POPE FRANCIS GOD'S ANOINTED ONES FULL TEXT MASS OMILY AND VIDEO


(Vatican Radio IMAGE -SHARE) CHRISM MASS: POPE FRANCIS WARNS PRIESTS THAT INSATISFACTION COMES FROM NOT GOING OUT OF ONESELF
Vatican City, 28 March 2013 (VIS) –
The solemn Holy Thursday Chrism Mass celebrated in the Vatican Basilica opens the Paschal Triduum of Holy Week. During the course of the Mass, celebrated in all the churches and cathedrals throughout the world, priests renew the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience that they made at their ordination. Also, the oil used to anoint catechumens and the oil used to anoint the sick as well as the chrism oil—olive oil scented with balsam—used to anoint those being baptised, confirmed, or receiving Holy Orders is blessed.
The Chrism Mass presided over by the Holy Father was concelebrated by the over 2,000 cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests present and was attended by over 10,000 faithful. 
(Vatican Radio REPORT) Below please find the official text of Pope Francis’ Homily for Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday 2013:
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This morning I have the joy of celebrating my first Chrism Mass as the Bishop of Rome. I greet all of you with affection, especially you, dear priests, who, like myself, today recall the day of your ordination.

The readings of our Mass speak of God’s “anointed ones”: the suffering Servant of Isaiah, King David and Jesus our Lord. All three have this in common: the anointing that they receive is meant in turn to anoint God’s faithful people, whose servants they are; they are anointed for the poor, for prisoners, for the oppressed… A fine image of this “being for” others can be found in the Psalm: “It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down upon the collar of his robe” (Ps 133:2). The image of spreading oil, flowing down from the beard of Aaron upon the collar of his sacred robe, is an image of the priestly anointing which, through Christ, the Anointed One, reaches the ends of the earth, represented by the robe.

The sacred robes of the High Priest are rich in symbolism. One such symbol is that the names of the children of Israel were engraved on the onyx stones mounted on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, the ancestor of our present-day chasuble: six on the stone of the right shoulder-piece and six on that of the left (cf. Ex 28:6-14). The names of the twelve tribes of Israel were also engraved on the breastplate (cf. Es 28:21). This means that the priest celebrates by carrying on his shoulders the people entrusted to his care and bearing their names written in his heart. When we put on our simple chasuble, it might well make us feel, upon our shoulders and in our hearts, the burdens and the faces of our faithful people, our saints and martyrs of whom there are many in these times…

From the beauty of all these liturgical things, which is not so much about trappings and fine fabrics than about the glory of our God resplendent in his people, alive and strengthened, we turn to a consideration of activity, action. The precious oil which anoints the head of Aaron does more than simply lend fragrance to his person; it overflows down to “the edges”. The Lord will say this clearly: his anointing is meant for the poor, prisoners and the sick, for those who are sorrowing and alone. The ointment is not intended just to make us fragrant, much less to be kept in a jar, for then it would become rancid … and the heart bitter.

A good priest can be recognized by the way his people are anointed. This is a clear test. When our people are anointed with the oil of gladness, it is obvious: for example, when they leave Mass looking as if they have heard good news. Our people like to hear the Gospel preached with “unction”, they like it when the Gospel we preach touches their daily lives, when it runs down like the oil of Aaron to the edges of reality, when it brings light to moments of extreme darkness, to the “outskirts” where people of faith are most exposed to the onslaught of those who want to tear down their faith. People thank us because they feel that we have prayed over the realities of their everyday lives, their troubles, their joys, their burdens and their hopes. And when they feel that the fragrance of the Anointed One, of Christ, has come to them through us, they feel encouraged to entrust to us everything they want to bring before the Lord: “Pray for me, Father, because I have this problem”, “Bless me”, “Pray for me” – these words are the sign that the anointing has flowed down to the edges of the robe, for it has turned into prayer. The prayers of the people of God. When we have this relationship with God and with his people, and grace passes through us, then we are priests, mediators between God and men. What I want to emphasize is that we need constantly to stir up God’s grace and perceive in every request, even those requests that are inconvenient and at times purely material or downright banal – but only apparently so – the desire of our people to be anointed with fragrant oil, since they know that we have it. To perceive and to sense, even as the Lord sensed the hope-filled anguish of the woman suffering from hemorrhages when she touched the hem of his garment. At that moment, Jesus, surrounded by people on every side, embodies all the beauty of Aaron vested in priestly raiment, with the oil running down upon his robes. It is a hidden beauty, one which shines forth only for those faith-filled eyes of the woman troubled with an issue of blood. But not even the disciples – future priests – see or understand: on the “existential outskirts”, they see only what is on the surface: the crowd pressing in on Jesus from all sides (cf. Lk 8:42). The Lord, on the other hand, feels the power of the divine anointing which runs down to the edge of his cloak.

We need to “go out”, then, in order to experience our own anointing, its power and its redemptive efficacy: to the “outskirts” where there is suffering, bloodshed, blindness that longs for sight, and prisoners in thrall to many evil masters. It is not in soul-searching or constant introspection that we encounter the Lord: self-help courses can be useful in life, but to live by going from one course to another, from one method to another, leads us to become pelagians and to minimize the power of grace, which comes alive and flourishes to the extent that we, in faith, go out and give ourselves and the Gospel to others, giving what little ointment we have to those who have nothing, nothing at all.

A priest who seldom goes out of himself, who anoints little – I won’t say “not at all” because, thank God, our people take our oil from us anyway – misses out on the best of our people, on what can stir the depths of his priestly heart. Those who do not go out of themselves, instead of being mediators, gradually become intermediaries, managers. We know the difference: the intermediary, the manager, “has already received his reward”, and since he doesn’t put his own skin and his own heart on the line, he never hears a warm, heartfelt word of thanks. This is precisely the reason why some priests grow dissatisfied, become sad priests, lose heart and become in some sense collectors of antiques or novelties – instead of being shepherds living with “the smell of the sheep”, shepherds in the midst of their flock, fishers of men. True enough, the so-called crisis of priestly identity threatens us all and adds to the broader cultural crisis; but if we can resist its onslaught, we will be able to put out in the name of the Lord and cast our nets. It is not a bad thing that reality itself forces us to “put out into the deep”, where what we are by grace is clearly seen as pure grace, out into the deep of the contemporary world, where the only thing that counts is “unction” – not function – and the nets which overflow with fish are those cast solely in the name of the One in whom we have put our trust: Jesus.

Dear lay faithful, be close to your priests with affection and with your prayers, that they may always be shepherds according to God’s heart.

Dear priests, may God the Father renew in us the Spirit of holiness with whom we have been anointed. May he renew his Spirit in our hearts, that this anointing may spread to everyone, even to those “outskirts” where our faithful people most look for it and most appreciate it. May our people sense that we are the Lord’s disciples; may they feel that their names are written upon our priestly vestments and that we seek no other identity; and may they receive through our words and deeds the oil of gladness which Jesus, the Anointed One, came to bring us. Amen.
PROMULGATION OF DECREES BY CONGREGATION FOR CAUSES OF SAINTS
Vatican City, 28 March 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday, Wednesday 27 March 2013, the Holy Father received in audience Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. During the course of the audience the pontiff authorised the dicastery to promulgate the decrees concerning the following causes::
MIRACLE
- attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Maria Theresia Bonzel (nee Regina Christine Wilhelmine Bonzel), foundress of the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration in Olpe, Germany. Born in Olpe on 17 September 1830 and died there on 6 February 1905.
MARTYRDOM
- Servant of God Manuel Basulto y Jimenez, bishop of Jaen, Spain, and five Companions; killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1937.
- Servant of God Jose Maximo Moro Briz and four Companions, priests of the Diocese of Avila, Spain; killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.
- Servant of God Vladimir Ghika, priest of the archdiocese of Bucharest, Romania. Born in Istanbul, Turkey on 25 December 1873 and killed in hatred of the faith in Bucharest on 16 May 1954.
- Servant of God Joaquin Jovani Marin and 14 Companions from the Diocesan Labourer Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1938.
- Servant of God Andres from Palazuelo (ne Miguel Francisco Gonzalez-Diez Gonzalez-Nunez), professed priest of the Order of Capuchin Friars Minor, and 31 Companions; killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1937.
- Servant of God Giuseppe Girotti, professed priest of the Order of Preachers. Born in Alba, Italy, on 19 July 1905 and killed in hatred of the faith in Dachau, Germany, in 1945.
- Servant of God Stefano Sandor, professed religious of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Born in Szolnok, Hungary, on 26 October 1914 and killed in hatred of the faith in Budapest, Hungary, on 8 June 1953.
- Servant of God Rolando Rivi, seminarian of the diocese of Reggio Emilia-Guastalla. Born in Castellarano, Italy, on 7 January 1931 and killed in hatred of the faith in Piane di Monchio, Italy, on 13 April 1945.
HEROIC VIRTUES
- Servant of God Eladio Mozas Santamera, diocesan priest and founder of the Josephine Sisters of the Most Holy Trinity. Born in Miedes de Atienza, Spain, on 18 February 1837 and died in Plasencia, Spain, on 18 March 1897.
- Servant of God Manuel Aparici Navarro, diocesan priest. Born in Madrid, Spain, on 11 December 1902 and died there on 28 August 1964.
- Servant of God Moises Lira Serafin, professed priest of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit and founder of the Missionaries of Charity of Mary Immaculate. Born in Zacatlan, Mexico, on 16 September 1893 and died in Mexico City, Mexico on 25 June 1950.
- Servant of God Generoso of the Crucified (ne Angelo Fontanarosa), professed priest of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ. Born in Vetralla, Italy, on 6 November 1881 and died in Mascalucia, Italy, on 9 January 1966.
- Servant of God Olinto Marella, diocesan priest. Born in Pallestrina, Italy, on 14 June 1882 and died in San Lazzaro di Savena, Italy, on 6 September 1969.
- Servant of God Antoine Kowalczyk, lay brother of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Born in Dzierzanow, Poland, on 04 June 1866 and died in Edmonton, Canada on 10 July 1947.
- Servant of God Silvia Cardoso Ferreiro da Silva, laywoman. Born in Pacos de Ferreira, Portugal, on 26 July 1882 and died there on 2 November 1950.
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 28 March 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father appointed Bishop Mario Aurelio Poli as metropolitan archbishop of Buenos Aires (area 203, population 2,891,082, Catholics 2,647,000, priests 834, permanent deacons 7, religious 2,379), Argentina. The archbishop-elect was born in Buenos Aires in 1947, was ordained a priest in 1978, and received episcopal ordination in 2002. Since ordination he has served in several pastoral and academic roles, most recently as bishop of Santa Rosa, Argentina. On the Argentine Episcopal Conference he was a member of the Episcopal Commissions for Catholic Education and for Ministers and is currently president of the Episcopal Commission for Catechesis and Biblical Ministry.

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