Priests renew their commitment

Apr 24, 2014

By Vincent D’Silva
Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing,SJ with the clergy of the diocese of Melaka-Johor congregated for the annual Chrism Mass at the Church of St Louis, Kluang, April 15 - an expression of the fullness of the bishop’s priesthood.

It also marked the renewal of the priestly commitment by the priests of the diocese. This once-a-year event also gave the bishop an opportunity to present all the priests in the diocese to the people.

Thirty priests and deacons from all over the diocese gathered with Bishop Paul Tan for the Chrism Mass. The Chrism Mass is unique as the oils blessed will be used to administer the sacraments.

During the Mass, Bishop Paul Tan urged the congregation to understand the institution of the Eucharist. However it would take many long talks to explain all the rich meanings of the Eucharist.

Bishop Paul Tan then called on his priests to renew their promise of obedience to their bishop. In turn, he said, the bishop loves his priests as sons and together they must profess and live love for each other and then, promote and gather the people of God into a communion of love.

He called on the laity to listen attentively to the words of the Mass — the renewal to priestly service and permanent diaconate and the blessing of the oils. They “express the unity of the clergy with the bishop to serve faithfully God and His people and to bless the different oils for the different sacraments for the bishop and his priests to use to sanctify the people of God.”

Bishop Tan then invited his permanent deacons to stand at the altar and make their pledge to serve the Church.

Then, the priests stood and renewed their commitment to the priesthood and their bishop. The Bishop then turned to the congregation and invited them to pray for him and the other priests.

This was followed by the procession where three jars containing the Oil of the Sick, Oil of Catechumens, and the Oil of Holy Chrism that were brought forward by Fathers Moses Rayappan, Patrick Tyoh and Cyril Mannayagam.

The Bishop then blessed the oils. These oils form an important part of the sacramental life of our communities during the year. The Holy Chrism, is used to anoint the newly baptized, to seal candidates for Confirmation, to anoint the hands of priests and the heads of bishops at their ordination, and for use in the rites of anointing pertaining to the dedication of churches and altars.

The three oils, Bishop Tan said, are basically olive oil but balsam or oils of flowers are added to the sacred chrism which fills the air with the scent of sweet perfume.

Prior to the Chrism Mass, the priests of the diocese had gathered for their one-day monthly recollection at the Canossian Convent ‘Oasis’ in Kluang.

Before the final blessing, Bishop Paul Tan presented to each priest of the diocese ‘an identification card’ — a laminated card similar to that of an identity card signifying that “they are priests of this diocese.” As the bishop called the names of his priests to receive the identification card, the congregation applauded loudly.

Soon after the final blessing, the deacons and priests were asked to remain at the altar for a group photo. Many parishioners armed with their cameras and mobile phones also tried to get shots of their clergy.