Of all the celebrations of the liturgical year, the most important liturgy for a local diocesan Church is the Chrism Mass. At this Eucharistic liturgy, the bishop gathers with his clergy and people for the blessing of the Oil of the Sick and of the Oil of Catechumens and to consecrate the Sacred Chrism. As many priests as possible concelebrate this Mass with the bishop to manifest their communion with him and their call, as his co-workers, to serve the people of the diocese in Christ, a service manifested uniquely in sacramental celebrations. The primary focus of this liturgy, then, is on the oils by which the very life and saving activity of God will be communicated to God’s people through the Church’s sacramental ministry.
At the Chrism Mass, the bishop has the option of blessing and consecrating the holy oils after the Liturgy of the Word. However, the ancient tradition of the Church provides for the Oil of the Sick to be blessed at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer to show the connection between the Eucharist and the anointing of the sick as healing sacraments. The same tradition has the Oil of Catechumens blessed and the Sacred Chrism consecrated after communion.
The ritual prayer for the blessing of the Oil of Sick describes it as a remedy for both spiritual and bodily illness, providing those who are aged or ill with strength “in body, in soul, and in spirit” that they may be delivered in every affliction. The prayer asks that God send the consoling power of the Spirit into the oil to “sanctify it for our use.”
The bishop blesses the Oil of Catechumens to strengthen the candidates for Christian initiation with power to renounce the devil and sin before they go to the font of baptism. The prayer of blessing asks that those who are anointed be given “wisdom and strength,” “a deeper understanding of the Gospel” and “help to accept the challenge of Christian living” so that they may know “the joy of new birth.”
With its consecration, Sacred Chrism, which is olive oil mixed with an aromatic perfume, becomes a sign that Christians, incorporated by baptism into Christ’s paschal mystery, are sharers in his kingly and prophetic priesthood. Used also in the sacrament of confirmation, chrism signifies that those who are chrismated receive a special spiritual anointing of the Holy Spirit by which they share in the Spirit’s gifts. The hands of priests and the heads of bishops are anointed with chrism in the rites of ordination, as are altars and the walls of churches in the rites of dedication.
Although the Church anoints with chrism for a variety of purposes, the ritual prayer by which it is consecrated focuses primarily on its sacramental significance in baptism. For those born again through baptismal grace, Sacred Chrism signifies that we are “temples of God’s glory,” “radiant with the goodness of life” that comes from God, given “royal, priestly, and prophetic honor,” and “clothed with incorruption.”
Signed with the Sacred Chrism, the Oil of Catechumens, or the Oil of the Sick, God’s people are anointed to share in God’s life, the saving mystery of Christ, and the sanctifying power of the Spirit. Our Holy God present and working through holy oils and the prayer of the Church to embrace, claim, empower, heal, and send a holy people.