The Chrism Mass is a religious service held in certain Christian denominations, such as Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism. [1] [2] It is usually celebrated each year on Maundy Thursday or on another day of Holy Week. During the ceremony, the holy oils used for sacraments and rituals are blessed or consecrated.
The Chrism Mass is one of the most solemn and important liturgies of the Christian liturgical calendar. The ancient Christian Apostolic Tradition (c. 200 A.D.) described a "ceremony taking place during the Easter Vigil at which two holy oils were blessed and one was consecrated." [3] During this rite, two oils were "blessed by the bishop: the oil of the sick and the oil of exorcism". [3]
Maundy Thursday is the usual day in which this Mass is celebrated in a diocese or archdiocese. During this Mass the Holy Oils are consecrated or blessed. The Holy Oils are:
The Oil of the Catechumens and Oil of Chrism are used on Holy Saturday during the Easter Vigil for the baptism and confirmation of adults or children over the age of 10 who wish to fully enter the Church.
Holy chrism is a mixture of olive oil and balsam, an aromatic resin. Balsam is poured into the oil, which gives it a sweet smell intended to remind those who encounter it of the "odor of sanctity" to which those who are marked with it, are called to strive. The bishop breathes over the vessel containing the chrism, a gesture which symbolizes the Holy Spirit coming down to consecrate this oil, and recalls the actions of Jesus in the Gospel account of John 20:22, when he breathed on the apostles and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit..." The priests concelebrating the mass extend their hands toward the vessel containing the chrism and say the chosen "prayer of consecration" silently as the bishop pronounces it over the chrism. [5] [3]
Anciently, in the Latin Liturgical Tradition, a special Mass – the Chrism Mass – was celebrated on Maundy Thursday. But, as Dom Prosper Guéranger noted his Liturgical Year (writing in the 1800s), “for now many centuries, this great ceremony is celebrated at the single Mass, which is said on this day in commemoration of our Lord's Supper.” [6] During the Pontificate of Pope Pius XII, a separate Mass for the blessing of the Holy Oils was promulgated. [7]
The blessing of the Oils is traditionally celebrated in the diocesan/archdiocesan cathedral and generally held on the morning of Maundy Thursday. However, for practical reasons, many dioceses celebrate this mass on another day during Holy Week. [8] It is often the largest annual gathering of clergy and faithful held in most dioceses. [5] In some dioceses, attendance is sufficiently significant that, due to limited seating, tickets are distributed to parishes. [9] The mass is a celebration of the institution of the priesthood with Jesus' words at the Last Supper, "Do this in memory of me." [10] During the mass, all present are called to renew their baptismal promises; priests and deacons (the ordained) are further called to reaffirm their ministry by renewing the promises made at their ordination. [1] [5] [11]
The Mass takes its name from the blessing of the holy oils used in the sacraments throughout the year, which are then given to priests or extraordinary lay ministers to take back to their parishes. [12] During the part of the Chrism Mass called the Rite of Reception of the Oils, representatives from every diocesan/archdiocesan parish receive the three oils. This signifies each parish's unity with their bishop, archbishop or cardinal. [13] Whenever the holy oils are used, the ministry of the bishop who blessed and consecrated them is symbolically present. [14] The oils distributed are meant to last all year, although extra oil is also blessed during the mass and is kept at the cathedral as a reserve if a parish runs out. [15]
The service is a 1967 restoration of the rite recorded in the early 200s by the historian Hippolytus who writes of a ceremony taking place during the Easter Vigil at which two holy oils were blessed and one was consecrated. In the fifth century, the ceremony of the oils was transferred from the Easter Vigil to Maundy Thursday. A separate mass for that purpose was instituted and made distinct from the Mass of the Lord's Supper. The change took place not only due to the large crowds that assembled for the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night, but to fully emphasize Christ's institution of the ordained priesthood during what is traditionally called The Last Supper. [3] In the decree renewing this rite Pope Paul VI said “The Chrism Mass is one of the principal expressions of the fullness of the bishop’s priesthood and signifies the closeness of the priests with him.” [3]
While the Oil of the Catechumens and the Oil of the Sick, are simply "blessed," the Sacred Chrism is "consecrated".
On Maundy Thursday, Lutherans celebrate the Chrism Mass, which is presided over by a bishop. [1] In the Chrism Mass, the holy oils are blessed and clergy renew their vows. [1]
The 1979 BCP (p. 307) calls for chrism to be consecrated by the bishop. This may be done when the bishop is present in the parish for Confirmation. In many dioceses, the consecration of chrism by the bishop may be done at a service of reaffirmation of ordination vows during Holy Week. Similar to the Roman Catholic ritual, during the Chrism Eucharist, the Bishop will bless the oils used throughout the next year for baptisms and healing. In addition, the Bishop and clergy in attendance will reaffirm their Ordination Vows. [2]
Anointing of the sick, known also by other names such as unction, is a form of religious anointing or "unction" for the benefit of a sick person. It is practiced by many Christian churches and denominations.
Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body.
Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels.
Divine Liturgy or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service.
Holy Week is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. For all Christian traditions, it is a moveable observance. In Eastern Christianity, which also calls it Great Week, it is the week following Great Lent and Lazarus Saturday, starting on the evening of Palm Sunday and concluding on the evening of Great Saturday. In Western Christianity, Holy Week is the sixth and last week of Lent, beginning with Palm Sunday and concluding on Holy Saturday.
The Feast of Corpus Christi, also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is a Christian liturgical solemnity celebrating the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus in the elements of the Eucharist; it is observed by the Latin Church, in addition to certain Western Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican churches. Two months earlier, the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper is observed on Maundy Thursday in a sombre atmosphere leading to Good Friday. The liturgy on that day also commemorates Christ's washing of the disciples' feet, the institution of the priesthood, and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The Paschal Triduum or Easter Triduum, Holy Triduum, or the Three Days, is the period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Maundy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday. It is a moveable observance recalling the Passion, Crucifixion, Death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus, as portrayed in the canonical Gospels.
Presbyterium is a modern term used in the Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches after the Second Vatican Council in reference to a college of priests, in active ministry, of an individual particular church such as a diocese or eparchy. The body, in union with their bishop as a collective, is a symbol of the collaborative and collegial nature of their sacerdotal ministry as inspired by the reforms made during the Second Vatican Council.
Chrism, also called myrrh, myron, holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian, Nordic Lutheran, Anglican, Old Catholic, and Latter Day Saint churches in the administration of certain sacraments and ecclesiastical functions.
The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a liturgy held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this liturgy that people are baptized and that adult catechumens are received into full communion with the Church. It is held in the hours of darkness between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Day – most commonly in the evening of Holy Saturday or midnight – and is the first celebration of Easter, days traditionally being considered to begin at sunset.
Asperges is the rite of sprinkling a congregation with holy water. The name comes from the first word in the 9th verse of Psalm 51 in the Latin translation which is sung during the traditional form of the rite except during Eastertide. The 51st Psalm is also one of the antiphons that may be sung in the rite under the Mass of Paul VI.
In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Methodism and Anglicanism, an altar bell is typically a small hand-held bell or set of bells. The primary reason for the use of such bells is to create a “joyful noise to the Lord” as a way to give thanks for the miracle taking place atop the altar.
In the history of Christianity, the African Rite refers to a now defunct Christian, Latin liturgical rite, and is considered a development or possibly a local use of the primitive Roman Rite. Centered around the Archdiocese of Carthage in the Early African church, it used the Latin language.
During the Mass of the Faithful, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered to have been changed into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The manner in which this occurs is referred to by the term transubstantiation, a theory of St. Thomas Aquinas, in the Roman Catholic Church. Members of the Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran communions also believe that Jesus Christ is really and truly present in the bread and wine, but they believe that the way in which this occurs must forever remain a sacred mystery. In many Christian churches some portion of the consecrated elements is set aside and reserved after the reception of Communion and referred to as the reserved sacrament. The reserved sacrament is usually stored in a tabernacle, a locked cabinet made of precious materials and usually located on, above, or near the high altar. In Western Christianity usually only the Host, from Latin: hostia, meaning "victim", is reserved, except where wine might be kept for the sick who cannot consume a host.
The Oil of Catechumens, also known as the Oil of Exorcism, is the oil used in some traditional Christian churches during baptism; it is believed to strengthen the one being baptized to turn away from evil, temptation and sin.
The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass "the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, is present and offered in an unbloody manner". The Church describes the Mass as the "source and summit of the Christian life", and teaches that the Mass is a sacrifice, in which the sacramental bread and wine, through consecration by an ordained priest, become the sacrificial body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ as the sacrifice on Calvary made truly present once again on the altar. The Catholic Church permits only baptised members in the state of grace to receive Christ in the Eucharist.
The altar of repose is a temporary altar where the Communion hosts consecrated on Maundy Thursday during the Mass of the Lord's Supper are placed, or "reserved", for use on the following day, Good Friday.
The Mass of the Lord's Supper, also known as A Service of Worship for Maundy Thursday, is a Holy Week service celebrated on the evening of Maundy Thursday. It inaugurates the Easter Triduum, and commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, more explicitly than other celebrations of the Mass.
Holy Week is a significant religious observance in the Philippines for the Catholic majority, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente or the Philippine Independent Church, and most Protestant groups. One of the few majority Christian countries in Asia, Catholics make up 78.8 percent of the country's population, and the Church is one of the country's dominant sociopolitical forces.
The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (Latin: Ordo initiationis christianae adultorum), or OCIA, is a process developed by the Catholic Church for its catechumenate for prospective converts to the Catholic faith above the age of infant baptism. Candidates are gradually introduced to aspects of Catholic beliefs and practices. The basic process applies to adults and children who have reached catechetical age. In many English speaking countries, it is called Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). In the United States, the name was changed to the OCIA in 2021 to reflect greater fidelity to the original Latin, although this change has yet to be officially approved by the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
This service, also called a Chrism Mass, is held during Holy Week and presided over by a synodical bishop. At this unique liturgy, the blessing of oil is coupled with a renewal of vows for rostered leaders. The traditional day for this service is Maundy Thursday (when some traditions believe the first ordinations took place). In some places (especially in geographically large synods), bishops make provision for several chrism masses throughout the synod to enable all rostered leaders to participate.
Liturgical year of the Catholic Church | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Authority control databases: National |
|---|
