Chrism Mass brings the diocese together, bishop says

Ten priests honored at Chrism Mass

Ten priests of the Diocese of Wichita celebrated jubilees of their ordinations at the Chrism Mass Tuesday, April 4, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita. Those honored and the number of years ordained:
60 years: Fr. Paul Oborny
55 years: Fr. Wayne Schmid
40 years: Fr. Michael Baldwin, Fr. James Billinger, and Fr. Robert McElwee
30 years: Fr. Jose Machado, Fr. John Hotze, and Fr. Michael Schemm
25 years: Fr. David Lies and Fr. James Weldon

Bishop Carl A. Kemme said the Chrism Mass, celebrated this year on Tuesday, is one of his favorite liturgies in the church year because all of the priests of the diocese gather with the faithful.

The priests renew the commitment they made on the day of their ordination, he said, and jubilarians are honored for so generously sharing themselves with the church.

“The Chrism Mass is also a liturgy that brings together people from every walk of life, from every corner of our local church, from all our parishes, religious congregations, campus ministry programs, our Catholic hospitals, and our institutions that care for the elderly, our many services through Catholic Charities, indeed from every place where the Catholic faith is lived and shared by ordinary men, women and children, called to an extraordinary life as disciples of Christ,” the bishop said.

We give all to the Lord

Those taking part in the liturgy bring their faith and gifts and put them at the feet of Jesus Christ, he said, “offering to the Lord a response of profound gratitude for all that we have and are and pledging ourselves anew to share these blessings with God and neighbor.”

Although those attending traveled to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception from various places, cultures, and situations, the bishop said, the Chrism Mass is a moment of ecclesial unity: a unity in faith, a unity in worship, and a unity in mission.

“Here we see ourselves united by what we believe, by how we worship, and by how we are called to serve; with a common mission to go forth to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all God’s children and to evangelize today’s culture. This is what we have identified as our diocesan mission so that more and more minds, hearts and souls will be won for Christ so that they too, like us, can have the abundant life that only Christ can give.”

Jesus was clear about his mission

Bishop Kemme commented on the day’s readings talking about how clear Jesus was about his mission. Jesus quotes Isaiah: “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.”

The same Holy Spirit gathered those taking part in the Chrism Mass, the bishop said. “This Spirit of life and evangelical mission will be breathed into the Chrism Oil consecrating it so that persons can be baptized, confirmed, ordained, and altars and walls consecrated for sacred purposes; all of this so that the church and her members will continue to be fully alive by embracing a life dedicated to discipleship, evangelization, and stewardship.”

The priests call down the Holy Spirit upon bread and wine to consecrate the elements to become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, he said.

The Holy Spirit is upon us

“It is the same Spirit that is upon us here today and upon all our fellow members wherever they are, who by virtue of baptism, confirmation, holy orders, religious consecration, and holy matrimony are called to bring glad tidings to a dark and lonely world, a world in so many ways imprisoned by paralyzing fear and depressing doubt, a world that suffers repeatedly from the violence we do to each other, a world, a culture that has in many ways lost its sense of direction, meaning, and purpose.”

It is the mission of the faithful to do as Jesus did after leaving the synagogue in Nazareth, he said: to go and announce the Gospel of the Lord. It is a challenge, but our Lord promised he would always be with us.

“This promise fills us with confidence. It should also move us to seek the Lord’s grace, strength, and wisdom in all things by living a life of constant prayer and seeking the grace of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist, which we pray will undergo a great revival in our times, is our source of divine strength and grace. There is nothing else quite as powerful and effective in nourishing the soul of the disciple and in keeping us on mission.”

Reclaim the holiness of Sunday

Bishop Kemme then reiterated his call and encouragement to reclaim Sunday as the day of the Lord. “This is done first and foremost by worshipping at the Mass, which I pray will be always an experience of transcendent, reverent, and solemn prayer for our people.

“I appeal to our priests to do all they can and must to make the Sunday celebration of the Mass the most important moment in the parish each week, a moment as Pope Francis often says of real, authentic, and transformative encounter. The Sunday Mass should be something very special, offered with utmost reverence, sound preaching, and deeply sacred music.”

Sunday is for family

Keeping holy the sabbath is a commandment from God, he added. “Let us reclaim this for ourselves and this generation. We also can and must observe and live this day as God intended by resting in the Lord, taking time to be with family and friends, and to refrain from all unnecessary activity that often robs us of the restorative peace we need to persevere in the mission.

“Given our culture and the indubitable tyranny of secular thought and practice, none of this is easy. It never has been. For this reason, we not only need the Lord whom we encounter in prayer and the sacraments, but we also need each other.”

Apostolic courage that empowered the apostles to do seemingly insurmountable and impossible things, is needed to persevere, Bishop Kemme said. “This is the courage I most pray for, for myself and for each of you.”