Renewed in Eucharistic Prayer through the Chrism

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 6/2/05)

The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde at the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington on March 24.

My brother priests and deacons, women and men living the consecrated life, seminarians and other members of the lay faithful — disciples all in Christ Jesus!

This Chrism Mass takes on a unique meaning and significance because it is being celebrated within the Year of the Eucharist. As you know, our Holy Father opened this special year of grace last October. In his encyclical letter "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," Pope John Paul II affirms a basic truth: "The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily experience of faith, but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the Church (No. 1).

My prayer for all of us who form this diocesan Church of Arlington is that we shall treasure ever more deeply and fully this inestimable gift given to us by Jesus: His Real Presence in the Eucharist. I pray that each of us will recognize His Real Presence with even greater gratitude and awareness as we participate in the Eucharistic Sacrifice and adore the Lord truly present in the Blessed Sacrament within the tabernacles of our churches. Pope John Paul II points this out in his Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine: "There is a particular need to cultivate a lively awareness of Christ’s real presence, both in the celebration of Mass and in the worship of the Eucharist outside Mass" (No. 18).

I pray that this Chrism Mass will provide all of us with the incentive to be renewed in authentic Eucharistic prayer. During this Mass, the oils of catechumens and of the sick will be blessed and the sacred chrism will be consecrated. These oils are closely linked with the celebration of the Eucharist and our participation in it.

The Oil of Catechumens is used to prepare the catechumens for their baptism. The newly baptized will experience "the joy of new birth in the family of [the] Church" (cf. Blessing of the Oil of Catechumens) and later "share in the banquet of Christ’s sacrifice in holy Communion, calling God their Father in the midst of the Church" (cf. Ritual for Infant Baptism), whose very life is the Eucharist.

The Oil of the Sick is used to bring comfort and support to the sick in their infirmity. As I bless this oil, I shall pray that all who are anointed with oil "may be freed from pain and illness and made well again in body, mind and soul" (cf. Blessing of the Oil of the Sick). Thus strengthened, they can continue their participation and witness as members of the Church whose very life is the Eucharist.

Sacred Chrism, soon to be consecrated, is used to anoint the newly baptized, to seal the candidates for confirmation and to anoint the hands of priests and the heads of bishops at their ordination, as well as in the rites of anointing which pertain to the dedication of churches and altars. It is clear how closely linked is chrism to the Eucharist, especially since priests, who offer the Holy Mass, have their hands anointed with this chrism, bishops, who oversee the Church and ordain priests, have their heads anointed with this chrism, and altars on which the Eucharistic Sacrifice is offered are also anointed with this chrism.

Our taking part in this Chrism Mass invites us to deepen our awareness, reverence and love for the Eucharistic Sacrifice renewed on our altars and for the Eucharistic Presence enduring in our midst. Yes, during this Chrism Mass, "may all of you, the Christian faithful, rediscover the gift of the Eucharist as light and strength for your daily lives in the world, in the exercise of your respective professions amid so many different situations…." ("Mane Nobiscum Domine," No. 30).

Dear brother priests, I make my own the opening sentence of our Holy Father’s Holy Thursday letter addressed to us this year. "In this Year of the Eucharist, I particularly welcome our annual spiritual encounter for Holy Thursday, the day when Christ’s love was manifested ‘to the end’

(cf. Jn 13:1), the day of the Eucharist, the day of our priesthood" (No. 1). In this letter, our Holy Father invites us to reflect on the words of Eucharistic Consecration, seeing in them "illuminating insights for priestly spirituality" and a "formula for life" (cf. Ibid.). I know that we will profit so very much from our continued reflection on this year’s letter to us. The framework of my reflection with you this morning is, obviously, the Eucharist. As Pope John Paul II reminds us, "if the whole Church draws life from the Eucharist, all the more then must the life of the priest be ‘shaped’ by the Eucharist" (Ibid.).

What we celebrate in sacred ritual we must also live out in daily priestly ministry. What do we celebrate in sacred ritual? The Dying and Rising of Jesus Christ made present each time we act in persona Christ as we celebrate the Eucharistic Sacrifice. There is no need for our people to wish that they had been present then — the Last Supper, at the Cross, at the Tomb. They are present here and now —each time we offer the Holy Mass in their midst. There is no need for our people to seek out Christ doing some miracle. He is here in their presence, transforming ordinary elements of bread and wine into His very Self. Oh, what a marvelous and life-giving reality is made present as Christ acts through us!

My brothers, how aware are we of the tremendous privilege and awesome responsibility given us in our ordination to the priesthood? It is truly "gift and mystery!"

How grateful are we for being chosen, through no merits of our own, to be made sharers in Christ’s ministerial priesthood? In this year’s letter to us, the Pope reminds us of the gratitude which should be ours. "[The priest] knows that he must cultivate a constant sense of gratitude for the many gifts he has received in the course of his life: in particular, for the gift of faith, which it is his task to proclaim, and for the gift of the priesthood, which consecrates him totally to the service of the Kingdom of God" (Ibid., N. 2).

Here in the Eucharist is the source of hope, strength and life — for us and for our people. Every human being longs for true intimacy with another person. For us priests, who are committed to lifelong chastity and celibacy, the intimacy we seek is found in Jesus. In the celebration of the Eucharist and in the reception of His very Self in Holy Communion, we are truly made one with Him. Yes, challenges, struggles, trials, suffering — these are and will be real experiences as we live out our priesthood, along with unspeakable joy, inner peace and a sense of fulfillment. Through all of this curious mixture we call human life, there is One — the Only One — who can heal our wounds and transform our hearts. His name is Jesus and we embrace and are embraced by Him in the Eucharistic Sacrifice and in our prayer of adoration before Him in the tabernacle.

This Jesus, whom we encounter within the Mass in His Dying and Rising, also remains in our midst, like the Pillar of Fire present to the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land. We must make time to be with Him each day. Permit me to echo in our midst what, for me, is one of the most beautiful and endearing sentences in our Holy Father’s Apostolic Letter "Mane Nobiscum Domine." "The presence of Jesus in the tabernacle must be a kind of magnetic pole attracting an ever greater number of souls enamored of him, ready to wait patiently to hear his voice and, as it were, to sense the beating of his heart" (No. 18). Dear brothers, surely we must be among the number of these souls! How can we live if we are not!

What we celebrate in sacred ritual we must live out in daily priestly ministry. The words we speak in the Eucharistic consecration show us how we must live out our daily priestly ministry. "This is my body … given for you … . This is my blood … shed for you." Yes, our priestly ministry must be a daily "being broken and poured out" for the welfare of the people whom the Lord has given to our pastoral care. Again, our Holy Father puts this so beautifully in this year’s letter to us, himself being a model for us, especially in these days. "If he is able to offer himself as a gift, placing himself at the disposal of the community and at the service of anyone in need, his life takes on its true meaning" (No. 3).

Surely, we remember our first fervor as newly-ordained priests. We desired to be like a candle burning out in pastoral love for God’s people. That idealism, now tempered by reality, must not be lost. Where do we burn out in loving service? Where do we experience being broken and poured out? Where do we relive in our lives the Dying and Rising of Jesus? "Where," we ask? Where we are missioned, among the people to whom we are sent. So often, aspects of our ministry are not what we expected, they are not what we would have chosen. But, it is where the Lord has chosen that we be; it is these aspects which He asks us to accept and to embrace. My brothers, the actual circumstances of our priestly ministry are the only place where you and I truly live out the Dying and Rising of Jesus which we celebrate in the sacred ritual of the Mass.

Moreover, in living out this ministry, we are to be the heralds of the Gospel of Life. Ten years ago tomorrow, Pope John Paul II sent us his encyclical letter "Evangelium Vitae." Recall how he describes the Gospel. "The Gospel of God’s love for man, the Gospel of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a single and indivisible Gospel" (No. 2). You and I must be relentless heralds of this Gospel, along with our people whom we encourage, form and strengthen to be partners with us in proclaiming this life-giving good news. Especially these days, we must all remain unrelenting and persevering in our proclamation of the Gospel of Life. The tragic situation of Terri Schiavo reminds us so forcefully of our responsibility in upholding and defending all human life, from conception to natural death.

Yes, my brothers, the giving of ourselves in pastoral love to our people and the proclamation of the Gospel of Life reveal in our priestly ministry daily how we are shaped by the sacred mystery of Christ’s Dying and Rising which we renew each day on the altar. May our Renewal of Commitment to Priestly Service, which we shall make during this Chrism Mass, be the tangible expression to all God’s People that what we celebrate in sacred ritual we will live out in daily priestly ministry. May each of our lives be truly Eucharistic, in its prayer and worship, in its preaching and teaching, in its evangelizing and witness, in its pastoral care and self-sacrificing service.

Finally, as the Pope did in his letter to us, let us turn to Mary, "the Woman of the Eucharist." "She more than anyone can teach us how to celebrate the sacred mysteries with due fervor and to commune with her Son, hidden in the Eucharist" (No. 8). She can teach us how to pour out our lives in loving service to God’s holy people. O Mary, "Woman of the Eucharist," help us all, priests, deacons, religious and laity, to draw our life from the Eucharist. Amen.

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