Catholic Review Online: Chrism Mass a privileged moment

His Excellency Archbishop Edwin O'Brien has posted his homily from the Chrism Mass in his weekly column entitled, "Thoughts on Our Church," in the Catholic Review Online. Here is a part of his homily:

Good Catholic people – and I humbly address all of you and all whom you represent – deacons and consecrated sisters and brothers, seminarians and laity at every level of diocesan and parish leadership: I know that I speak for your priests, here in such impressive numbers, in expressing our thanks for your indispensible collaboration in preaching the love of Christ and promoting the life of the Church in this great Archdiocese.

And I pray that you will see in this Mass a significant opportunity to demonstrate your love and appreciation of your priests. If it be God’s will, may the intended priestly focus of this Chrism Mass stress the uniqueness of ordained priesthood and generate the graces so necessary to encourage many more priestly vocations of the kind we see here.

And to you priests – priests whom I am now privileged and humbled to call “my priests” on this sacred evening – the Liturgy says it all, or almost all. Fathers, I speak personally in thanking you for welcoming me into your midst. I want to tell you how much I treasure our bonds of fraternity, and am inspired by your priestly zeal for and commitment to our people. I depend upon your ongoing counsel and friendship and pray you will forgive my shortcomings.

As I have made pastoral visits thus far to most of the parishes in the city and in six of our nine counties, I have had the opportunity to catch just a glimpse of the work that you and those who collaborate with you do on daily basis. I have sought to listen and will continue to do so. The task of ministering to God’s people in the countless ways that you do is a monumental one. Know of my support, my gratitude, and my prayers for you and for all who work so tirelessly serving our Lord in the Church.

May the sacred oils of healing and strengthening which I will soon bless, and may the bread and wine and Chrism of sanctification which we will soon consecrate in concelebration, flow in abundance from the heart of Christ, through us, to enrich the hearts and souls of all his priestly people all through the year ahead.

Read the full homily here...