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of Homily by Note to Editors: The Chrism Mass of the Archdiocese of Newark is held each year during Holy Week. During this Mass, the Archbishop sanctifies the oils used by the Church of Newark for the liturgical anointings of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders. “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in our hearing.” Because we have been incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ, by the Sacraments, the words of Isaiah which Jesus our Lord applied to Himself apply also to us. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us. He has anointed us and sent us with glad tidings: to proclaim liberty; to restore sight.” Because we are anointed the words of the Book of Revelation apply also to us. We have been made a holy nation, a nation of priests, to give glory and praise to God our Father. We are not a people who call ourselves together or gather in our own names or form ourselves by our own power and then call on God to receive our praise and worship. Quite the contrary is true. God takes the initiative in our lives. He calls us together. He sends His Spirit to form us into the Body of Christ. Through Christ we are anointed with the Spirit and by the Spirit we are formed in Christ. In and through the Spirit of Jesus, we join in His perfect worship, His sacrifice, His everlasting praise from the rising of the sun to its setting. We are a nation of priests because we share in Christ’s priesthood and we are continually built up in Christ. It is God’s loving initiative in Jesus Christ, His reaching out to us most especially through the sacraments which we celebrate this evening. We have not chosen Him, He has chosen us, given us life, and sends us forth in His name.
The oils we bless this evening are utilized sacramentally. In these moments, with a reality beyond all imagining, the Transcendent God becomes utterly imminent in our lives, in our hearts and minds and souls. The wonder of the incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit make possible these continuing, very personal, encounters. God’s gifts are multiplied. In moments as concrete as the incarnation, as specific as our own personal encounters, God meets us. He accommodates His transcendence to our being of earth even though our hearts begin to share in the transcendence for which we yearn. It is from this perspective that we can understand the ordained priesthood and the Sacrament of Holy Orders, which was not included in my reflection of a few moments ago. Holy Orders is not the greatest of the Sacraments, but it is, rather, at the service of the others. Priests are not necessarily holier than others any more than the Apostles were holier than the Blessed Mother. But great things are appropriately expected of them. Those in Holy Orders are a particular, continuing sign that women and men, even though alive in Christ, do not form their own Church community or call themselves together, nor address the Lord God in their own names. Nor do they raise up their own ministers. As a continuing sign of this fact, God calls forth men from the midst of His people. Men who share the weakness and sinfulness of others. By a special Sacrament – again accompanied by anointing – they are conformed to Jesus Christ, the High Priest, in a special way that this High Priest might reach out through them by their sacramental ministry to embrace and love His holy people. At special moments they act in persona Christi capitis – in the person of Christ the head. The bishop is the sign of the Lord’s watching over and presiding over His people. The teaching, sanctifying and governing mission of Christ the Good Shepherd is primarily entrusted to Him. All ministers, especially priests, share in His ministry. Central to their loving service are the Eucharistic sacrifice and the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. The Anointing of the Sick depends on them and they are ordinary ministers of the other sacraments. From the middle ages the sign that priests were associated with the bishop was not simply a letter signed or a form filled out but the fact that priests receive newly consecrated Holy Oils each year from the bishop. This is a graphic form of “faculties.” Holy oils, consecrated each year, indicated that the priest was still in communion with his bishop, sharing in his apostolic ministry. They indicated a special communion between the bishop and priests. This evening, as I reflect with you, I am aware that the months immediately before and immediately after my arrival here in Newark have been a time of suffering for many people. I acknowledge once again with sorrow the attack on our country and the deaths of innocent people on September 11, 2001. Once again we offer our sympathy and support to the families and friends of those so viciously killed. In recent weeks, we have also experienced much publicity about our Church, especially about those of us in Holy Orders. Certainly, it should not need to be said, that a Church which spends the largest portion of its resources and the largest portion of its personnel in serving children, can never, and will never condone anything which harms those children. Molesting children by anyone, especially by those in Holy Orders, must be condemned and we join our own voices in that condemnation. We also extend our apology and our assurance of support and help to those who have been harmed and who are seeking healing and support. In the Archdiocese of Newark our Archdiocesan Response Team, which is composed largely of very qualified laymen and laywomen, has been active for almost a decade. We seek to follow our own clearly established policies and, of course, comply with the laws of the State of New Jersey. We pledge to continue our vigilance and our compliance. It is our duty also to pray in a special way for any who have been hurt by the Church or those who represent the Church. More than our apologies, we offer our love, prayers and support. At the same time, we must recognize that in a certain sense we are all suffering in this situation. Many good Catholics are confused and do not know what to believe. In our own diocese, hundreds of wonderful, generous and good priests are embarrassed and, perhaps, feel that they too are being judged. Such must never be the case. No group at any time deserves to be judged for the actions of a few. I, for my part, want to express once again my admiration, love and support for the priests who serve so generously and so well here in the Archdiocese of Newark. I invite you at this time to join me in thanking our priests for their wonderful work. Even good people who are not of the Catholic faith suffer, too. They read newspapers and hear the electronic media. They, too, wonder. And, perhaps, the prophetic voice of the Church will at least for a time be heard less clearly by them. That, itself, is a tragedy. Of course we applaud the efforts of anyone who wishes to protect children and adults too, for that matter, from any kind of abuse. And we certainly acknowledge the media’s responsibility to report the news. At the same time, one cannot help but wonder if the constant barrage of publicity is directed to that noble end or if it is directed toward increasing circulation or viewership or profits or even intended to lessen the credibility of the consistent teaching of the Church on many matters which challenge the society of today. I fear it to be true that those who are perpetuating the barrage are harming both themselves and the society which they claim to serve. Fathers and dear friends, we follow One who was completely innocent and unjustifiably crucified. And yet, He forgave those who crucified Him. It is our faith that we may join our own sufferings with His in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I urge all priests and all people of the Archdiocese who suffer with their priests, to bring their sufferings and anguish to the Altar throughout Holy Week and Easter. In union with Christ, we can be confident that any suffering, pain and embarrassment will be transformed by the grace of God into gifts for His Church and for the world. As we have in the past, in a few moments we will invite the priests who are present to recommit themselves to the celibacy which they embraced at ordination. This is a continuing sign of their self-giving to the Church. Tonight, during this Holy Eucharist, we meet the Lord Jesus, Who is calling and forming His people, continuing to sanctify them through the Church. We are reminded that He is the loving shepherd and that He uses the things and people of this world to help carry on His saving mission. The Lord has anointed us and sent His Spirit. We are truly His holy people, a nation of priests. The oils which we will consecrate are used in our sanctification. We honor the mystery of Christ’s priesthood in which all the baptized share and in which the ordained share in a special way. In the mystery of the Church we are alive in God, Who is now taking the initiative, reaching out to us, calling us and forming us into the Body of Jesus Christ. Intimately associated with the action of the Holy Spirit and of her son, Jesus Christ, is Mary, our Mother too. Her faith made possible the incarnation and carried her to the cross and beyond. She assisted the Apostles and all the disciples through the dark days before Pentecost, preparing them for the gift of the Holy Spirit. May Mary, Mother of the Church, Mother of priests, assist all the priests in this Archdiocese and those within the Archdiocese who are served and sanctified through their ministry – and lead us more deeply into the mystery of Jesus Christ, her son, our brother and Lord.
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