PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Father Michael Falce remembers the first time he administered a sacrament as a newly ordained priest. It was 2019 and the memorable occasion was a baptism at St. Patrick’s Church in Bay Ridge. It marked his first experience using chrism oil.
“It was very exciting,” he said. “I remember that not too long before that, we were together as an entire group of priests at the chrism Mass as we watched, at that time it was Bishop (Nicholas) DiMarzio, bless these oils. And then to be able to have them back in the parish and use them as you initiated this new member of the church was truly a special moment.”
Father Falce, the parochial vicar for St. Patrick’s Church, was one of hundreds of priests who gathered for this year’s chrism Mass celebrated by Bishop Robert Brennan at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights on Tuesday, March 26.
A Catholic Church tradition, the chrism Mass takes place during Holy Week and is centered on the moment in which a bishop consecrates the chrism oil and blesses the other sacred oils that are used in churches throughout the year for baptisms, confirmations, anointing of the sick, and other sacraments.
Auxiliary bishops, deacons, women and men religious, and laypeople from different parishes around the diocese were also in attendance at the Mass, which began with a procession by the clergy from Pacific Street into the co-cathedral.
The Mass also served as a salute to jubilarians — priests marking milestone anniversaries of their ordinations. There were priests at the co-cathedral celebrating their 25th, 50th, and 65th anniversaries.
The spiritual highlight of the Mass came when Bishop Brennan breathed into the vessel holding the chrism oil — a significant moment that served to remind all in the co-cathedral of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
There are three holy oils the Catholic Church uses for administering sacraments and for important moments such as consecrating an altar.
Chrism oil, a mixture of olive oil and balsam, is used for baptisms, confirmations, ordinations, and consecrations. Oil of the catechumens, which is made of olive oil, is used by priests to anoint catechumens. The oil of the sick, which is also made of olive oil, is used by a priest to anoint the sick.
Father Falce said he is always struck by the meaning of the oils. “The oils are with us during exciting moments like baptisms,” he said. “But they’re also with us at difficult moments, like the anointing of the sick when we’re preparing a loved one to return home to God. It shows the different aspects of priesthood — how through the sacraments, we’re with people in all different journeys in life.”
Father Patrick West, pastor of St. Sebastian Church in Woodside, recalled how he felt as a newly ordained priest in 1981. “I remember thinking about how you learn about chrism oil in the seminary and then there you are baptizing a baby,” he said.
“For me, more than the memory of a specific baptism, was the feeling that I was integrating the theology I had studied into practice,” he added.
Traditionally, the chrism Mass has also served another purpose. A bishop often uses his homily to deliver a message to his priests so that they can be inspired as they carry out their duties throughout the year.
Bishop Brennan sounded a note of unity in his message to his priests. “Tonight, we celebrate that unity through the blessing and distribution of the sacred oils for the sacramental life of our church,” he said.
“The oils that we bless this evening mark our unity with one another, our unity with Christ himself, and our unity in his mission,” he added. “We are strongest, at our best, when we are working together in this fashion bringing our various gifts, traditions and devotions.”
After listening to their bishop, the diocese’s priests stood in unison and renewed their vow of obedience to him. The first time they take that vow is when they are ordained into the priesthood. They renew that vow every year at the chrism Mass.
Following the Mass, the clergy joined Bishop Brennan at a celebratory dinner in the undercroft of the co-cathedral. The priests also received their supplies of chrism oil to take back to their churches.
