Tuesday, April 7, 2009

I'm up early today. As is usually the case on the Tuesday of Holy Week, there is a lot going around in my head. Today I will be attending the Chrism Mass as part of the diocesan choir.
Many have asked me what this is. Here is an article I found on the 'net.

CHRISM MASS
by Paul Turner

The Mass of Chrism comes once a year to the diocesan cathedral. If you've never celebrated it, you're missing one of the most solemn and significant liturgies of our church. During the Mass, the bishop will bless the oil of catechumens, the oil of the sick, and the oil of chrism. We use the first for adult catechumens and infants, the second for anointing the sick, and the sacred oil of chrism for baptism, confirmation, Holy Orders (priests, deacons, bishops), and the consecration of altars. All three are basically an olive oil; chrism spices the air with the scent of a perfume, traditionally balsam. For pastoral reasons, another vegetable oil and perfume may be used.

Bishops have blessed oil ever since the early church. They baptized catechumens at the Easter Vigil and prepared chrism fresh for the occasion. While they were blessing chrism, they blessed the other oils as well. Rather than overburdening the Vigil with this ritual, bishops blessed these oils at the previous celebration of the Eucharist, Holy Thursday. This also allowed time to transport vessels of oil from the cathedral to all the churches in the diocese. For more than one thousand years, bishops blessed the oils at the cathedral Holy Thursday liturgy, but in 1955 we added a separate Mass earlier in the day at the cathedral for that purpose, the Mass of Chrism. Today it may be celebrated on a different day shortly before Holy Thursday to give the celebration independence and so that more people may attend.

Since the bishop is the only minister in the diocese who may consecrate chrism, this Mass highlights his ministry and our union with him. He will not baptize and confirm everyone in the parishes of the diocese, but he will be symbolically present in the chrism which the priests and deacons will use. In recent years, this Mass has also acknowledged the ministry of priests. It invites them to renew their commitment of service and to receive the prayers and support of the people. The Mass of Chrism gathers the faithful of the diocese at their mother church with their shepherd to prepare for celebrations of Christ in all our churches throughout the year.
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I started work on Olivia's baby quilt. I am quite pleased with how it is turning out. I did, however, spend too much time in the quilting room yesterday. I didn't think that was possible, but I found myself joining the wrong pieces of another quilt I am working on.

I also made a batch of vanilla soap. With a previous batch I had tweaked my method and found that I didn't like the result. The soap developed a light film of ash which is not harmful but doesn't look aesthetically pleasing. It can be washed off, but that's a pain. I returned to my former method. I had been toying with the idea of changing my soap recipe to a simpler one, but I think I am not going to do that. Other than using goat's milk for lather, I am going to leave well enough alone.

My workroom is flooding again and that's also a pain. Harold said that as soon as the ground is firm enough, they will be digging up and replacing the tile. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

Word of the day:
Tuesday of Holy Week
Gospel
Jn 13:21-33, 36-38

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus' side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus' chest and said to him,
"Master, who is it?"
Jesus answered,
"It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it."
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
"Buy what we need for the feast,"
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said,
"Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you."

Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?"
Jesus answered him,
"Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later."
Peter said to him,
"Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you."
Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times."

God bless our troops!


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