SAN DIEGO — At the conclusion of this year’s Chrism Mass, Bishop Michael Pham asked the assembly to recall that he had celebrated last year’s Mass, too, but that had been a “trial run,” while this year’s was “the real one.”
The quip was a reference to the fact that Bishop Pham, who was installed as bishop of San Diego last July, had been serving as diocesan administrator during the interim between Cardinal Robert W. McElroy’s installation as archbishop of Washington and the selection of a new bishop of San Diego by the pope.
The diocese celebrated the annual Chrism Mass on March 26 at Good Shepherd Parish in Mira Mesa. At the Mass, the bishop blesses the oil of the sick, which is used in the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, and the oil of catechumens, which is used as a preparation for baptism. With concelebrating priests, he also consecrates the holy chrism, a mixture of oil and balsam that is used to anoint the hands of priests and the heads of bishops at their ordinations; to dedicate churches and altars; and in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation.
After Mass, representatives from each parish received the oils allotted for their parish, where they would be solemnly presented during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday and used at the Easter Vigil and in sacramental celebrations throughout the year.
The Chrism Mass is also a celebration of the institution of the ministerial priesthood. It’s typical for around 200 priests to attend, vested for Mass and occupying several rows of pews. After the homily, the bishop asks the priests to publicly renew the promises that they made on the day of their priestly ordination, and he asks the faithful to pray for the diocese’s priests and for him as their bishop.
In his homily, Bishop Pham said that those gathered for the Chrism Mass had “come together with a shared mission: to proclaim the Good News.”
“We are sent by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Good News by our words and deeds, as Jesus did. We, too, are called to be missionary,” the bishop said. In today’s world, missionary outreach isn’t something that requires travel to “far countries,” but rather is something that can be done “right here where we live.”
Pope St. John Paul II used to refer to this as the “new evangelization,” Bishop Pham said.
“We need to reach out to the lukewarm Catholic Christians and … to continue to proclaim Jesus to those who still do not know Jesus yet,” he said. “We are to do this with all the new resources that we have available for us today, from Internet to social media – whatever we can use to share the word of God to the four corners of the world.”
Bishop Pham said, “We need everyone to take part in this mission, because we are the Body of Christ. Jesus is our head; we are his body. Every member of the body is important.”
“Every one of us,” he said, “has an important role to play in this world, so that the kingdom of Heaven can become more visible.”
