Jesus gave His life for us out of love for us so that through His death we might find forgiveness for our sins and even now enter into the new life of the risen Christ, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB reminded the faithful attending Palm Sunday Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral to mark the commencement of Holy Week.
“This new life,” he said, “became ours at the time of our baptism, it was strengthened through the gift of the Holy Spirit when we were confirmed, it is renewed – we might even say recreated – when we celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation and it is constantly deepened within us when we receive the Lord in the Eucharist.”
Archbishop Costelloe said our recognition that we are sinners in need of forgiveness was one of the most fundamental truths of our Catholic faith.
“We pray this week in particular that the Lord will bring light into the darkness of our lives and the lives of those we have hurt; that the Lord will make whole anything in our lives or in the lives of others that we, through our cruelty or our indifference, have destroyed,” he said.
“The realisation of our need for God‘s mercy and healing can ensure we really do experience the joy of Easter, the joy of new life, the joy of healing, the joy of second chances, and the joy of the hope which Easter plants within us.”
Chrism Mass
A powerful symbol of unity within the Church was celebrated at this year’s Chrism Mass as the clergy of the Archdiocese joined with Archbishop Costelloe at St Mary’s Cathedral to collectively bless the Oil of Catechumens, Oil of the Sick, and Oil of Chrism that will be used in the ministry of various sacraments through to Easter 2027.
“Tonight is an opportunity to reflect a little on what it means to have sacraments at the heart of our Christian life,” Archbishop Costelloe told the congregation.
“The seven sacraments of our Catholic faith are the seven privileged and visible signs of this presence of God among us in Jesus: He, we might say, is the first sacrament and the foundational sacrament who, through the power of his divine grace, makes each of our seven sacraments powerful, and Spirit-filled, and utterly reliable and effective.
“The sign of water in Baptism really does wash away sin and as the water runs off our head or our bodies we really do emerge into new life with Christ.
“The sign of oil used in the Anointing of the Sick really does confer healing, sometimes internal and sometimes external and we are strengthened for the journey ahead.
“The sign of bread and wine offered to us as food and drink really does, as we celebrate the Eucharist, become the body and blood of the Lord who enters into a profound communion with us.
“In every case, the sacraments draw us into a deeper relationship with Christ, and It is in this relationship that we find ourselves united in a profound way with God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
“As Jesus draws us into communion with Him through the sacramental life of His Church, He also draws us into His mission: we, in His name, poor though we are, are still called to bring Good News to the poor; held bound though we are by so many worries, fears and fragilities, we are yet called to proclaim liberty to captives; lost and blind though we sometimes seem to be we are still called to proclaim new sight to the blind; downtrodden and oppressed by others though we may sometimes feel, we are still called to set the downtrodden free; and alone and far away from the Lord though we may think we are, we are still called to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour, God’s gracious presence among us, to everyone.”
The challenge, Archbishop Costelloe said, was deciphering how we can share in the Lord’s mission.
Another significant aspect of the celebration saw the clergy renew their commitment to their mission of serving the Church and their communities.
“Tonight we acknowledge in a special way the ministry of our priests and thank God for the generous gift they make of themselves on our behalf,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“God calls men to the ordained priesthood so that through their celebration of the sacraments with us and for us, and through the quality and integrity of their lives, they are at our service assisting and enabling us to be faithful to the Christian vocation that we all share and to which we could never be faithful without the help God gives us through His Church: to be together a sacrament, a living sign of the presence of Jesus at work in His Church and at work in His world,” he added.