Mass of Holy Oils

Ave Maria:-) 

Ola dear brothers and sisters... it is Holy Thursday of the most blessed week of all...Holy Week - a week special for Christians all over the world. A week devoted to remembering with love, with deep gratitude, a sincerely repentant heart and with much awe... God the Father's marvelous plan in redeeming mankind by sending us His Beloved Son Jesus Christ , born of Mary... rasied by Mary and foster father Joseph the carpenter..

 It the week of all weeks..the week that defines mankind's destiny... a week that reminds us of our purpose in life... the week that shatters any remaining evil stronghold of satan on man and on all of creation. Glory to God in the highest!

Here's trivia that might interest you... every Holy Thursday...Catholic priests renew their priestly vows in the Mass of the Holy Oils or Chrism Mass:

Here is an exerpt from Pope Benedict's homily during Chrism Mass 2009:

that we may a deeper understanding of the priestly vocation ... our priests have been under so much cruel scrutiny..yet we forget what a great sacrifice and challenge it is to beling to Christ and Christ alone, and so Pope Benedict explains:

To consecrate something or someone means, therefore, to give that thing or person to God as his property, to take it out of the context of what is ours and to insert it in his milieu, so that it no longer belongs to our affairs, but is totally of God. Consecration is thus a taking away from the world and a giving over to the living God. The thing or person no longer belongs to us, or even to itself, but is immersed in God. Such a giving up of something in order to give it over to God, we also call a sacrifice: this thing will no longer be my property, but his property. In the Old Testament, the giving over of a person to God, his "sanctification", is identified with priestly ordination, and this also defines the essence of the priesthood: it is a transfer of ownership, a being taken out of the world and given to God. We can now see the two directions which belong to the process of sanctification-consecration. It is a departure from the milieux of worldly life – a "being set apart" for God. 

It doesn't mean that the priest becomes segregated rather rather ope Benedict explains : Rather, being given over to God means being charged to represent others. The priest is removed from worldly bonds and given over to God, and precisely in this way, starting with God, he is available for others, for everyone. 

Isn't that staggering ...? that is how much Jesus loves us by creating the priesthood of which He is First and Foremost the High Priest, the example of all priests.Hence rather than go gung-ho balistic on all the misdemeanors of priests , let us pray and offer sacrifices for them... have holy fellowship with them..help them become good priests. We need them..the world needs them. They are the ones consecrated to minister the sacraments , all seven of them which is Christ's way of giving us the graces , feeding , strengthening that we need.Without priests no one will minister the sacraments.. above all, no one can celebrate Holy Mass..there would be no Holy Eucharist, the Bread of Life by which Jesus makes Himself available that we might feed on His body and BLood and be so nourished.

there is a reason for having a preist to shepherd God's people , as there is a divine reason for having a pope to unite the universal church.

during this mass, the oil is also blessed....  I so love this information:

  A mixture of oil of olives and balsam, blessed by a bishop in a special manner and used in the administration of certain sacraments and in the performance of certain ecclesiastical functions. Thatchrism may serve as valid matter for the Sacrament of Confirmation it must consist of pure oil of olives, and it must be blessed by a bishop, or at least by a priest delegated by the Holy See. These two conditions are certainly necessary for validity; moreover it is probable that there should be an admixture of balsam, and that the blessing of the chrism should be special, in the sense that it ought to be different from that which is given to the oil of the sick or the oil of catechumens. (Cf. Lehmkuhl, Cas. Cons. II, n.102.) If either of the last two conditions is wanting the sacrament will be doubtfully valid. To deal with the subject in a sufficiently exhaustive manner, it will be enough to touch upon

1. the origin and antiquity of chrism;
2. its constituent nature;
3. its blessing; and
4. its use and symbolical significance.

this then becomes the oil used for healing during the sacrament of the Sick and other purposes of the church. 

this Holy Thursday , let us join the faithful in seeking our Lord... at the mass later will be the Washing of the Feet... Jesus washing the apostles' feet... His example of what He came to do.. to serve and not to be served....our Lord the Epitome of humility and charity.Thank you Jesus.

Have to go.... have a memorable Holy Week..be blest......and let's pray for each other....te mye