Obedience and prayers important for priests

Priest, Fr Arul Mariadass, OFM, expressed his joy saying, “We are indeed happy that we have been given this privilege to have the Chrism Mass in our parish as this year is the 50th Anniversary of the Parish. This is an honour for us, indeed.”

Bishop Sebastian Francis, in his homily, specifically referred to the Letter to the Hebrews, saying that it is the most important testament to the priesthood. He further reiterated that obedience to Christ and prayers are important in the priests’ lives as they are sent to sanctify and serve God’s people entrusted to them. They are to intercede for all God’s people without being exclusive or selective. “We are nothing without Jesus’ sharing His priesthood with us,” added Bishop Sebastian.

After the homily, priests from the Penang Diocese renewed their Priestly Promises before the Bishop. The holy oils, Oil of Catechumenate, Oil of the Sick and Holy Chrism were then brought forward to be blessed. The blessing of the Holy Chrism was different from that of the other oils. Here the bishop breathed over the vessel of chrism, a gesture which symbolised both the Holy Spirit coming down to consecrate this oil, and the life-giving, sanctifying nature of the character of the sacraments for which it is used. The three holy oils were then bottled to be distributed to the different parishes throughout the diocese.

Friar John Soh, OFM shared that what touched him most was being reminded of the priesthood as God’s grace for all of us. Bro George Vaithynathan, seminarian at College-General Penang echoed the thoughts of Friar John Soh, emphasising that priesthood is indeed a gift of grace from God. Eileen Kung, who led the choir for the evening, said that being part of the celebration was an eye-opening experience for her as this is the first time that she has seen such a big gathering of priests coming together for a Mass.

The celebration ended with light refreshments and fellowship among the priests and the people.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online