On Tuesday, March 28th, priests from around the Diocese of Helena gathered with Bishop Vetter in the Cathedral of St. Helena to celebrate the annual Chrism Mass.
The Chrism Mass is a special yearly liturgy where the Bishop of a diocese concelebrates with priests from the various deaneries to consecrate the Sacred Chrism with which the newly baptized are anointed and those to be confirmed are signed. The Oil of Catechumens and Oil of the Sick are also blessed, which are used throughout the year for those being baptized and those receiving Anointing of the Sick, respectively.
In his homily Bishop Vetter asked the people of God to continue to encourage and pray for their priests and to pray for our Seminarians and for more vocations to the priesthood. To his brother priests, he said, “Each day, be be refreshed in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Allow Him to refresh our lives, to nourish us at our deepest core, to bring Him, to be salvation, which is Jesus himself. Bring His oil, His smile, His encouragement, His Mercy. He is in us! Let Him shine forth! Give him permission to use you as he desires. Let us look for the people we are not seeing, and be partners with the people of God to evangelize anew.”
Many Thanks to J. Michael Connell Photography for providing images!
Chrism Mass Livestream