CHRISM MASS
Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Cubao, Quezon City
April 5, 2007 7:00 am

"The Spirit of the lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the broken hearted; to proclaim liberty to yhe captives and release to the prisoners." Isaiah 61:1

Last March 19. I ordained three new priests for the Diocese of Cubao in the morning: Frs. Guido Dumlao, Choi Garcia, and Jojo Monis and in the afternoon, Fr. Joseph Pham Cong Dung for the underground Church in Vietnam. The words I used when anointing their hands are still clear to me as if it happened only yesterday: "The Lord Jesus Christ, whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, guard you and preserve you that you may sanctify the Christian people and offer sacrifice to God" (Rites of Ordination, 122). These words become particularly or me today as we celebrate this Mass in which we shall consecrate CHRISM for the sacramental use of our local Church this year. The praenotanda to the ordination rites explains that the "anointing of the hands symbolizes the priests' distinctive participation into Christ's priesthood" (Rites of Ordination, 113).

The CHRISM which we use in ordination and which we consecrate today, takes its significance from Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One (Christos in Greek). In the Old Testament, the anointing of priests and kings was a sign of the descent of the Spirit of God upon men who were chosen for a special task among the people of God. Although He was never anointed with oil, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and the river Jordan, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descended on Him. Thus, He is the Christ of God in whom the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore He has anointed me" (Isa 61:1; Lk 4:21).

In his Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict, says that "the ministerial priesthood, through ordination, calls for a complete configuration to Christ" (Sac. Car.,24) for "in the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ Himself who is present of His Church as Head of His body, Shepherd of His flock, High Priest of the redemptive sacrifice" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1548; Sac. Car., 23). The anointing of the priest's hands shows this configuration to Christ. We have always understood this priestly anointing as a anointing to celebrate the Eucharist. Like the priests of the OLD Testament who were anointed to offer sacrifices in the temple, so the priest of the New Testament is anointed in order to offer the sacrifice of Jesus to the Father. "This intrinsic relationship between the Eucharist and the sacrament of Holy Orders clearly emerges from Jesus' own words in the Upper Room: "Do this in memory of me' (Lk 22:19). On the night before He died, Jesus instituted the Eucharist and at the same time established the priesthood of the New Covenant. He is priest, victim, and altar: the mediator between God the Father and His people (cf. Heb 5:5-10), the victim of atonement (cf. 1 Jn 2:2,4-10) who offers Himself on the altar of the Cross. No one can say 'this is my body' and 'this is my blood' except in the name and in the person of Christ, the one high priest of the new and eternal covenant (cf. Heb 8-9)" (Sac. Car., 23).

However, is the priest anointed only for liturgical service? If the ministerial priesthood calls for a complete configuration to Christ, then we should consider the prophecy of Isaiah which said that Jesus was anointed "to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord." These words bring to mind the fact that social concerns are very much part of priestly concerns. The priest who offers daily the Eucharistic Sacrifice, cannot help but realize that the "sacramental mysticism" of the Eucharist is "social in character" (Deus Caritas Est, 14). "In the memorial of His sacrifice, the Lord strengthens our fraternal communion and urges those in conflict to hasten their reconciliation by opening themselves to dialogue and a commitment to justice. The restoration of justice, reconciliation and forgiveness are the conditions for building true peace. The recognition of this fact leads to a determination to transform unjust structures and to restore respect for the dignity of all men and women, created in God's image and likeness. Through the concrete fulfillment of this responsibility, the Eucharist becomes in life what it signifies in its celebration" (Sac. Car., 89).

"The Sacrifice of Christ is a mystery of liberation that constantly and insistently challenges us... Precisely because of the mystery we celebrate, we must denounce situations contrary to human dignity, since Christ shed His blood for all, and at the same time affirm the inestimable value of each human person" (Sac. Car., 89).

However, we cannot limit our social involvement to denunciations. Configuration to Christ also means participating in His sacrifice. Later, I shall ask you my dear brother priests. "Are you resolved to unite yourselves more closely to Christ and to try to become more like Him by joyfully sacrificing your own pleasure and ambition? WATCH these words very closely: "joyfully sacrificing your own pleasure ambition." When a great multitude came to listen to Jesus, His disciples were concerned about feeding them. Jesus said to them, "You yourselves give them something to eat." (Lk 9:13) These words challenge us priests to engage in acts of charity from our own generosity. We preach to others about Pondo ng Pinoy, Stewardship, Balik-alay, Love-Offering, etc. but do we ourselves set aside daily from our own pockets twenty five centavo coins and a portion of what we have received? Is charity our lifestyle? Do we give to the poor from our own personal sacrifice? has the Eucharist, the sacrament of charity which we offer everyday, inspired us to imitate the first Christians whose concern to share their goods (cf. Acts 4:32) and to help the poor (cf. Rom 15:26) came from their fidelity to the breaking of bread? Having been anointed for the offering of the sacrament of charity, we must be ourselves distinguished as men of charity. We must be the first to live the social doctrines of the Church which we promote.

My dear brother priests, on this day when the Lord instituted both the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Orders, He bequeathed to us a new commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you." Let us keep in mind that our priestly anointing is for worship and for charity. The Eucharist, "the food of truth", "gives us renewed strenth and courage to work tirelessly in the service of the civilization of love" (Sac. Car., 90). On the day we were ordained as priests, the Bishop, as he placed in our hands bread and wine, said to each of us: "Receive the oblation of the holy people, to be offered to God. Understand what you do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord's cross" (Rites of Ordination, 135). Let us understand what we do, imitate what we celebrate and conform our lives to Christ, who on the cross loved us until the very end. Amen.