As the church entered Holy Week, clergy and laity gathered at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland for the annual chrism Mass April 11, during which the oils for the sacraments were consecrated and blessed and where priests renewed their ordination promises.
The solemn ritual for the oils – the Oil of the Sick and the Oil of Catechumens, which are blessed, and the Holy Chrism that is consecrated – is a staple of Holy Week, uniting the church because parishes, schools and chaplaincies use oils throughout the year that have all been blessed during the cathedral liturgy.
The congregation in attendance was nearly triple that of last Holy Week, when COVID-19 infection numbers were much higher, and much more than September 2020, when that year’s postponed chrism Mass was celebrated.
About 800 people attended the Mass, including more than 100 priests, 60 deacons, 30 seminarians, three auxiliary bishops and Archbishop William E. Lori, who blessed the oils and consecrated the chrism.
Among those returning to the event were Melissa and John Boyle and their children Sebastian, 11, and Mia, 8. Although they have been bringing the children to the chrism Mass since they were very young, they did not attend the last two years due to the pandemic.
Melissa, coordinator of family formation at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Parish in Pasadena, said it is important to accompany candidates who will be confirmed at the Easter Vigil Mass Saturday. Candidates are those who have been baptized but have not received one or more of the sacraments of initiation (first reconciliation, first Communion or confirmation). Her parish does not have any catechumens this year, those who have not been baptized.
Young Mia said the family attended the Mass because “we like to appreciate God.”
John said the chrism Mass gives the family “a view of the larger church outside our parish. I like to see when they bless the oils and the priests renew their promises,” he said.
After the archbishop’s homily, as the choir led the congregation in singing “O Redeemer, hear your people as they join in song to you,” four deacons brought forward vessels with each oil and the balsam that would be added to the chrism.
The archbishop first prayed over and blessed the Oil of the Sick, and then the Oil of Catechumens. Putting on his miter, he then added the balsam to the vessel containing the chrism and stirred it. Then, after removing his miter, he blew over the vessel in the shape of a cross, calling on the breath of the Holy Spirit to sanctify the chrism.
He then extended his hands over the vessel, as the priests in the congregation extended their hands at the same time. He invoked the prayer of consecration over the chrism, which will be used for the ordination of deacons, priests and bishops, as well as for the sacraments of baptism and confirmation.
In his homily at the Mass, Archbishop Lori told an old joke about Jesus returning to Earth and making a visit to a chancery office. As the word makes its way to the bishop that the Lord is making his rounds, greeting employees and inspecting their work, an aide asks what they should do. The bishop responds, “Look busy,” the archbishop said, drawing a laugh from those gathered.
“If the Lord suddenly returned, wouldn’t we want him to find us busy – to find us engaged in his mission of preaching the Gospel, giving comfort to the sorrowing, and freedom to those held captive by sin and injustice?” the archbishop asked.
“I think we’d also agree that, generally, being busy is better than having time on our hands. But all too often, we find ourselves burdened by our busyness, burdened by the daily routine and the tasks we are expected to complete.”
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Archbishop Lori added, “Much as we love the Lord and the church, much as we love our vocations, we do sometimes reach a point where we push back against infinite demands on our finite energy.”
In a sense, he said, the chrism Mass also pushes back. “The blessing of the holy oils reminds us that when they are used to baptize us, or confirm us, or ordain us as priests, or anoint us when we are ill, the Holy Spirit consecrates us, makes us sharers in the life and mission of Jesus Christ,” he said.
“The blessing of the holy oils teaches us – you and me – that we dare not go it alone, lest busyness, burnout and even serious illness overtake us. Rather, through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we are incorporated into Christ and into his Body, the church. The Spirit enables, strengthens and encourages us to offer ourselves to others, together with Christ,” Archbishop Lori said.
He thanked the laity for living out their vocations in whatever way the Lord has called them and “for being missionary disciples – that is, bearing witness to Christ in your daily life, for your service to the poor, for the ministries you lead and serve in in your parishes, and for the often-unseen sacrifices of love you make each day.”
He also expressed gratitude to those in consecrated life for their witness to Christ in their lives of poverty, chastity and obedience.
“To all of you, the Scriptures, the blessing of oils, and the Eucharist itself say: ‘Be rooted and grounded in love!’” he said, quoting from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
Archbishop Lori said this plays out in the lives of priests and bishops – especially on the night they renew the promises of their ordination.
“Amid the busyness of our lives, we often feel stretched beyond our strength. As we feel stretched in this way, it’s important that, in daily prayer, we allow Christ to take us by the hand and to lead us into the inner unity and love of the Trinity – and thus into the inner dynamism of unity and love at the heart of the church,” he said. “This is where you and I continually rediscover the inexhaustible source of self-giving love, unleashed into the world by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“I thank you, dear brother priests, for your selfless daily labors, your unseen sacrifices for people you serve, most especially in these very challenging times,” he said.
“And if the Lord should return, may he find all of us, not only busy, but happily engaged!”
In words of thanks at the end of Mass, the archbishop thanked all those who helped make the special celebration possible, including those from Camp GLOW (God Loves Our World) with intellectual and physical disabilities who brought the gifts to the altar for the offertory. They were accompanied by Deacon Bill Fleming, special consultant for ministry to people with disabilities for the archdiocese.
In addition to a greater number of attendees at the Mass, another tradition that returned this year was the post-chrism-Mass “tailgate party” sponsored by the youth ministry of Christ the King Parish in Glen Burnie. The tailgate started many years ago to encourage teens who were about to be confirmed to be a part of the larger church – and to help thin out the crowd leaving the cathedral parking lot all at one time after the Mass.
As it evolved, the parish invited seminarians and others to join the party until it became a tradition. Father T. Austin Murphy Jr., pastor of Christ the King and St. Bernadette in Severn, joked that the tailgate was one of the reasons he wanted the assignment to the Anne Arundel County parishes. He arrived at the parishes in July 2019, so this was the first chrism Mass since his arrival that the parish could hold the event.
As several dozen people gathered after the Mass to chat while munching on croissant sandwiches, chips, cookies, candy and soft drinks, Amanda Nowland, one of the members of the youth ministry core team, said it was ironic that this year, her parish’s confirmandi could not attend, because they were on retreat last week and spring break this week.
Randy and Laura Purkey of Our Lady of the Fields Parish in Millersville attended their first chrism Mass with their children, including their sons who will be confirmed later this month. Laura is currently in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program.
“Father Matt (Himes, associate pastor) told me to come to the chrism Mass because it would be neat to see the oils being blessed,” Laura said of the sacramentals that will be used to administer the sacraments she will receive at the Easter Vigil and for her sons’ confirmation.
Randy said the Mass was interesting because he didn’t realize there were so many priests in the archdiocese – “a sea of them. I liked the Latin and the pomp and circumstance,” he said of the more formal parts of the Mass. “You don’t always see that all the time.”
Father Murphy said Christ the King plans to bring back the post-Mass tailgate for the ordination of nine men to the diaconate in May, because the group includes one member of the parish, Ron Howard, and another, Luke Koski, who served at the parish for his pastoral year.
“People are getting excited about this,” he said.
Email Christopher Gunty at editor@CatholicReview.org
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