Chrism Mass
The blessing of the Oil of the Sick and of the Oil of Catechumens and the consecration of the Chrism are carried out by the Bishop, according to the Rite described in the Roman Pontifical, usually on this day, at a proper Mass to be celebrated during the morning.
If, however, it is very difficult for the clergy and the people to gather with the Bishop on this day, the Chrism Mass may be anticipated on another day, but near to Easter.
This Mass, which the Bishop concelebrates with his presbyterate, should be, as it were, a manifestation of the Priests’ communion with their Bishop. Accordingly it is desirable that all the Priests participate in it, insofar as is possible, and during it receive Communion even under both kinds. To signify the unity of the presbyterate of the diocese, the Priests who concelebrate with the Bishop should be from different regions of the diocese.
In accord with traditional practice, the blessing of the Oil of the Sick takes place before the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, but the blessing of the Oil of Catechumens and the consecration of the Chrism take place after Communion. Nevertheless, for pastoral reasons, it is permitted for the entire rite of blessing to take place after the Liturgy of the Word.
Entrance antiphon Rv 1:6
Jesus Christ has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father. To him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
Gloria
Collect
O God, who anointed your Only Begotten Son with the Holy Spirit
and made him Christ and Lord,
graciously grant
that, being made sharers in his consecration,
we may bear witness to your Redemption in the world.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
- The Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor and to give them the oil of gladness.
A reading from
the Prophet Isaiah61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.
You shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God. I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.
The word of the Lord.
Psalm 89 (88)
R/ (2) I will sing for ever of your mercies, O Lord.
I have found my servant David,
and with my holy oil anointed him.
My hand shall always be with him
and my arm shall make him strong. R/
My mercy and my faithfulness shall be with him;
by my name his might shall be exalted.
He will call out to me, “You are my father,
my God, the rock of my salvation.” R/
- He made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father.
A reading from
the Book of Revelation1:5-8
Grace to you and peace to you from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
The word of the Lord.
Acclamation before the Gospel
Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has sent me to proclaim good news to the poor. Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.
- The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me.
A reading from
the holy Gospel according to Luke 4:16-21
At that time: Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll, and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
And he rolled up the scroll, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
After the reading of the Gospel, the Bishop preaches the Homily in which, taking his starting point from the text of the readings proclaimed in the Liturgy of the Word, he speaks to the people and to his Priests about priestly anointing, urging the Priests to be faithful in their office and calling on them to renew publicly their priestly promises.
Renewal of Priestly Promises
After the Homily, the Bishop speaks with the Priests in these or similar words.
Beloved sons,
on the anniversary of that day
when Christ our Lord conferred his priesthood
on his Apostles and on us,
are you resolved to renew,
in the presence of your Bishop and God’s holy people,
the promises you once made?
The Priests, all together, respond: I am.
Are you resolved to be more united with the Lord Jesus
and more closely conformed to him,
denying yourselves and confirming those promises
about sacred duties towards Christ’s Church
which, prompted by love of him,
you willingly and joyfully pledged
on the day of your priestly ordination?
Priests: I am.
Are you resolved to be faithful stewards of the mysteries of God
in the Holy Eucharist and the other liturgical rites
and to discharge faithfully the sacred office of teaching,
following Christ the Head and Shepherd,
not seeking any gain,
but moved only by zeal for souls?
Priests: I am.
Then, turned towards the people, the Bishop continues:
As for you, dearest sons and daughters,
pray for your Priests,
that the Lord may pour out his gifts abundantly upon them,
and keep them faithful as ministers of Christ, the High Priest,
so that they may lead you to him,
who is the source of salvation.
People: Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
And pray also for me,
that I may be faithful to the apostolic office
entrusted to me in my lowliness
and that in your midst I may be made day by day
a living and more perfect image of Christ,
the Priest, the Good Shepherd,
the Teacher and the Servant of all.
People: Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
May the Lord keep us all in his charity
and lead all of us,
shepherds and flock,
to eternal life.
All: Amen.
The Creed is not said.
Blessing of Oils
After the renewal of commitment to priestly promises the Deacons and ministers appointed to carry the oils or, in their absence, some Priests and ministers together with the faithful who will carry the bread, wine, and water, go in procession to the sacristy or other place where the oils and other offerings have been prepared. Returning to the altar, they follow this order: first the minister carrying the vessel of balsam, if the Bishop wishes to prepare the Chrism, then the minister with the vessel for the Oil of the Catechumens, if it is to be blessed, the minister with the vessel for the Oil of the Sick, lastly a Deacon or Priest carrying the oil for the Chrism. The ministers who carry the bread, wine, and water for the celebration of the eucharist follow them.
During the procession through the church, the choir leads the singing of the hymn “O Redeemer” or some other appropriate song, in place of the offertory song.
When the procession comes to the altar or the chair, the Bishop receives the gifts. The Deacon who carries the vessel of Oil for the Chrism shows it to the Bishop, saying in a loud voice: The oil for the Holy Chrism. The Bishop takes the vessel and gives it to one of the assisting Deacons to place on the table. The same is done by those who carry the vessels for the Oil of the Sick and the Oil of the Catechumens. The first says: The Oil of the Sick; the second says: The Oil of Catechumens. The Bishop takes the vessels in the same way, and the ministers place them on the table.
Then the Mass continues, as in the rite of concelebration, until the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, unless the entire rite of blessing takes place immediately.
When the entire rite of blessing of oils is to be celebrated after the Liturgy of the Word, at the end of the renewal of commitment to priestly promises the Bishop goes with the concelebrants to the table where the blessing of the Oil of the Sick and of the Oil of the Chrism are to take place.
Blessing of the oil of the sick
Before the Bishop says Through whom you continue to make all these good things, O Lord… in Eucharistic Prayer I, or the doxology Through him in the other Eucharistic Prayers, the one who carried the vessel of the Oil of the Sick brings it to the altar and holds it in front of the Bishop while he blesses the Oil of the Sick, saying this prayer:
O God, Father of all consolation,
who willed to heal the infirmities of the weak through your Son,
listen favourably to the prayer of faith:
send forth from the heavens, we pray,
your Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
upon this oil in all its richness,
which you have graciously brought forth from the verdant tree
to restore the body,
so that by your holy blessing
everyone anointed with this oil
as a safeguard for body, soul, and spirit
may be freed from all pain,
all infirmity,
and all sickness.
May your holy oil, O Lord,
be blessed by you for our sake
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
† Who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever.
R/ Amen.
The conclusion Who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever is said only when this blessing takes place outside the Eucharistic Prayer.
After the blessing, the vessel with the Oil of the Sick is returned to its place, and the Mass proceeds up to and including Communion.
Blessing of the oil of catechumens
After the Prayer after Communion, the ministers place the vessels with the oils to be blessed on a table suitably located in the middle of the sanctuary. The Bishop, surrounded by the concelebrating Priests, and with the other ministers standing behind him, proceeds to the Blessing of the Oil of Catechumens, if it is to be blessed, and then to the Consecration of the Chrism.
When everything is ready, the Bishop stands facing the people and, with hands extended, says the following prayer:
O God, strength and protection of your people,
who have made the oil you created a sign of strength,
graciously bless this oil,
and grant courage to the catechumens
who will be anointed with it,
so that, receiving divine wisdom and power,
they may understand more deeply
the Gospel of your Christ,
they may undertake with a generous heart
the labours of the Christian life,
and, made worthy of adoption
as your sons and daughters,
they may rejoice to be born anew and to live in your Church.
Through Christ our Lord.
R/ Amen.
Consecration of the Chrism
Then the Bishop pours the fragrances into the oil and mixes the Chrism in silence, unless this was done beforehand.
After this is done, he says the invitation to prayer:
Let us pray, dear brothers and sisters, to God the almighty Father,
that he bless and sanctify this oil;
may those who are signed with it outwardly
be inwardly anointed
and made worthy of divine redemption.
Then the Bishop, if appropriate, breathes upon the opening of the vessel of the Chrism and, with hands extended, he says one of the following Prayers of Consecration.
Consecratory Prayer (1)
O God, author of all growth and spiritual progress,
receive in your goodness the grateful homage
that the Church joyfully offers to you through our voice.
For in the beginning you commanded the earth
to bring forth fruit-bearing trees,
among which olive trees would arise
as providers of this most rich oil,
so that their fruit might serve for sacred Chrism.
In the spirit of prophecy,
David foresaw the sacraments of your grace
and sang of the oil that would gladden our faces.
After the world’s offences were washed away by the flood,
a dove announced the restoration of peace on earth with the olive branch,
foreshadowing the gift to come.
In the last days all this has been clearly revealed:
when every offence is removed through the waters of Baptism,
the anointing with this oil makes our faces cheerful and serene.
You also commanded your servant Moses
to make his brother Aaron a priest,
by pouring this oil upon him
after he had been washed in water.
Still greater dignity was added to this
when your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord,
insisted that he be washed by John
in the waters of the Jordan:
you sent the Holy Spirit from on high
in the likeness of a dove;
you declared by the witness of the voice that followed,
that you were well pleased in him,
your Only Begotten Son;
and you were seen to confirm clearly
what the prophet David had foretold in song,
that Christ would be anointed with the oil of gladness
above his companions.
All the concelebrants extend their right hand towards the Chrism until the end of the prayer, without saying anything.
Therefore we beseech you, Lord:
be pleased to sanctify with your blessing this oil in its richness,
and to pour into it the strength of the Holy Spirit,
with the powerful working of your Christ.
From his holy name it has received the name of Chrism,
and with it you have anointed your priests, prophets, kings, and martyrs.
May you confirm the Chrism you have created
as a sacred sign of perfect salvation and life
for those to be made new in the spiritual waters of Baptism.
May those formed into a temple of your majesty
by the holiness infused through this anointing
and by the cleansing of the stain of their first birth
be made fragrant with the innocence of a life pleasing to you.
May those anointed with royal, priestly, and prophetic dignity
be clothed with the garment of an incorruptible gift
in keeping with the Sacrament you have established.
May this oil be the Chrism of salvation
for those born again of water and the Holy Spirit,
and may it make them partakers of eternal life
and sharers of heavenly glory.
Through Christ our Lord.
R/ Amen.
Or:
Consecratory Prayer (2)
O God, author of the Sacraments and bestower of life,
we give thanks for your ineffable goodness,
for in the ancient covenant
you foreshadowed the mystery of sanctifying oil
and in the fullness of time
you willed that it might shine forth uniquely in your beloved Son.
And when your Son, our Lord,
had saved the human race through the Paschal Mystery,
he filled your Church with the Holy Spirit,
and wonderfully endowed her with heavenly gifts,
so that through her the work of salvation in the world
might be brought to completion.
From that time onward,
through the sacred mystery of Chrism
you have so bestowed the riches of your grace upon all humanity,
that your sons and daughters,
born again in the cleansing waters of Baptism,
are strengthened by the anointing of the Spirit
and, conformed to your Christ,
they share in his prophetic, priestly, and kingly office.
All the concelebrants extend their right hand towards the Chrism until the end of the prayer, without saying anything.
Therefore we beseech you, O Lord,
that by the power of your grace
this mingling of fragrance and oil
may become for us a sacrament of your blessing.
Pour out in abundance the gifts of the Holy Spirit
on our brothers and sisters anointed with this oil;
adorn with the splendour of holiness
the places and things signed by sacred oils;
but above all, by the mystery of this oil,
bring to completion the growth of your Church,
until she reaches that measure of fullness
in which you, resplendent with eternal light,
will be all in all with Christ in the Holy Spirit,
for ever and ever.
R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Offerings
May the power of this sacrifice, O Lord, we pray,
mercifully wipe away what is old in us
and increase in us grace of salvation and newness of life.
Through Christ our Lord.
Preface: The Priesthood of Christ
and the Ministry of Priests
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
For by the anointing of the Holy Spirit
you made your Only Begotten Son
High Priest of the new and eternal covenant,
and by your wondrous design were pleased to decree
that his one Priesthood should continue in the Church.
For Christ not only adorns with a royal priesthood
the people he has made his own,
but with a brother’s kindness he also chooses men
to become sharers in his sacred ministry
through the laying on of hands.
They are to renew in his name
the sacrifice of human redemption,
to set before your children the paschal banquet,
to lead your holy people in charity,
to nourish them with the word
and strengthen them with the Sacraments.
As they give up their lives for you
and for the salvation of their brothers and sisters,
they strive to be conformed to the image of Christ himself
and offer you a constant witness of faith and love.
And so, Lord, with all the Angels and Saints,
we, too, give you thanks, as in exultation we acclaim: Holy….
Communion Antiphon Ps 89 (88):2
I will sing for ever of your mercies, O Lord; through all ages my mouth will proclaim your fidelity.
Prayer after Communion
We beseech you, almighty God,
that those you renew by your Sacraments
may merit to become the pleasing fragrance of Christ
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever