By Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald
Bishop Larry Silva is encouraging island Catholics to experience a rich and distinctive annual liturgical event next month, at which he blesses the sacred oils used in sacraments and ceremonies throughout the year.
It is called the Chrism Mass. It is also the annual Mass at which priests renew the commitments made at their ordinations.
Traditionally celebrated on the morning of Holy Thursday, the day Christ initiated the priesthood, the Chrism Mass has migrated in many dioceses to an earlier, more convenient date. Holy Thursday is April 1 this year.
Hawaii has gone further and scheduled not one, but four Chrism Masses for the benefit of the neighbor islands. The bishop has asked the Office of Worship this year to promote attendance.
Here is the schedule:
- Oahu: 7 p.m., Thursday, March 11, Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, Honolulu
- Maui: 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 16, St. Joseph Church, Makawao
- Kauai: 7 p.m., Thursday, March 18, St. Catherine Church, Kapaa
- Big Island: 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 23, Sacred Heart Church, Hawi
After his Chrism Mass homily, the bishop leads the priests in a “renewal of commitment” — a brief, three-question pledge in which the clergy promise to renew their dedication to Christ, their imitation of Christ, and their devotion to the Eucharist.
The people then promise to pray for their priests.
The blessing of the oils follows. Ritual permits the three oils to be blessed at different times during the Mass, appropriate to the nature of the oil being blessed. But, to make the liturgies run smoother, in Hawaii all the oils will be blessed during the same part of the Mass.
Each parish brings to the Mass three vessels of oil, sometimes called “chrismatories” or “ampullae.” Diocesan instructions call for extra virgin olive oil which may be obtained at ordinary commercial outlets, according to Sacred Hearts Sister Helene Wood, director of the diocesan Office of Worship.
The three holy oils are Holy Chrism, Oil of Catechumens and Oil of the Sick.
The bishop blesses collectively all the vessels containing the oil of catechumens and oil of the sick.
The holy chrism, however, gets special treatment. Each parish vial is emptied into a large container where the oil is mixed by the bishop with a cup or two of balsam, an aromatic oil, as part of the ritual. After it is blessed, the chrism is poured back into the individual vessels for return to the parishes.
Chrism is used for Confirmation and Baptism and in the ordination of priests and bishops. The Oil of Catechumens used in Baptism. The Oil of the Sick is used in the Sacrament of the Sick.
Sister Helene said that the Chrism Mass “helps us enter into the spirit of the Triduum and the celebration of Easter.”
“I think the blessing of the oils also shows you how the church is so mindful of the needs of the people” at important times in their lives, she said.
After the oils are blessed, parish representatives bring them back to their parishes where they are received and placed in a cabinet known as an ambry for use throughout the year.