When is chrism blessed

The Chrism Mass, ordinarily celebrated on Holy Thursday morning by the Bishop and concelebrated with the priests of the diocese, is the Mass when the bishop consecrates the holy chrism and blesses the oil of catechumens and the oil of the sick.

Priests are brought together and concelebrate this Mass as witnesses and cooperators with their bishop in the consecration of the chrism because they share in the sacred office of the bishop in building up, sanctifying, and ruling the people of God. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.

The oil of the catechumens is used in the preparation of the catechumens for their baptism. The oil of the sick is used to bring comfort and support to the sick in their infirmity. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of His body, sharing everlasting life. Here, the bishop anoints the altar, pouring holy chrism on the middle of the altar and on each of its four corners. It is recommended that the bishop anoint the entire altar.

After anointing the altar, he anoints the walls of the Church in 12 or fourteen places marked by crosses. It is also used to anoint the new bell of church. Moreover, with oil the Jews anointed the head of a guest as a sign of welcome e. Ru and prepared a body for burial e.

Mk In religious practices, the Jews also used oil to offer sacrifices e. Ex ; to dedicate a memorial stone in honor of God e. Gn ; and to consecrate the meeting tent, the ark of the covenant, the table, the lampstand, the laver, the altar of incense, and the altar of holocausts e. Ex The use of oil was clearly a part of the daily life of the people.

Sacred Scripture also attests to the spiritual symbolism of oil. Therefore, the symbolism of oil is rich sanctification, healing, strengthening, beautification, dedication, consecration and sacrifice. Given this heritage, the early Church adopted the use of olive oil for its sacramental rituals. The Oil of Catechumens is used in connection with the sacrament of baptism.

Hippolytus, in his Apostolic Tradition A. Anointing with the oil of catechumens following a prayer of exorcism may also take place during the period of the catechumenate on one or several occasions. The oil of the infirm is used in the sacrament of the anointing of the sick formerly known as extreme unction.

He should ask for the priests of the Church. Any unused chrism is to be disposed of reverently and carefully; for many parishes, this means burying or burning the oil although many liturgical guides point out that olive oil is hard to burn and recommend soaking cotton balls in the chrism to help the process along.

While there is no dictate on how to properly dispose of the chrism, many parishes either burn it in the paschal fire or, sometimes, in a separate liturgical celebration during Holy Week. The liturgy acknowledges the inward transformation by the Holy Spirit that is signified by anointing with chrism.

Burning chrism returns the oil to God and celebrates the renewal of our faith and the new oils that are soon to be consecrated for the coming year. This article also appears in the July issue of U. Catholic Vol. Image: Flickr cc via Diocese of Bethlehem.