Bishop Robert Deeley celebrates the annual Chrism Mass
Calling it a gathering of people who find their identity in God, Bishop Robert Deeley celebrated the annual Chrism Mass on the Tuesday of Holy Week, March 26, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland.
“I give thanks this afternoon that the Lord has brought us together. This is the gathering when we celebrate our identity as Church. It is also a time when we give thanks for the reality that together we are the Church in Maine. We are the witnesses of the risen Christ who proclaim that he is alive, and his Spirit moves among us, leading us to prayer and to the good works that mark our parishes and our institutions,” the bishop said.
One of the most significant and solemn liturgies of the year, the Chrism Mass brings together priests, deacons, religious, and the faithful from throughout the diocese. The Mass is so popular that people need to obtain free tickets from their parishes to ensure they have a seat.
During the Mass, the bishop blessed and consecrated the oils that will be used in the sacraments in the coming year. The jars of oil were carried up the center aisle by parishioners and deacons who presented them to the bishop. He first blessed the oil of the sick, which will be used in the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, followed by the oil of the catechumens, which will be used to anoint individuals preparing for baptism in the Catholic Church. The bishop then consecrated the sacred chrism, from which the Mass derives its name. The sacred chrism will be used through the coming year for baptisms, confirmations, ordinations, and the consecration of altars and churches.
“Pour out in abundance the gifts of the Holy Spirit on our brothers and sisters anointed with this oil; adorn with the splendor 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,” the bishop prayed.
After being blessed and consecrated, the oils were placed in smaller jars and containers and distributed to priests and parishioners for use in their parishes.
Bishop Deeley noted that while the oils are destined for sacramental moments, they will remain unused if the faithful don’t embrace the mission that God has given to them.
"There is a mission for every one of us in the Church: bishops, priests, deacons, seminarians, religious women and men, laypeople,” the bishop said. “Through the anointing of baptism and confirmation, every Catholic is sent forth on mission. Our laypeople have a mission. Through baptism, you are called to be priests and ministers of life in the world. You are called to bring God into that world and to reveal his love to the people around you. So many people in our world today are longing to find God! And they are looking for us, for the Church, to show them the way.”
The bishop said that it is the priests who must lead the faithful on that mission, calling their role essential and calling upon each of them “to renew yourself in the enthusiasm and joy you first knew on the day of your ordination.”
During the Mass, the priests renewed the commitment to priestly service and to the promises they made when they were ordained.
“You, my brother priests, are those who lead us in this beautiful mission. You have been anointed with the oil of chrism in ordination, marked for the ministry which is yours of gathering a community and strengthening them in faith. There is nothing more important in your ministry than the celebration of the Eucharist. Jesus instituted Eucharist and priesthood in the same gathering of the Last Supper that we mark on Holy Thursday. My brothers, there is no Eucharist without the priesthood. Your ministry is absolutely essential to the Lord’s plan for the world’s redemption,” the bishop said.
The bishop expressed his gratitude to the priests for their service to the people of Maine.
“As we mark in a special way at this Mass the gift of the priesthood, let me thank you, our dedicated and generous priests, for all that you do to further the mission of the Church. Your witness to the Gospel and your service of charity are irreplaceable,” he said.
Bishop Deeley also paid tribute during the Chrism Mass to Bishop Joseph Gerry, OSB, the 10th Bishop of Portland, who passed away last July. Bishop Joseph, a Benedictine monk, served the Diocese of Portland for 15 years from 1989 to 2004, but continued to travel from Saint Anselm’s Abbey in New Hampshire to attend the Chrism Mass until his health no longer allowed him to do so.
“To the very end, he was always keenly interested in the experiences of the priests and people of the diocese,” Bishop Deeley said. “I always found encouragement in the promise he would make to keep the diocese in his prayers. He was also a man of great insight. It was insight born out of his prayer and his long experience in living his monastic life.”
Bishop Deeley also noted during the Chrism Mass that the sacred chrism he consecrated would soon be used for the episcopal ordination of Bishop-elect James Ruggieri, who will be ordained and installed as the 13th Bishop of Portland in May. Bishop Deeley asked the congregation to join in prayer for his successor.
The bishop also offered prayers during the Mass for the people of Haiti, calling the unrest in that country “heartbreaking" and praying that the people of the country would receive the help they need.
