From The Bishop

My dear friends in Christ,

Each year as we gather for the Mass of Chrism in this beautiful cathedral dedicated to St. Catharine of Alexandria we are given an opportunity to reflect upon a significant aspect of our faith â€" God is near us! We see this fact expressed most perfectly in the sacramental life of the Church.
God is revealed and communicates divine life to the human person by means of the sacraments. Here God takes what is ordinary and natural to give us an experience of what is truly extraordinary and supernatural. In the celebration of every sacrament we encounter Christ who leads us to the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Clearly we are drawn into the very mystery of our triune God.

Traditionally, the Chrism Mass helps us to focus on the sacramental life of the Church as we bless the holy oils that will be used in the celebration of four of the seven sacraments.

The sacred chrism will be used for Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, and the dedication of churches and altars. The oil of catechumens will also be used in the celebration of Baptism.

The oil of the sick will be used to heal the infirmed and to assist those near death. At the conclusion of this Mass these blessed oils will be taken to each parish to be used in the celebration of the sacraments. In the celebration of these sacraments Jesus is able to bring to us and to the diocese healing, reconciliation and peace.

This is what we need in our lives and in our world. As we face the problems and challenges of life we can feel alone and even begin to believe that God is distant or even has abandoned us. What a tremendous gift we have in the sacramental life of the Church as we are reminded in each celebration that God is not far, God is near us.

The gospel this evening presents Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth reading from the prophet Isaiah. This quotation is also found in the first reading. Isaiah states, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me and has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and release to the prisoners, to proclaim the Lord's year of favour.�

Jesus states that “…today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.� In other words, he is the fulfillment of these words of the prophet. This passage of scripture tells us that Jesus is Christós, a Greek word that means, ‘the anointed one'. Jesus Christ, the anointed one, proclaims the good news and brings healing, freedom and hope to the world.

Our celebration this evening also focuses on the great gift of the priesthood which is also a significant reminder that ‘God is near us'. After the homily, the priests present will have an opportunity to renew their priestly commitment. This simple rite demonstrates the special relationship that exists between a bishop and his priests.

It also shows us that priests are called to be imitators of Christ. On their ordination day, like Jesus, they are anointed with sacred chrism. Theologically we would say that a priest becomes an alter Christus (another Christ). Pope Benedict XVI defined this term very beautifully in his 2009 letter announcing the Year of the Priest .

“As alter Christus…the priest is a servant of Christ, in the sense that his existence, configured to Christ ontologically, acquires an essentially relational character: he is in Christ, for Christ and with Christ, at the service of humankind. Because he belongs to Christ, the priest is radically at the service of all people: he is the minister of their salvation, their happiness and their authentic liberation, developing, in this gradual assumption of Christ's will, in prayer, in being heart to heart with him.�

Pope Benedict reminds us that a priest is configured to Christ and shares in his mission. So God is close to us in the person of each priest who, like the prophet Isaiah and Jesus, proclaims of the Good News and brings healing and mercy to a broken world.

I can say with confidence and profound gratitude that we are blessed in this diocese to have so many priests who live this mission so faithfully. I am also very pleased that the oil of chrism blessed this evening will be used to ordain a priest for our diocese. God willing, Reverend Mr. Rico Passero, the deacon of the Word at this Mass, will be ordained a priest on June 11, 2011, at St. Alfred, St. Catharines . This will be a joyful event.

My brother priests, tonight we are reminded what a wonderful gift and privilege that we have in bringing Christ to the world. Unworthy servants that we are, may we grow in our love of our God, our vocation and the people that we are called to serve.

My dear friends, God is so close to us especially in the sacraments, in the priesthood, and in his Church. As a community of faith we form the body of Christ and through the gift of each other God is present. This is the unity we celebrate this eveningâ€"bishop, priests, deacons, religious and laityâ€"gathered as one in the Lord. If God is present and is close to us then we must make sure that we stay close to God. We do this through personal prayer, liturgical prayer, and service to others, especially those most in need. I thank you for being such a powerful reminder to me of God's goodness. We have a wonderful diocese that is represented by all of us gathered here tonight. Together let us continue to build up the Kingdom of God as humble and faithful servants.

May God bless you, may God bless the great Diocese of St. Catharines and may we never lose heart because ‘God is near us'.

The Mass of Chrism is con-celebrated by the bishop and the priests of the diocese. It is a sign of the unity and communion of the priests with their bishop. The celebration also fosters the relationship of the bishop with the liturgical life of the diocese. Representatives from the diaconate, religious life and laity were involved in various liturgical ministries.