Bishop Kevin Farrell

The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas

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Mass of the Chrism

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Mass of the Chrism

Chances are that you’ve noticed three jars on a shelf in the front of your church. They contain the Holy Oils used in administering the sacraments. The oils include the oil of the sick, used in the anointing of the sick; the oil of catechumens, which is for those preparing to be baptized, and the chrism oil, which is consecrated and used for baptism, confirmation, and holy orders. All are pure olive oil with a bit of balsam and balm added by the bishop to the Sacred Chrism as it is consecrated. They are among the external signs of the internal working of God’s grace in the sacraments.

At the conclusion of the celebration, each priest is given his parish’s oil supply for the following year. The new oils will appear in those jars in the front of your church until they are needed for sacramental celebrations.

Blessing of the oils is not the only important event that occurs during the Chrism Mass. The priests, together with the bishop, renew their priestly promises. They commit themselves to be faithful stewards of the mysteries (sacraments) of God and in following Christ the head and shepherd. The Chrism Mass, concelebrated by the bishop and all the priests of the diocese, symbolizes their unity with the bishop in fulfilling their priestly promises.

The Gospel, most appropriate for this Year of Mercy, is taken from Luke and emphasizes the priestly call to merciful discipleship as Jesus echoes Isaiah 61 in announcing his own anointing as redeemer.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. (Luke 4:16-21)

Traditionally the Holy Oils are consecrated and blessed on the morning of Holy Thursday. But, for a number of reasons, the Church permits the Chrism Mass to be scheduled at another time near Easter. In the Diocese of Dallas, this will occur Tuesday evening of Holy Week at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe. It is a public celebration and all are welcome to this beautiful and significant liturgy.

Holy Week is Mercy Week

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Holy Week is Mercy Week

Mercy is the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us, (Miseicordiae Vultus 2 ) and therefore is the appropriate appellation for the events surrounding the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus.

Mercy has two dimensions, Shakespeare’s double blessings, the giving and the receiving. The Incarnation, Jesus “the face of the Father’s mercy,” (MV 1) is the gift of the Father’s love, which is unconditional and is directed toward the needs of another or others. The incarnation responded to our call for deliverance, for restoration for reconciliation, “To you O Lord I call,” (Ps 28:1)

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion is the initiatory episode of Mercy Week. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, enters Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey, the symbol of peace, as opposed to the horse, the symbol of war. He arrives amid the hosannas of the crowd but against the background of the high priests conspiring against him. Mercy incarnate, our substitutiary, who bore our sins, is in place. (Is 53:4-5)”… his words, his actions, and his entire person reveals the mercy of God.” (MV 1)

Later the conspiracy will be “sealed with a kiss,” but not before Jesus’ gives himself in the Eucharist, the New Covenant of Mercy. He perpetuates it to make us co-participants in His sacrament and service. He then surrenders himself to the Father and his betrayer and his accomplices.

Following blasphemous interrogations and a spurious judgment, God’s gift of mercy is rejected by the powers of darkness who cannot overcome it. It cannot be destroyed and awaits the moment when the darkness will be shattered by the Resurrection.

“We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy. It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace. Our salvation depends on it” (MV 2)

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord

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Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord

When we think of Good Friday the image that immediately comes to mind is the cross, which is the most common Christian symbol. There was a time when Catholics in America were called “cross backs.” We begin our prayers with the Sign of the Cross, which not only professes Jesus crucified but the Holy Trinity.

In the Roman Missal, Good Friday is called Friday of the Passion of the Lord, and the liturgy, like all the Triduum liturgies, recalls the events that culminated in the Resurrection. Good Friday is the only day of the year when no Mass is celebrated and the only other sacraments that may be celebrated are Penance of the Sacrament of the Sick.

St. Ambrose referred to Good Friday as a “Day of Bitterness.” The desolation felt by Christians on this day is represented by the barren altar and open tabernacle – the altar having been stripped after the conclusion of the Holy Thursday. There is no cross, there are no candles and no altar cloths, and no music or bells may be used.

The Liturgy of the Word consists of Isaiah’s account of the Suffering Servant, who “was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins.”It is followed by Psalm 31, a penitential psalm with the antiphon from Psalm 23, which Christ spoke from the cross, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” The second reading is the passage on Christ the High Priest from Hebrews, Chapter 4, “Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God.” John’s Passion narrative is preceded by a short verse from the Letter to Philemon, emphasizing that were saved by Jesus’ obedience, “Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Following a number of intersessions, the cross is unveiled in procession and public adoration begins after the priest and the ministers have reverenced the cross. When the adoration has been completed, the priest chants the ancient reproaches of God speaking to us for our commissions and omissions.

Although there is no Eucharistic liturgy, the Eucharist that has been reserved on Holy Thursday is distributed at the Good Friday liturgy, which used to be called the Mass of the Pre-sanctified. Distribution of Holy Communion is preceded by the Lord’s Prayer.

The liturgy concludes in silence as the priest and ministers leave and we are left to reflect prayerfully on Jesus in the tomb.

Image Credit: Parish Church of St. Barbara (Ramersbach), stained glass windows depicting the Man of Sorrows, Wikimedia Commons

What is the Chrism Mass?

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What is the Chrism Mass?

During Holy Week, an important liturgical celebration occurs that only takes place in the cathedral, but touches many lives in every parish in the diocese. It is, of course, the Chrism Mass at which the Holy Oils to be used in every parish are consecrated, blessed and distributed.

It is also the occasion at which the priests of the diocese concelebrate Mass with the bishops to manifest the unity of the presbyterate (the priests) with the episcopate (the bishops). During the celebration all of us renew our priestly vows.

The Chrism Mass is an important and unique example of Church with priests and people gathered for a significant event in the life of the local diocese. The renewal of priestly vows and the blessing and dissemination of the Holy Oils are necessary and life-affirming actions in carrying out the day-to-day ministry in every one of our churches.

There are three Holy Oils used in anointing for various occasions. The Sacred Chrism is used in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, holy orders and in the dedication of a church. Sacred Chrism is consecrated (as opposed to the other oils which are blessed) and only a bishop may do so. It is olive oil mixed with balsam. During the consecration the bishop breathes on the oil symbolizing the consecration by the Holy Spirit.

In addition to the Sacred Chrism the bishops blesses the Oil of the Sick and the Oil of the Catechumens. Both oils are olive oil, but, unlike the Sacred Chrism, there is nothing added. In the early Church the Oil of the Catechumens was referred to as the Oil of Exorcism. In the baptism of an infant, the child is anointed on the breast and the priest anoints the child in the name of Christ asking that he will strengthen the child against the power of Satan.

For adults, the anointing with the Oil of Catechumens, which may occur before baptism, is to grant the individual the strength to persevere in their journey and to overcome bonds of the past and the opposition of Satan.

Anointing of the sick is found in James 5:14, “If anyone among you is sick, he should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint [him] with oil in the name of the Lord.” The Oil of the Sick is used in the anointing of those seriously ill or in danger of death in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick (formerly known as Extreme Unction).

After the Chrism Mass, priests return to their parishes with the Holy Oils to be used during the next year at all of those occasions that are so very important in the life of the Catholic Church and her people.

The Sacred Triduum

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Last Supper

Lent ends with start of the Sacred Triduum. Each is a separate liturgical time. The Triduum or Three Days begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening and celebrates the greatest mystery of our redemption, the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord. The Three Days of the Triduum are celebrated as a single event.

In the words of St. Ambrose, “We must observe no only the day of the Passion but the day of the Resurrection as well. Thus we will have a day of bitterness and a day of joy; on the one let us fast, on the other let us seek refreshment….During this Sacred Triduum….[Christ] suffered, rested and rose from the dead.” (Epis. 23, 12-13)

At the Last Supper, Jesus extended the Paschal Mystery, his unique sacrifice for our salvation, to each of us through the Eucharist. The Eucharist recalls the Paschal Mystery not simply as a reminder of things past but makes it truly present. Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist is his greatest gift to the Church. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; … He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and …  abides in me, and I in him.” (John 6:51, 54, 56)

On Holy Thursday, at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, we celebrate and commemorate that wonderful gift and the priesthood through which it is perpetuated. The antiphon for the Holy Thursday liturgy reminds us:  “Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.”

Friday confronts us with the mystery of the Cross which is more than a memorial of Christ’s death but involves each of us directly in His sacrifice. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that, “The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the “one mediator between God and men.”  But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, “the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the Paschal Mystery” is offered to all men. He calls his disciples to “take up [their] cross and follow [him]”, for “Christ also suffered for [us], leaving [us] an example so that [we] should follow in his steps.” (618)

Saturday Jesus rested in the tomb awaiting the moment of his victory over death.

 

Image: “The Last Supper” by Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834-1890), courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord

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As our journey of remembrance brings us to the day of the Crucifixion, we might ask ourselves what can be good about Good Friday? There are many theories but we do not really know the origin. It is unique to English with other cultures referring to it as Suffering Friday, Long Friday or Holy Friday.

Whatever name you choose, the liturgy reminds us that it was the time when Jesus’ human nature was most demonstrated. It is the day He drank the cup He prayed would pass, it is the day He took upon Himself our sins. It is the day he experienced the ultimate human experience…death.

In the liturgy, which is not really a Mass because there is no consecration, we begin with Isaiah’s prophecy of the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52-53) where we are reminded that “it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured”…and that, “upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.”

We are then reminded in Hebrews (4:14ff) that we may seek forgiveness with confidence because “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.”

Then we hear of John’s Passion which begins after the Last Supper when Jesus suffers His agony at Gethsemane and betrayal by Judas, the kangaroo court at the home of Caiaphas and His interrogation and scourging by Pilate and finally His handing over by Pilate for crucifixion. John alone tells us that Mary is given to the care of the Beloved Disciple by Jesus, before surrendering His Spirit. Finally he is buriedl by Joseph of Arimathea in his personal tomb.

Following a series of intercessions, the crucifix which has been veiled is gradually uncovered with the Antiphon, “Behold the wood of the cross upon which hung the salvation of the world.” This is followed by adoration of the cross by the people.

After a series of reproaches in which God challenges His people about their multiple rejections of his outreaches to them, the priest retrieves the Eucharist consecrated on Holy Thursday for distribution.

When Communion is over, a short prayer is said and a final blessing given. Then without ceremony, and in silence, the priest and ministers leave the altar. Only the cross, a bare altar and an empty tabernacle remain to remind us of Jesus in the tomb.

No ceremonies of any sort are permitted until the Resurrection is celebrated.

And so, our journey of remembrance pauses in silent reflection on the incomprehensible love that in Paul’s words “though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped,” but rather “humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:6,8)

Mass of the Lord’s Supper

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On Holy Thursday our journey of remembrance takes us to the Upper Room in Jerusalem where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his Apostles. First we are reminded of the occasion that brought them to the holy city.

A reading from Chapter 12 of the Book of Exodus retells the story of the first Passover, when in the tenth plague all of the Egyptian’s firstborn were smitten by the Angel of Death, but the homes of the Hebrews whose door posts were marked with the blood of a slain lamb, were passed over. Jesus and thousands of other Jews were gathered in Jerusalem for the annual solemn celebration of that event. The Last Supper was probably a Passover Supper.

Sometimes Holy Thursday is called Maundy Thursday derived from the Latin word “mandatum” or command, referring to the two commands given by Jesus at the supper. [Read more…]