In my diocese the annual celebration of the Mass of Chrism usually takes place on the Tuesday before Holy Week. The Cathedral is filled with representatives of every parish and mission in the diocese. When the time comes for the oils to be blessed, someone from the appropriate ministry in each parish presents the oil to the bishop. It is always moving to see this great corps of ministers who prepare people for baptism and confirmation and who minister to the sick.
So I was struck by the words of one bishop from another part of the country who expressed his “thanks to all who filled the Basilica as a great sign of support for our priests, and who came to witness the blessing of the oils.” The oils are primary not secondary as the name of the Mass indicates. And in our diocese, the priests renew the promises of their ordination, but our Mass celebrates the diocesan church with its diversity of gifts and its multiplicity of ministry.
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