (the bishops with their priests), in the holiness of the lives of the faithful, blessed by the gifts of Christ’s sacraments, especially the Eucharist made present and offered to us through his priests, in the responsibility we all have to live our faith in service of the Church in the world, inspired and encouraged by the example of love and self-giving of those called specially to be models of Christ the Good Shepherd and Samaritan.
As we pray for one another this evening and especially for those of us renewing our commitment to priestly service we ask the Lord to keep us united and to strengthen the bonds that hold us together as one, and may the blessings we have received through our baptism and confirmation, and for us here in the sanctuary through ordination, bear fruit in our Christian living and the love and service we offer to others in our own little communions of life and love, founded in the indwelling of the Holy Trinity and the one priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the Kings of earth.
“And if by the will of Christ some are made teachers, dispensers of God’s mysteries, and shepherds on behalf of others, yet all share a true equality with regard to the dignity and to the activity common to all the faithful for the building up of the Body of Christ. For the distinction which the Lord made between sacred ministers and the rest of the people of God entails a unity, since pastors and the other faithful are bound to each other by a common bond. The Church’s pastors, following the example of the Lord, should minister to one another and to the rest of the faithful. The faithful in their turn should cooperate gladly with their pastors and teachers.”(Lumen Gentium 10).
The sharing of the common bond and the cooperation of working together for the Lord is a reflection of the presence and life of the Holy Trinity. I began by speaking of the indwelling of the three persons of the Holy Trinity within each other, and the relationship of the common priesthood of all the faithful and the ministerial priesthood of the ordained is a similar indwelling which is founded in the Trinity and reflects in Christ’s Body the Church the communion of life and love which is the Holy Trinity.
This communion of God’s presence among us is seen in the common witness given to faith by all the faithful, founded on and taught by the apostles and their successors (the bishops with their priests), in the holiness of the lives of the faithful, blessed by the gifts of Christ’s sacraments, especially the Eucharist made present and offered to us through his priests, in the responsibility we all have to live our faith in service of the Church in the world, inspired and encouraged by the example of love and self-giving of those called specially to be models of Christ the Good Shepherd and Samaritan.
As we pray for one another this evening and especially for those of us renewing our commitment to priestly service we ask the Lord to keep us united and to strengthen the bonds that hold us together as one, and may the blessings we have received through our baptism and confirmation, and for us here in the sanctuary through ordination, bear fruit in our Christian living and the love and service we offer to others in our own little communions of life and love, founded in the indwelling of the Holy Trinity and the one priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the Kings of earth.