Archbishop of Sydney

Chrism Mass

St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney
Is 61:1-3, 6, 8-9; Apoc 1:5-8; Lk 4:16-21

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
13/4/2006

Each Holy Thursday the diocesan bishop concelebrates with his priests, as part of the Holy Week ceremonies, and consecrates the three oils used in the sacraments.  So too all of us as priests recommit ourselves to priestly service of God and his people.

Therefore this is an occasion for the congregation to pray for their priests and seminarians, to express their gratitude for the work of their priests, while we priests thank God for our vocation and meditate on its significance.

The readings of the day are quite beautiful with the section from Luke’s gospel showing Jesus in his home town of Nazareth quoting today’s first reading from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah and applying it to himself. “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listened” he proclaimed provocatively.

Priests follow the example of Christ Our Lord and are anointed for service, to bring good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind and freedom to the downtrodden.  These particulars constitute together a tall order, often beyond our individual capacities, but the general direction and instruction are crystal clear.

Priests are also called other Christs and when they celebrate the sacraments they stand in the person of Christ himself.  For example at the consecration of bread and wine during the Mass into the Body and Blood of Christ, the priest speaks Christ’s very words in Christ’s name.  Therefore the second reading from the Apocalypse spells out some of the important characteristics of the Christ we follow:  He is the faithful witness to the Father, the First born of the dead, the Ruler of the Kings of the earth, who enabled our sins to be forgiven by his death on the cross.  He is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega who will return in glory at the end of time to judge the living and the dead.

It is important to remember that Our Lord did not marry and was a celibate, as were St. Paul and St. John the Evangelist.  In this as in every other way He is an important model for us as priests.  The Da Vinci Code might claim that Our Lord had a child with Mary Magdalene, but no serious scholar believes this nonsense.  Our Lord lived as a faithful celibate.

Priestly celibacy has to be seen within the context of Christian faith, because while there is a clear dimension of sacrifice and self control, celibacy is also seen as sacred, a very personal offering to Christ, not simply a renunciation to be borne stoically.  Celibacy clearly states that not only sex but even family love are not all important.  It spells out part of the meaning of Christ’s teaching that the first and the greatest commandment is to love God, while the second is that we love one another.

The immense Catholic network of services throughout Australia was built in less than 200 years primarily through the work of unmarried priests, sisters and brothers, because celibacy releases immense reservoirs of energy and time for the service of people.

Marriage and family life are the basis of all civilization, but they can fluctuate between heaven and hell and always take hard work, time and energy.

Like Christ, a priest is called to a spiritual paternity, to nurture Christians through the sacraments and prayer and generate new children through baptism. Through celibacy his heart should be undivided, less distracted and more focused for service.

The sacrifice of celibacy is still the best sign to people generally that a man is not a priest out of self-interest, while it also remains a potent witness to the reality of life after death where Christ has explained there will be no sexual intercourse.

A missionary priest said that he had travelled widely and never been among strangers, only brothers and sisters. A celibate priest’s life should be full of friendships, as well as supported by his brother priests and free for service.

The mandatory celibacy of Latin rite priests like ourselves is one of the glories of the Church and a major cause of our missionary vitality.  We must pray that our people will understand this that we too as priests will realise that the Lord blesses a cheerful giver, so that this discipline can continue to flourish for the glory of God and the good of his Church.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.