Anointed by the Lord “to bring man closer to God,’ says Card Ranjith
Colombo (AsiaNews) – The Chrismal Mass links the Eucharist and the priesthood because of its aspects as consecration and sanctification in the symbolism of the blessings of the Holy oils (chrism, and the oils for catechumen and the sick), said Card Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, during his homely in yesterday’s Mass in All Saints’ Catholic Church in Borella (a suburb in the Sri Lankan capital). For the past few years, the Chrismal Mass has been celebrated on the Monday before Easter instead of Holy Thursday in order to allow priests to take part in it.
In addition to the archbishop, the apostolic nuncio Archbishop Joseph Spiteri and Archbishops Emeritus Nicholas Marcus Fernando and Oswald Gomis presided over the blessing, along with other priests.
Quoting a number of passages from the Scriptures, Card Ranjith showed how the oil symbolises not only the primary need of man for physical and spiritual nourishment—for when the food was exhausted in a time of drought, the widow of Zarephath still had “a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a cruse” (1 kings, 17:12)—but how it also stands as a sign by which God consecrates the chosen ones. In fact, “Let us remember, Aaron, the first High Priets, and David, the Second King of Israel. Jesus himself saw his mission as that of being anointed by God”.
In concluding, Card Ranjith said, “This applies to us as well. [. . .] My dear brothers in the priesthood, our priestly mission is nothing other than a continuation of the mission of Jesus, the Lord’s anointed. We ourselves have been anointed with the oil of Chrism symbolising our being set apart, consecrated and sanctified for God. [. . .] Indeed, with the oils blessed and consecrated, we have been annointed at Baptism, at our Confirmation and at our Ordination. [. . .] Our being set apart for God in matters that pertain to Him is not to isolate us from the world” but to “allow God to make use of us to raise the world and humanity to the level of God”.
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