From Archbishop Prendergast's Chrism Mass

In his homily last night he said:

Since the bishop is the only minister in the diocese who may consecrate chrism, this Mass highlights his ministry and the union of all the faith communities with him. Though he cannot baptize and confirm all the candidates for these sacraments in all the parishes of the diocese, there is a sense in which the Apostle of the local church becomes symbolically present in the chrism which the priests and deacons use.

More recently, this Mass of Chrism recognizes the ministry of priests, particularly important in this Year of the Priest. At Mass in a few moments, I will invite the members of the presbyterate of Ottawa and the religious who collaborate with us to renew their commitment of service and to receive the prayers and support of the people.

On the Feast of the Sacred Heart last year, Pope Benedict held out to us the holy Curé of Ars, St. Jean Marie Vianney, as a model of holiness. As recent events have made clear, many have fallen short of the ideals we learned in our formation by harming, even abusing, children and youth. For this and the malfeasance in handling such crimes and sins by bishops, our heads these days all hang in shame. We are all collectively, bishops, priests and people, being called to repentance. And hereafter to ensure the safety of all, particularly the most vulnerable who come to us to be ministered to in Christ’s name.

My only comfort (and I hope it is your own) in these difficult days, when the Holy Father, the bishops and the church in general are held in opprobrium is to recall and meditate upon the truths we have heard in the Scriptures this evening.

The words recorded by the seer of Patmos remind us that Jesus died for our sins out of love for us and to make us a church of holiness, a royal, priestly people, something we cannot achieve on our own.

Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth ... loves us and washed us from our sins by his blood.

Though we are tainted by the residue of sin, we also encounter the reconciling love of God made manifest in the sacramental life of our church.

We pray that our priests may continue to do all they can to help people experience the gift of a garland instead of heads hung in shame.

We long to know the joy that the people of Nazareth felt on the day when Jesus proclaimed the fulfillment among them of the prophecy of Isaiah, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news 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, to proclaim the Lord's year of favour.

May every priest know how to communicate the Lord's joy to those who come not only to be set free of their burdens but to discern how the Lord is calling the zealous and faithful Catholics of our Church of Ottawa to grow in the holiness proper to each one’s state of life.

Please pray for the priests serving the Church of Ottawa, in gratitude for the favours of the Lord that come to us through their ministry. May they personally know the divine favour in their lives.

Beautiful, eh? Let us pray for this.

He writes about the meaning of the Chrism mass at his wonderful blog.