Homily of Bishop Philip Boyce at the Chrism Mass

Holy Thursday 2010

Holy Thursday is a very special day each year in the life of a priest. As a wedding anniversary in the life of married couples brings them back to what they promised on their wedding day and reminds them of the grace they received in the Sacrament of Marriage, similarly with us priests: we recall and we renew our Ordination promises. We relive the laying on of hands and transformation of our lives in the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

We could not have imagined on that blessed day that we would ever become unfaithful to the Lord or failed in our priestly duties. We thank God today for having been our fidelity throughout the years, despite the weakness of our human nature by which we live and act. Yet we know only too well that a certain number of our colleagues who were sealed with the Holy Spirit and who had their hands anointed as priests of Christ, were unfaithful and betrayed the sacred trust placed in them by innocent children. Instead of leading the young to God, they led them astray and ruined their lives. As the prophet Daniel laments and prays: “To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us confusion of face … to the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, because we have rebelled against him, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by following his laws… O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, give heed and act; delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name” (Dan. 9:7. 9-10.19).

Therefore, in the “Reflection on the Pastoral letter by Pope Benedict XVI” which I have sent to the priests, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese, I have asked for a renewed practice of our Friday penance for the next year, for a rediscovery and more frequent use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) and for an increase in Eucharistic Adoration. These spiritual practices will obtain a greater outpouring of God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church. They will make reparation for these serious sins and crimes and help to bring about a rebirth of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

In this Chrism Mass today we thank God for the gift and grace of priesthood; we reflect on what we promised on the day we were ordained; and we go back in spirit to the Last Supper where Christ gave the gift of the Priesthood and the Eucharist to his Church. It is our common birthday as priests, a day of deep inner joy, gratitude and strength.

We listen again to the words of the Lord to his apostles and to us, in the Upper Room, on the eve of his Passion. To his Father, he prays: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, so that they may be consecrated in truth” (Jn. 17:17-19). It is encouraging to know that Christ prayed for our sanctification, that we might be faithful to our duty to strive for spiritual perfection.

We should also recall that we live in a “Year for Priests” inaugurated by Pope Benedict XVI last June. Its purpose is “to encourage all priests in their striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends, and first and foremost to help priests – and with them the entire People of God – to rediscover and to reinforce their knowledge of the extraordinary, indispensable gift of Grace which the ordained minister represents for those who have received it, for the whole Church and for the world which would be lost without the Real Presence of Christ.”

We then as priests are obliged to live a holy life, dedicated to the good of others, forgetful of our own advantage. Our people expect us simply to be that for which we were ordained. No more, no less. If we have been given a spiritual authority, it is meant to be placed at the service of the people of our parish. We are like our Master who came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many (cf. Mk. 10.45).

But not only are the People of God praying for us, for our faithfulness and our sanctification, during this Year, but Christ Himself prayed for this intention and for each one of us at the Last Supper: “Sanctify them in truth … For their sake I consecrate myself.” To make holy means to unite a person to God. He alone is the true Holy One. All other holiness derives from Him and is a sharing in His life and way of being. To consecrate a person or thing is to set that thing or that person apart for God himself, for His Service, for His use, for His purposes. In that sense, a person is removed from the affairs of this world and given over to God. It is a “being set apart” but not a separation from all that goes on in the life of people here below. We are not bound up to others but set free by our vow of celibacy. This makes us completely available for God and available for others. For when the Lord prayed at the Last Supper for our sanctification and consecration, he went on in the next phrase to say that we are “men for others”: “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”

To be consecrated, to be handed over to God as his property, to be given for his work of redemption, is to be sacrificed. A priest then is also a victim with Christ for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. We renew his saving Sacrifice on Calvary every morning on the altar. With Christ the High Priest we offer ourselves in sacrifice. We are priests and victims with him.

As Pope Benedict XVI says: “I consecrate myself – I sacrifice myself: this unfathomable word, which gives us a glimpse deep into the heart of Jesus Christ, should be the object of constantly renewed reflection. It contains the whole mystery of our redemption. It also contains the origins of the priesthood in the Church, of our priesthood” Furthermore, “If we become one with Christ, we learn to recognize Him precisely in those who suffer, in the  poor, in the little ones of this world; then we become people who serve, who recognise our brothers and sisters
in Him, and in them we encounter Him” (9 April 2009).

In the passage in today’s Gospel from St. Luke, we see Jesus going into the synagogue at Nazareth. He must have gone there many a time as a boy or young man, unnoticed in the crowd. But now at the beginning of his public ministry, He goes there in an unconcealed and manifest manner. He stands up to read, takes a passage from the prophet Isaiah and interprets or explains it.

This is how every priest goes into his own church, Sunday after Sunday, day after day, and how he reads and explains in his preaching the words of Scripture. He is sanctified by his fidelity to offering the sacrifice of the Mass every day, of preaching and teaching the word of God, of baptizing infants, or reconciling sinners with God in Confession, of blessing couples at their marriage, of laying the dead to rest. He visits the sick, comforts the dying, catechizes children, and prays himself before the Lord in his Real Presence among us. This ministry
carried out with devotion and perseverance leads to holiness and union with God.

St. John Mary Vianney, known as the Curé of Ars, is given to us as a model in this Year for Priests. He was a simple parish priest, utterly loyal to his vocation, entirely dedicated to his task of serving and saving souls. He was always faithful to his vocation. He spent over 40 years of his priesthood in one small parish, that had only about 70 families. There he became a Saint and people flocked to his Confessional. Therefore, you do not need to go beyond your own parish. There you too will meet your Lord and save many souls, opening for them the grace of Divine Mercy, leading them to God and becoming holy yourself in the accomplishment of your priestly duties.

Dear brother Priests, I thank you for your faithfulness and for your untiring dedication to your priestly duties in your parishes. Your parishioners experience the benefits of your generous commitment and prayer. They highly appreciate it. Continue to follow the Lord and to serve others. As Pope Benedict said to the young people and pilgrims gathered last Sunday in St Peter’s Square for Palm Sunday Mass: To those who follow Him, Christ Jesus gives “the courage not to be intimidated by the noisy chattering of the prevailing opinions of the day.” Christ has the word of truth, the final solution to all our problems. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mt. 24:35). This is the word of truth you preach. In it do we put our trust. Christ has overcome the world. May you experience the victorious hope of His Resurrection.

And to you lay faithful, parents, young people: I thank you for your support and prayer for priests in this Year. May the Lord grant us always a sufficient number of priests for all the needs of our parishes. And may the ceremonies of this Holy Week and Easter fill your heart with the peace and joy of the Resurrection. Amen.