Bishop Robert Deeley celebrates the Mass of the Holy Oils in Caribou
A day after celebrating the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, Bishop Robert Deeley made the nearly 300-mile trip to Holy Rosary Church in Caribou for the Mass of the Holy Oils.
During the Mass, celebrated on March 27, the Wednesday of Holy Week, the oils that were blessed and consecrated at the Chrism Mass were distributed to the priests of northern Maine to take back to their parishes for use in the coming year. They include the oil of the sick, which is used to anoint the sick, the oil of the catechumens, which is used for baptism, and the sacred chrism which is used for baptism, confirmation, ordinations, and for the consecration of altars and churches.
“We celebrate this evening the oils we blessed at the Chrism Mass. They are sacred oils destined for sacramental moments. But we also are gathered as the Church, a people who find our identity in a God who has loved us in Jesus Christ, and who sends us forth, as God did David, to sing his praises and to make him known in the world,” Bishop Deeley said. “Bishops, priests, deacons, seminarians, religious women and men, laypeople, we are all called, like David, to sing God’s praises and to make his love known.”
The bishop said it is the Spirit of God that gives us the grace to fulfill the mission that God has given to us.
“Pope Francis, in a homily he addressed to priests, reminds all of us that God is always with us in his Spirit. Francis’ counsel to priests is also applicable to all of us: to be aware that we are not alone in our mission. And the Spirit of God is not something we receive once in a sacramental moment. The Spirit is, Francis says, ‘the breath of each day.’ Each day, Francis reminds us, we need to say: ‘Come, Holy Spirit, for without your strength, we are lost.’ God has given us a valuable mission, one which can change the world. Let us all bring the truth of God’s love into our own reality, into our words and our work and our actions.”
The bishop said gatherings like the Chrism Mass and the Mass of the Holy Oils, which bring together clergy and the faithful from many parish communities, not just one, provide an opportunity “to give thanks for the reality that together we are the Church in Maine.”
While in many dioceses, all would gather for the Chrism Mass, due to the size of the state of Maine, it is not practical for the priests and the people of northern Maine to make the journey south, so it has become a tradition here for the bishop to go to them.
As they did at the Chrism Mass, the priests who attended the Mass of the Holy Oils renewed their priestly promises before the bishop, who expressed gratitude for their service.
“Your witness to the Gospel and your service of charity are irreplaceable,” the bishop said. “Guided by the love of God in the presence of the Holy Spirit, we give thanks especially for your leadership and your ministry.”
Noting the need for more priestly vocations, the bishop encouraged the men present to pay close attention to the priests as they renewed their promises.
“Open your hearts to hear the possibility of God’s call to you to join with them in their mission of service,” he said.
While the need for vocations is great, the bishop said there is reason for celebration this year. In addition to the episcopal ordination of Bishop-elect James Ruggieri in May, the sacred chrism that was consecrated will be used to ordain three seminarians to the transitional diaconate in May, and it is anticipated that Deacon Matthew Valles will be ordained to the priesthood at the end of June.
