Chrism Mass 2024

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
March 25, 2024

My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

It is a beautiful and a great joy to gather tonight as the family of God — bishops and priests, deacons and seminarians, religious men and women and consecrated, lay men and lay women from all walks of life.

So this is the Church in Los Angeles and the Church is alive! It is so beautiful, as I said, to gather together today.

So we know that these holy oils that we bring for consecration tonight are the sign of our Christian identity, the sign of our anointing, the gift of God’s Spirit in our lives.

Jesus says this evening in the Gospel: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me.”

And this is the reality of our lives, too. In our baptisms, the Lord has anointed each one of us and his Spirit is upon us.

This is what the name “Christian” means. It means that we are the Lord’s “anointed ones.”

That means that we have a dignity, a nobility, and a liberty that comes to us from God himself. And there is nothing in this world that can ever take that away from us.

We hear a beautiful prayer tonight from the Book of Revelation: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his Blood, who has made us into a Kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.”

So my dear brothers and sisters, we find everything in these words: who we are, what we are here for; the meaning and purpose of our Christian lives.

The beautiful truth is that Jesus Christ died for us, to set us free from sin and to make us “priests” for his kingdom.

“You yourselves shall be named priests of the Lord,” the prophet Isaiah tells us in the first reading. He is talking to all of us, not only those who are ordained.

As we know, we all participate in the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The whole church is a priestly people. Through baptism, all the faithful share in the priesthood of Christ. This participation is called “the common priesthood” of the faithful.

As the Lord’s “priests,” we share in his mission of sanctifying this world, of making this world God’s kingdom — a world of truth, beauty, and goodness; a world of holiness, justice, and mercy.

So tonight, in this Holy Mass, we ask Jesus to renew us and strengthen us in our “priestly” identity and mission. We ask that he help us to love him more and more, to grow in virtue, and to serve him with great devotion.

So this Mass, the Chrism Mass is also a remembrance of our Lord’s Last Supper, on the night before he died, when he established the Eucharist and the apostolic priesthood.

So my dear brothers, tonight we renew the promises we made when we were ordained, when Jesus entrusted his own priesthood to us, making us stewards of his mysteries.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And we are his priests forever!

Each of us knows that our vocation is a great gift and a great mystery.

Jesus chose us from before the foundation of the world. He destined us in love, long before we were found in our mothers’ womb, he wanted us to be his priest.

And when we were ordained, we offered Jesus the gift of ourselves: our lips to speak his words of truth and forgiveness; our hands to offer the sacrifice of his Body and Blood.

And in turn, Jesus gave us the power to be his instruments, to preach and to teach, and to sanctify in his name. In this wondrous and mysterious exchange, my dear brothers, Jesus calls us to continue his presence on earth, to continue his saving works.

Each of us is called to be “another Christ.” This is the great nobility, and the profound responsibility of our vocation.

One of the saints said: “The priest’s incomparable dignity … is a greatness which is on loan: it is completely compatible with my own littleness.”²

I think this is a beautiful thought. “Christ alone is the true priest,” the only source for our priesthood.³

We know that apart from Jesus we can do nothing. But we know, too, that with him — all things are possible! Bread and wine can be made his Body and Blood. Sinners can be made holy. The world can be reconciled to God.

And my dear brothers, you are the instrument of his love. Through you, Jesus Christ comes again to love us and to feed us, to forgive us and to save us for eternal life.

So my dear brothers, let us thank God tonight for the gift and mystery of our vocation! And let us go deeper into the mystery of our calling.

My dear brothers and sisters, let us ask Jesus tonight for the grace to be holy as he is holy, and to reflect in our lives the glory of God!

And may Holy Mary, Our Lady Queen of the Angels, help all of us to walk with her Son with more love and more devotion, seeking his holiness and proclaiming his salvation to all creation.