The three Holy Oils which were blessed by Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao at the annual Chrism Mass of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman in Se Cathedral Church, Old Goa.
OLD GOA
Archbishop of Goa and Daman Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao on Thursday invited priests to be caring leaders, living their priesthood in all freedom and to be discerning pastors always seeking to know what God wants of them.
He was delivering his homily at the annual Chrism Mass of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman at Se Cathedral Church, Old Goa.
The Chrism Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Ferrao, Bishop Emeritus of Port Blair Alex Dias and priests representatives from all over the Archdiocese. The main objective of the Chrism Mass is to express more clearly the presbyterian communion of the priests with their Bishop.
During this Mass, the cardinal also blessed the Holy Oils, namely, the Oil of the Catechumens (Oleum Catechumenorum), the Oil of the Sick (Oleum Infirmorum), and the Holy Chrism Oil (Sacrum Chrisma).
In the course of the celebration, Cardinal Ferrao reminded the priests to be faithful to their priesthood, and invited them to renew their priestly promises publicly.
In his homily, Cardinal Ferrao highlighted that Jesus invites the priests to be shepherds, stewards in the Kingdom of God guiding the people and being with them in their journey, sometimes in front when they need to be led, sometimes in the middle to motivate and support them and sometimes at the back to promote unity and fellowship.
He invited the priests to be caring leaders, living their priesthood in all freedom and to be discerning pastors always seeking to know what God wants of them.
The Chrism Mass is important because in this Mass the Bishop expresses his bond with the Priests and all the faithful. The priests in their turn resolve to work under the fatherly care and guidance of their Bishop, who in turn asks for prayers from priests and faithful to help him reflect on the life of Christ. This unique celebration unites the Bishop, all the priests working in the Archdiocese and the faithful they cater to.
At the end, Cardinal Ferrao also reminded the faithful about a circular issued by him regarding the National day of fasting and prayer to be held on March 22, to pray for spiritual blessings for our nation. Cardinal Ferrao also made the sentiments of Pope Francis his own by urging the faithful to pray for Peace in Palestine and Israel.
The Chrism Mass ended with the releasing of Pastoral Diary for the coming Year at the hands of Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao and Bishop Alex Dias, Emeritus Bishop of Port Blair Diocese. The Pastoral Diary which has the Schedule for Major events in the Archdiocese has been prepared under the direction of Pastoral Secretariat of the Archdiocese.
