Jubilation filled the air as priests throughout the diocese congregated at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington for the annual Chrism Mass April 15. It was the first Chrism Mass to take place in the cathedral since the conclusion of renovations last year.
The Chrism Mass is one of several liturgies celebrated during Holy Week. During the Mass, priests renew the priestly promises they made at ordination, and Bishop Michael F. Burbidge blesses the oils of the sick and catechumens and consecrates the sacred chrism. The priests take the oils and chrism home to their parishes for use in the sacraments of baptism, anointing of the sick and confirmation.
Bishop Burbidge celebrated the Mass and was joined by Bishop Emeritus Paul S. Loverde and Trappist Father Joseph Wittstock, Abbot of Our Lady of the Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville. Priests from throughout the diocese concelebrated.
To a standing-room-only congregation, Bishop Burbidge imparted a message of hope, beginning with a personal example.
He said that, approximately eight weeks before his ordination to the episcopate Mass, his mother, Shirley Burbidge, suffered a severe stroke. “As she began her physical therapy, the medical team told her, ‘You have much more work to do and, respectfully, we must tell you that there is no hope for you to attend your son’s ordination.’ After the physical therapist left, she said, ‘We’ll see. There is always hope with God,’ ” Bishop Burbidge said. “On the day of my ordination, my mother walked a short distance from the sacristy to the first pew to the amazement and applause of the congregation.”
Bishop Burbidge did not hesitate to address the anxieties felt by many across the country. “This is a difficult time in our nation,” he said, “and because of certain actions, some of our brothers and sisters today are living in fear and distress and doubt. So, we reassure them today, that no matter what obstacles are thrown at us or our church, nothing will ever stop us, with the grace of God, from doing our work and proclaiming the Gospel of Life.”
Amid the uncertainties, Bishop Burbidge said that he still sees signs of hope throughout the diocese. He turned to the priests seated in the right transept. “Dear brothers, please know that I pray for you every day,” he said, “and not just in a general way, but specifically. I thank God for your priestly holiness and zeal and joy, and the fraternal support you extend to me as your bishop, for which I am profoundly grateful.”
Even the oils awaiting blessing and consecration are signs of hope, Bishop Burbidge added.
“As we look at the chrism that will be consecrated and the oils to be blessed, we are reminded of the hope that is ours as we encounter Jesus and his saving power in the sacraments — signs of divine grace that draw their effectiveness from the death and Resurrection of Christ,” he said.
Bishop Burbidge then approached the priests. They all rose and renewed their priestly promises to serve the church, witness church teaching and reverently administer the sacraments.
The congregation then stood for the “universal prayer,” a prayer for the bishop and priests to remain faithful to their priestly promises and service to the church. Bishop Burbidge then asked the faithful to pray for their priests and to pray for him, that they may all remain dedicated to the vocation to which Christ has called them.
Deacons Thomas Grodek of Holy Spirit Church in Annandale; Marques Silva of St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax; Orlando Barros of All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas; and Albert Anderson Jr. of St. Joseph Church in Alexandria then presented flagons of oil to the bishop that would become the oil of the sick and catechumens. They also presented balsam, one of the components of sacred chrism.
Bishop Burbidge poured each of the oils of the sick and catechumens into large metal urns. He then offered a prayer of blessing over the oils.
Walking to two additional urns, Bishop Burbidge then poured oil into each, before adding the balsam. He mixed the chrism before breathing upon the urns, representing the Holy Spirit moving over creation (Gen 1:12) and Jesus breathing upon the apostles after his Resurrection, giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit (Jn 20:22).
Bishop Burbidge then offered a prayer of consecration over the chrism. Toward the end of the prayer, the concelebrating priests extended their right hands toward the urns.
After Mass, the blessed oils were poured into smaller containers, which the priests took back to their parish communities.
For seminarians Kolbe Tucker and Joseph Angsten, who both attend St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Lower Gwynedd, Pa., witnessing the priests renew the priestly promises filled the two seminarians with anticipation for the vocation. “Hearing them whisper the words of consecration, just hearing all the priests as one in the person of Christ, that’s always very striking to me, and I wait with longing for the day when I can join them and speak those words,” Tucker said.
As the priests meandered through the crowd in front of the cathedral, greeting and catching up with each other, Angsten smiled. “The fraternity of the priesthood is something that a lot of people don’t necessarily get to see, and the Chrism Mass is something I look forward to every year,” he said. “We start our friendships now in the seminary, with the hope that one day we can continue those friendships in the priesthood.”
The Chrism Mass is the second of multiple liturgies to be celebrated by Bishop Burbidge during Holy Week: the Mass for Palm Sunday, April 13; Mass of the Lord’s Supper, April 17; the Good Friday Solemn Liturgy of the Passion of Our Lord, April 18; and the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday Mass April 19-20.
This story has been updated.
