Caption Bishop Kevin Doran (Elphin diocese archive)
“Can we at least put priesthood back on the menu in our families and in our parishes, as a valid and worthwhile life-choice, alongside all the other ways in which people are called by God”.
For some years now, we seem to have been living in a time of massive upheaval such as the world has never seen before. It is probably not as dramatic as all that, but it is happening in our lifetime, and it is appearing on all our devices in a way that never happened in the past. In the eighth century BC, when Isaiah was a prophet in Jerusalem, the whole region was in turmoil. Israel was occupied by Foreign armies and the people had been sent into captivity in Babylon. The passage that we have in our first reading this evening looks forward to the end of the exile and carries the hope that comes with a new beginning.
As you probably noticed, if you were listening carefully to the Gospel, these words of Isaiah are the words that Jesus read to the people in the Synagogue, in his home-town of Nazareth. Isaiah and Jesus, each in his own way, is aware of having been entrusted with a mission? That is the meaning of being anointed. Like Isaiah, Jesus proclaims that, in spite of all the negativity going around, the Spirit of God is at work in the world. God is about to do something new; something beyond all expectation.
He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken, to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison; to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord.
In the case of Isaiah, it is not just about the end of a physical exile; it is about a healing of relationship with God, a spiritual liberation and a cultural renewal. In the case of Jesus, it is all of that, but much more: an end to the power of sin and death; the gift of new and everlasting life.
This evening, once again, the words of Isaiah are spoken in this community and, as we celebrate the ancient ritual of the blessing of oil, we are reminded that here, now, in this time and place, we are the ones to whom the Spirit has been given, we are the ones who are anointed.
Like Isaiah and like Jesus, we are called to bear witness to the fact that, in spite of all the chaos in the world around us, the Spirit is at work. In the Synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus said “today these words are being fulfilled, even as you listen”. That is just as true in our time as it was then, because the Spirit is at work in us.
The oil which we bless this evening is the oil that will be used in the celebration of the Sacraments all over the Diocese in the months ahead. Like so many of the things we use in the Sacraments (the water, the bread and the wine) the oil is a simple natural ingredient. It is one of the fruits of the earth that God has given us, and now it will become for us a source of strength and healing and a symbol of mission. This is what the Incarnation means: – that by his sharing in our created nature, Jesus, the Son of God, has made it possible for the whole of creation to be a visible sign of God. Joseph Mary Plunkett captures that very well: “I see his blood upon the rose, and in the stars the glory of his eyes”.
People sometimes speak of Sacraments as if they were just blessings that we receive at a particular time. They are so much more than that. Every Sacrament is a ritual in which we are called, and through which we are empowered to become the person God wants us to be. The oils which we bless this evening will be used in four of the seven Sacraments.
Anointing with the Oil of Catechumens is part of the ritual of preparation for Baptism. In adult candidates it happens, sometimes more than once, in the time of preparation. In the Baptism of infants its significance as a separate ritual is not as obvious, because it happens immediately before the Baptism itself. We use oil on machinery and on anything with moving parts to protect it while it works. In much the same way, the oil of catechumens, is a visible outward sign of the spiritual protection which God gives to those preparing for Baptism, so that at this crucial time and in the future, they will be protected and strengthened against the attraction of evil, and helped to choose what is good.
In the Bible, anointing with Chrism was the means by which people were entrusted with mission, beginning with Aaron and his sons who were anointed as priests by Moses before the Hebrews entered the promised land. Chrism is used as an effective sign of mission in the Sacrament of Baptism. As the person is anointed, the minister says: “As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.” In the time ahead the oil of Chrism will be used again as hundreds of young people are Confirmed across the Diocese, receiving the spiritual gifts to empower them for mission. Our challenge will be to support them in discerning and living that mission in our parish communities and in society in the years ahead.
The Sacred Chrism is also used to anoint priests and bishops for their mission. We will not have the opportunity to use it for that purpose in our Diocese during the coming year, but can we perhaps let our blessing of it this evening be a challenge to all of us. Can we at least put priesthood back on the menu in our families and in our parishes, as a valid and worthwhile life-choice, alongside all the other ways in which people are called by God.
The Oil of the Sick will be used in family homes, hospitals and nursing homes, as well as on the roadsides and in shopping centres and farmyards across the Diocese. We think of it primarily as a visible sign of the healing presence of Christ, an expression of the tenderness which is so important in a time of suffering. Strange as it may seem, however, this Sacrament is also a sacrament of mission. Those who suffer serious illness and trauma share in a rather unique way in the cross of Christ. Their suffering is joined to his, and their courage and patience “on the cross” of suffering, can be a powerful witness to their faith in Him. This comes across very strongly in the life of Carlo Acutis, the teenage saint, who will be canonised at the end of next week. On a number of occasions, he very consciously joined his suffering with the suffering of Christ.
Psalm 133 describes the unity of family and friends as being like precious oil on the head. The only time I had oil poured on my head was when I was Ordained bishop and, as it happens, the people of the Diocese, together with my family and friends were gathered around me. I am reminded of that this evening, because the blessing of the Holy Oils is one of those things that the Bishop does for the people of the whole Diocese. I think this is a way of saying that the Sacramental ministry in the Diocese is intimately connected to the mission of the Bishop to be a sign and means of unity, both within the Diocese and with the universal Church. Each one of you through your prayer and your presence is part of that unity of mission to which we are all called.
I want to finish with a few words to the priests as we prepare to renew the promises of our Ordination. From time to time, you will hear people say, on a Sunday: “I’m sorry to disturb you Father, on your busy day”. The Sunday Mass – you might say – is our shop window. Everything else we do and are as priests flows from the Eucharist. I am aware, however, that much of what you priests do in the service of God’s people is done discretely and remains unseen. You will never know the ways in which the Holy Spirit works through you, to touch the lives of the people who are entrusted to your care.
You support parents in sharing faith with their children. You are particularly close to the sick and the elderly. You are called, often on the same day, to accompany a young couple who are preparing to celebrate their love and to walk with those who have lost a spouse, a parent or a child. In that context it is appropriate for us to pause and to remember in prayer, Father Dominick Gillooly and Father Donal Morris who died during the past year, and Deacon Martin Reidy who shared with us in the ordained ministry. May they rest in peace.
I understand, of course, that, in recent years, you have been challenged with the need to implement new administrative procedures. It is not an easy time to be a priest, but it is a great time to be a good priest.
In a few moments, you will be invited to renew the promises of your ordination. These promises call for a generous gift of self. You are asked to be people of communion, exercising a ministry of leadership in your parishes. But nowhere are you asked to do everything all by yourself. To be a leader in a Christian community as in any other organisation is to inspire others to take responsibility and to support them in doing so. Our communion will be authentic when each person is being helped to develop and to use the gifts he or she has received from nature and through grace. In God’s Church, either we all grow together, or nobody grows at all. I take this opportunity to thank you all for your encouragement and partnership in mission during the past year and I look forward to working alongside you in the years to come.
ENDS
- Bishop Kevin Doran is Bishop of Achonry and Elphin. This homily was delivered at Chrism Mass, at Saint Anne’s Church, Sligo
