Anointing and mission
CHARLOTTE — Nearly 100 priests gathered with Bishop Peter Jugis for the annual Chrism Mass March 27 at St. Patrick Cathedral, renewing their priestly promises to the Church and assisting in the blessing of sacramental oils.
The holy oils blessed during the Chrism Mass are used in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and anointing of the sick, as well as for ordination of priests and consecration of churches.
Looking out over the sea of vestments during the Mass, Bishop Jugis addressed the clergy in his homily by recalling the fundamentals of their priestly ministry: anointing and mission.
“The Chrism Mass gives us a unique opportunity to take a look at our calling as priests,” he said. “We have been anointed by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit at our ordination. There is a mission, therefore, that is imposed upon us because of our anointing. The mission is none other than Christ’s mission itself. We look to Christ for our meaning and purpose.”
Bishop Jugis then paraphrased from the day’s Gospel reading from Luke 4:16-21: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me, to proclaim the Good News by healing the broken-hearted, proclaiming liberty to captives, release to prisoners and by comforting all who mourn.”
“Those words stand as a guiding light for our ministry,” he told the priests. “His words help to bring everything into focus for us, because His mission is our priestly mission. This merits our attention, especially at the Chrism Mass.”
“What is our mission? We look to Jesus Christ and His mission,” he reiterated.
“The blessing of the oils and the consecration of the chrism will also look to this mission that we are anointed to perform, to heal the wounds of human hearts. And how many human hearts are wounded? In fact, we can say every human heart on the face of the earth,” he said.
They have the ability “to proclaim liberation in the face of so many afflictions and so many evils that hold people prisoner, to console and to comfort all those who are in need of the Lord’s strength,” he said, “because Jesus gave us the means to accomplish this, through the Lord’s sacraments, through the Word of God, the Gospel which we proclaim and live, and by shepherding them with Christ’s love.”
“Our mission is given to us because of Christ and our anointing in Him,” he continued. “The image of Christ and the Redeemer shines forth in His ordained priests.”
Bishop Jugis expounded about the joy that comes from serving the people of God.
“What a joy it is to serve your parishioners, young and old and bring them Christ’s love,” he said. “What a joy it is to serve the sick. What a joy to serve those near death and bring them the comfort of Christ. What a joy to serve the poor and needy. What a joy to be a servant of the Eucharist and a servant of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and bring to your parishioners the Bread of Life. What a joy it is to serve your parishioners and shepherd them to Eternal life. What a joy to be a servant of Christ and a servant of the blessed Triune God.”
He then told the priests that he was inspired by the depth of the love the priests have for their parishioners which he witnesses first-hand when he visits their parishes for sacramental celebrations and anniversaries.
“It is always evident to me that the Lord has placed His faithful servants in charge of His household,” he told them.
“This Chrism Mass and the entire Easter Triduum are graced times to come close to the Lord and to be with Him. He calls you to come near Him. After all, it was during these days that the Lord instituted the priesthood that we have received as a gift in the Upper Room on Holy Thursday.
“As He was preparing to lay down His life, He brought the priesthood into existence. Out of His self-giving comes life for the Church for all times.
“So it is to that source – the Upper Room with Christ at the Last Supper – that we must go always to confirm our priestly identity, to confirm our priestly vocation and our mission as priests, to draw our priestly life from Christ the High Priest Himself as He is laying down His life in love for our salvation,” Bishop Jugis said.
Concelebrating the Chrism Mass were Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey; Monsignor Mauricio West, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese; Father John Putnam, judicial vicar of the diocese; and 95 additional diocesan and religious order priests who gathered around the altar for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
All the priests also stood during the blessing of the sacred chrism with their hands outstretched, joining with Bishop Jugis in prayer as he performed the blessing rite.
Father Wilbur Thomas, pastor of St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville, was also in attendance. He just celebrated his 45th anniversary of ordination the day before the Chrism Mass. He will retire this summer.
“In renewing our vows, it became even more important for me after 45 years of doing it. It’s just a refresher to renew those vows, to say yes, to continue to say yes,”
Father Thomas said. “I feel that I am who I am, a priest of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am very happy to be in this ministry.”
He added, “It’s always good to be with other priests. It’s always good to be among them.”
Father Carmen Malacari, pastor of Holy Spirit Church in Denver, also attended the Mass. He celebrates his 25th jubilee this October.
What stood out to him during the Chrism Mass was “the renewal of our priesthood – what this is all about, what we are called to do in our ministry,” Father Malacari said, and “the bishop asking the people of God to pray for us in our ministry.”
“As Bishop said in his homily, the blessing of the oils is always a reminder of the joy and privilege of priestly ministry – instructing catechumens, being with the sick, and bringing people into the Church,” noted Father David McCanless, who was recently assigned as a parochial vicar at the cathedral. “As priests, we are collaborators with the bishop in his ministry, and the Chrism Mass is one of the principal expressions of this. It’s a reminder that although there are many priests and parishes in the diocese, we are all unified in professing the same faith.”
In the closing remarks of his homily, Bishop Jugis reminded the priests that in this Mass, “We renew our promises to be faithful to all that Christ has bestowed upon us, our priestly anointing, our priestly identity, our priestly vocation and our priestly mission – deeply rooted in the anointing and the mission of Christ Himself.”
After Mass, deacons divided the blessed oils into smaller oil stocks that will be distributed to all 92 parishes and missions across the diocese for use in sacramental celebrations throughout the upcoming year.
– SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
