Sacred chrism oil prepares us to be active Christians

In February, Daniel Day Lewis received the Academy Award as best actor for his riveting performance in "There Will Be Blood," a movie based upon Upton Sinclair's classic novel on capitalism, "Oil."

Mr. Day Lewis plays a power-hungry "wheeler-dealer" who seeks to exploit and manipulate poor landowners in early 20th-century California.

In those days, oil was looked upon as the new gold. It could well be argued that oil remains the most precious commodity in our present global economy. Indeed, the need to preserve the flow of oil from the Mideast was at least a partial factor in the decision to enter the war with Iraq.

Access to new sources of oil has been a major contributor to the economic recovery of some of the republics of the former Soviet Union. The spiraling cost of oil has impacted our economy adversely, and its effect upon the environment has led the auto industry to develop more fuel-efficient cars.

Christian oil

Oil has become a basic necessity in contemporary life, access to which motivates diplomacy, stimulates investments, and can determine the destiny of nations and their citizens.

At our annual Chrism liturgy, held during Lent at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, the focus was also on oil -- not the oil pumped from recesses of the earth or sea to fuel our houses, factories, planes, cars and machines, but the oil which is the fruit of the olive branch...the precious oil that has been presented from the earliest days of salvation history as a sign and symbol of God's healing presence and of His overflowing, compassionate love:

* In the Hebrew Scriptures, kings, prophets and priests were anointed with oil to empower and strengthen them for their sacred tasks.

* In the New Testament, the very name "Christ" means the "Anointed One" because Jesus is the long-promised Messiah, the only begotten Son of God, anointed and sent forth by the Father to free us from the bonds of sin and death, and -- by His life, death and resurrection -- to enable us to become adoptive sons and daughters of His heavenly Father, His own brothers and sisters, and living temples in whom His Spirit dwells.

Invaluable oil

Because of their spiritual effect, the oils we bless and consecrate annually at the Chrism liturgy are infinitely more valuable than commercial oil and its products, which have made the marvels of modern life possible:

* The oil of the sick imparts spiritual healing, consolation, peace, inner serenity and forgiveness to those who are infirm or terminally ill;

* the oil of catechumens helps those preparing to enter the Church at Baptism to come to a deeper understanding of the Scriptures and of the challenges of Christian discipleship; and

* the oil of sacred chrism is used to anoint and strengthen with God's power and grace the newly baptized, confirmed and ordained, so that they can be transformed into the likeness of Christ, and truly participate in His royal, prophetic and priestly work.

Christ's mission

What dignity, then, those sacred oils give to us, making us sharers of God's own divine life, and what an awesome responsibility they place upon us -- to continue the mission of Jesus in our time and in our place.

That mission is spelled out clearly in the Gospel reading for the Chrism Mass. It tells us how, at the outset of Jesus' public ministry, He entered the synagogue in Nazareth, took a scroll from the book of the Prophet Isaiah and read the following passage: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me: therefore, He has anointed me. He sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor; to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of the sight to the blind and release to prisoners; to announce a year of favor from the Lord" (Luke 4:18-20).

Having completed the reading, Jesus said, "Today, this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

Helping the poor

We who have been or will be anointed by the oils blessed and consecrated at the Chrism Mass are called to ensure that this from the Bible passage is fulfilled in our day as well.

Like Jesus, we, too, must bring glad tidings to the poor:

* to our family members, neighbors, classmates, friends and co-workers, and those in our wider society and world who have never heard of or have strayed from the Good News of Jesus Christ, which is the greatest poverty of all;

* to the 37 million of our fellow Americans who live below the federal poverty line;

* to the 45 million who lack healthcare insurance;

* to the 800 million people globally who suffer from persistent hunger and malnutrition, and

* to those in places like Kenya, Darfur, Somalia and Iraq who are threatened daily by the wanton savagery of warfare and mindless terrorism.

Aiding immigrants

In particular, I would mention the 12 million immigrants who are living in our country without documentation, hiding in the margins of society, often exploited by employers and others, and lacking a clear path to citizenship.

They have become the scapegoats for our socio-economic woes, the focal point for our irrational fears, and the objects of our hatred and prejudice, when all they really want is a better life for their families and themselves -- just as our immigrant ancestors did.

As God's anointed people who are called to continue the prophetic work of Jesus, we must be willing to speak on behalf of this voiceless and powerless minority at a time when this may be very unpopular.

We should urge the Congress and the President to develop comprehensive immigration reform -- reform that is humane and compassionate, that respects human dignity and rights, that is protective of family bonds, and that is truly responsive to our overall economic well-being and security needs.

Freeing captives

We are also anointed to proclaim liberty to captives:

* to those addicted to alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography and sexual indulgence;

* to those mesmerized by the violence found in so many movies and TV shows, heard in so many musical lyrics, or spewed so vehemently by shock media hosts and commentators;

* to those captivated by the craving for material things, a captivity which has made us in the U.S. unequal consumers of two-thirds of the world's resources and prime exploiters of the environment, contributing mightily to the phenomenon of global warming; and

* to those who have become workaholics or escapists from meaningful interaction with others through excessive involvement with jobs, studies, video games or the internet.

If we ourselves are bound by those addictions, we must seek the professional and spiritual help needed to set us free. We must also be willing to reach out to those captivated by these bonds by refusing to enable them further, and by offering them our love and support.

Giving sight

Our mission as God's anointed people calls us as well to bring recovery of sight to the blind:

* to those who, because of selfishness or the fear of failure, turn a blind eye to the call of God to marriage, to having children, to becoming a priest, deacon, or religious brother or sister; and

* to those who refuse to acknowledge the beam in their own eye, the beam emanating from the seven deadly sins of pride, greed, envy, lust, sloth, anger and gluttony, which blind them to the poisonous fruit of their behavior, be it of commission or omission.

First, of course, we must check ourselves with regard to removing those failures from our life and then be willing to challenge institutions within our society that may be oblivious to the ways their policies and practices are oppressing, manipulating and destroying others -- be such institutions the government, the business community or the Church itself.

Freeing imprisoned

Further, we must bring release to prisoners -- to those incarcerated in our juvenile detention facilities, city and county jails, state and federal prisons -- by advocating for restorative justice, the goal of which is to provide healing for victims, rehabilitation for perpetrators, and safety and security for the community.

Promoting and supporting alternatives to incarceration programs for non-violent offenders, supporting victim compensation funds or opposing the death penalty are other concrete ways in which to do this.

A special group of prisoners in urgent need of release are the women, teenagers and even pre-teens who are the victims of human trafficking. This trafficking of women for sexual purposes has become a major national and international scandal that cries out to heaven for vengeance.

Fortunately, many have become involved in advocating against this heinous practice. I urge us to explore ways we can combat this modern form of degrading enslavement.

Of course, all of us must be willing to speak out against any form of imprisonment that involves torture. No matter what crimes a person has committed or what information he or she may possess, the use of torture is not justified. The law of God and the law of nature make such brutality a practice every civilized society must reject and condemn.

Called to be Church

Finally, we must announce a year of favor from the Lord. I would submit that, in our Diocese of Albany, this year of favor can be accomplished through our prayers for, support of and participation in the "Called to be Church" pastoral planning process.

This process is designed to help us prune the branches of the tree, so to speak: to make the changes needed, painful as they may be, in order to match our personnel, fiscal and material resources to our mission, so that we can fulfill the mission of the Church at the outset of the 21st century.

In the second reading for the Chrism liturgy, taken from the Book of Revelation, we are told that Jesus "has made us a royal nation of priests in the service of His God and Father" (Rev 1:6).

Assured that we are so loved and so empowered, we must embrace the challenges "Called to be Church" presents -- not with fear and apprehension, not with uncertainty and doubt, not with anger, suspicion and mistrust, but with that hope and optimism that comes from Him who is "the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is, who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8).

Standing on this foundation and with this wind at our back, may we strive to fulfill our sacred responsibility to be God's anointed people -- today, tomorrow and for the rest of our lives.

(04/03/08) [[In-content Ad]]