By Gerard O’Connor

At 10:30 a.m. on April 6, the Chrism Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral of Christ the King by Bishop W. Thomas Larkin. It will be attended primarily by the majority of the priests of the archdiocese. In addition, lay people are strongly encouraged to join in the celebration of the sacramental priesthood.

The Chrism Mass is probably the most inconspicuous of all the pre-Easter celebrations. In this archdiocese for pastoral reasons, it falls on the Tuesday before the Easter Triduum. It is a wonderful celebration in the midst of the repentance and self-denial of Lent.

Why such a celebration before Lent is complete? Pope John Paul II, in his address at the celebration of the Chrism Mass in 1980, gives the answer. It is on this day each year that the communities of priests gather with their bishops around the world to proclaim that “by the grace of God we are priests of Christ.”

It is far more than a coincidence that it is the oil of chrism which is used for the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, holy orders and for the consecration of bishops. Through our own baptism we are all anointed into the royal priesthood of Christ: every woman, man and child. Later in life, some follow vocations to the ordained priesthood and even some to be consecrated bishops.

It is important that the priesthood of all the faithful through baptism is understood so that the responsibility for evangelization and the growth of the church is a shared responsibility of all – laity, Religious and priests.

Yet this day puts the emphasis on the ordained priesthood. The bishop as the shepherd and leader celebrates the Eucharist surrounded by his priests. It is the same celebration of the Eucharist that Christ had with the 12 apostles when he celebrated the Last Supper.

This was the institution of the Eucharist and also the beginning of the new role the apostles were to live. The priesthood is founded in the apostles with Peter the Rock as the foundation stone of the church and the first to preside in the church of the Romans.

The title apostle means one who is sent. In the beginning of the church this title was not only reserved to the 12 but, as we see in the letters of Paul, was used in a wider sense. Paul even uses the name to refer to himself.

Later, as the church developed, the community chose those who were to be priests from the community. As the numbers increased, the need for some control regarding those who were chosen was discerned and the words presbyter and deacon were used to characterize different ministries within the sacramental priesthood. With Ignatius of Antioch, a hierarchical organization appeared and the introduction of bishops began. The concepts of these distinct ministries continued and evolved over the centuries.

It is important to focus on the role of the bishop during the Chrism Mass. Father Gerald Dolan, OFM, a theological adviser to the late Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM, said “The Chrism Mass is an important event in the archdiocese insofar as it shows the bishop to be the focus of unity and providing for the sacramental life for the archdiocese both in the celebration of the Eucharist and in the blessing of the oils to be used in the rites of the sacraments.”

Lumen Gentium, the document of Vatican II which deals with the church, states that “the bishop, invested with the fullness of the sacrament of orders, is the steward of the grace of the supreme priesthood, above all in the Eucharist which he himself offers and from which the church derives its life and on which it thrives.”

Bishop Larkin, the retired bishop of St. Petersburg, Fla., comes to Atlanta this year as the celebrant of the Chrism Mass. Commenting on his presence, Father Dolan said, “The bishop has responsibility for his local church, but just as importantly, he also has responsibility for the universal church. Bishop Larkin comes to the church of Atlanta, who has been widowed, so we are not deprived of the episcopal presence.”

The celebration of the Chrism Mass will be a celebration of the sacramental life of the church and the presbyterate, but it is not uniquely a day for priests. It is also a day for the laity who join in this celebration. The documents of Vatican II under the heading of the church state: “The apostolate of the laity is a sharing in the salvific mission of the church. Through baptism and confirmation all are appointed to this apostolate by the Lord himself.”

“The laity are given this special vocation: to make the Church present and fruitful in those places and circumstances where it is only through them that she can become the salt of the earth.”

As baptized Catholics, all share in the royal priesthood of Christ. Through baptism, all can share in the celebration of the sacrament of orders April 6 with those who serve the Church every day during the year.