Arch Bishop Joseph Harris Chrism Mass Sermon

The Spirit of the Lord is upon us …

The following sermon was delivered by the Arch Bishop of Port-Of-Spain Joseph Harris, during the celebration of the Chrismal Mass on Monday 25 March.  Arch Bishop Joseph Harris had this to say:-

Today my dear friends, is a most important day in the life of this Archdiocese of Port of Spain. Two important things happen today. First, of all, we the clergy of this archdiocese will recommit ourselves to serving you our brothers and sisters following the example of Jesus Christ.

Of us can be said what was said of Jesus “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us, because he has anointed us to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent us to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. ” This year we celebrate this Chrism Mass with a certain reflectiveness of spirit because five (5) of our brothers who con-celebrated this Mass with us last year have been called by the Lord to the eternal homeland.

What has been emotionally draining for us is that all these deaths occurred between Christmas and Easter. These brothers of ours all brought tremendous gifts to the enterprise of evangelization; the intellectually stimulating and thought provoking gifts of Fr. Henry Charles; the search for harmony in families and communities of Fr. Neil Rodriguez; the efficiency and effectiveness of Fr. Andy Cockburn as a pastor; the desire for understanding among the various religions in our land of Dom Hildebrand Greene; and the humility and devotion to principle of Msgr Urban Peschier. The testimonies given about these priests tell us that they lived bringing glad tidings to the poor, that they proclaimed liberty to those held in the bad habits of sin, that through their preaching they gave new religious insights to those who heard them. They all showed us dimensions of holiness which enlightened our presbyterate and our Archdiocese. In spite of the loss of these brothers of ours, we are nonetheless filled with the great hope that they, now closer to God than we are, will in fact pray the Lord to send labourers into the vineyard to replace them and the Lord who never leaves the vineyard untended will surely hear their prayers.

Faced with this loss and the subsequent problem of insufficient priests to adequately cover all the parishes of this Archdiocese, the evident tiredness and loneliness of many of our priests, and the need to lend a hand to other dioceses which are worse off than we are, if we are to be true to the missionary nature of our church, we must find ways of using the many gifts and talents which are present in our presbyterate more effectively. I have also been forced, as I think that all of us

should be, to think about ways of increasing or making our vocation ministry more effective. How do we change the opinions of so many parents, young men and women, and not so young men and women (God calls persons of all ages) about the priesthood and religious life? In other words, where priesthood and religious life is concerned how do we become opinion makers so that men and women, the faithful in general, have opinions about the priesthood and religious life which will lead to a fostering of vocations. My dear friends, whether we have ever thought about it or not, whether we have ever realized it or not, whether we have ever understood it or not, we are all opinion makers, and the opinions we need to form will be formed by the authenticity of our lives. In this regard the example of Pope Francis is illustrative. In a few short weeks, some opinions have begun to change. In theory we knew that the bishop of Rome could take a bus with the other Cardinals; that he could go to a hotel, pay his bills and carry his own bags. Now that it has been done, opinions and expectations have changed and call all of us I dare say to a certain authenticity of life. If the Lord and Master has so done, must not we also. My dear brother bishop and brother priests, the actions of Pope Francis call us to greater authenticity, the Solemnity of the Passion death and Resurrection of the Lord, all that we commemorate from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday call us to deeper faith and greater love. For this reason the recommitment of our priestly vows and promises which we will make in a few moments is so important. As we pronounce these words, brothers let us pronounce them secure in the knowledge that with God’s grace, and the intercession of the Virgin Mother and the saints, we will be ministers to our people with ever greater love and attention, isolating no one, including all, sacrificing ourselves for all after the manner of Jesus Christ and doing it all with joyful hearts. Let us daily implore the Lord and seek the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and all the saints so that every day we may be filled with the graces which we need to do the above. What opinions would then be had of us, my dear brothers and sisters! What opinions would our lay brothers and sisters have of the priesthood and religious life? Dear brothers and sisters in the laity, what faces us is not easy, we need your help, your goodwill and your prayers. Do not be stingy with them please!

Today my dear friends we also bless the Holy oils and consecrate the Sacred Chrism. The Holy Oil of Catechumens is used in the preparation of Catechumens for baptism; the Sacred Chrism will be used to anoint the newly baptized, to seal those being confirmed, to anoint the hands of priests being ordained and the heads of bishops. These sacraments, baptism, confirmation and Holy Orders are the sacraments which ensure the continuation and growth of the church. Sacred Chrism is also used in the dedication of Altars and Churches, setting them aside for sacred use. The Holy Oil of the Sick (and I make a distinction here between Oil blessed for the Sacrament of the Sick — Holy Oil of the Sick and blessed Oil) will be used to help our brothers and sisters who are seriously ill and in danger of death so that they are strengthened to repulse the attacks of the evil one who wants to claim them for himself. It is important to note here that while the anointing of the sick with blessed oil is a laudable practice in the popular religiosity of our people and is done by the laity, it is not a sacrament and does not substitute for the sacrament. The sacrament of the Sick can only be administered by a validly ordained priest or bishop. It is important to note that priests come together and concelebrate this Eucharist as witnesses and cooperators with their bishop in the consecration of the Chrism because they as helpers of the bishop they share in the sacred office of the bishop in building up, sanctifying and governing the people of God.

My dear brother priests, we live a moment of confusion in our land. The still unacceptable rate of serious crime in our country; the national debate on the means which the government is pursuing to arrest the scourge of violence and murder; the call of larger arms for people officers: the large number of young persons in our country who have no hope; the incidents of physical and sexual abuse of women and children are all signs to us that our announcement of the good news seems to be falling on deaf ears. In this situation I think it important to repeat what I said last year at the Chrismal Mass; “we are called now more than ever to be agents and ministers of the merciful and forgiving love of God which is active and present but which needs to touch many more of our citizens and others who live in this twin island state. We will do this through the active and persistent lobbying of those who have it in their power to make a difference; though our own actions; and by ensuring that the structures of our parishes and institutions facilitate the promotion and experience of the merciful and forgiving love of God. In that regard I have begun to speak to the powers that be about a new facility for first offenders which will not condemn them to be jailed with hardened criminals. I call on you my brothers to make yourselves as available as possible for the sacrament of reconciliation
My brother priests, we will continue to be agents and ministers of that merciful and forgiving love of God and of that hope today only if we repeat with total clarity and sincerity.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

My dear brothers, as we renew our commitment this evening, may the formula that we use encapsulate the meaning of this scripture passage and may the sincerity of our hearts and our words make this quotation true. “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”