The pope in the Chrism Mass: "We are anointed to go to the crowd"

Renato Martinez – Vatican City

"By anointing well, we feel that there is a renewed anointing.I mean by this: we are not distributors of bottled oil, we are anointing ourselves distributing, distributing our vocation and our heart. We have been anointed anew by the faith and affection of our people, "said Pope Francis in his homily at the Chrism Mbad celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica, with the blessing of the Holy Oils and the renewal of promises. the priests, at the beginning of the Easter triduum.

He looks at the Lord

In his homily, the Holy Father commented on the Gospel of Luke that the liturgy presents today. This story brings back to life the emotion of this moment when the Lord appropriates the prophecy of Isaiah. "The gospels – the pontiff pointed out – often present this image of the Lord in the midst of the crowd, surrounded and squeezed by the people who bring him closer to his patients, urging him to expel the evil spirits, from the sins of the people. listen to his teachings and walk with him ".

The grace of being close to the people

Pope Francis also affirmed that the Lord has never lost this direct contact with people, has always maintained the grace of closeness, with the people as a whole and with each person in the midst of these multitudes. We see it in his public life, and it was like that from the beginning and it was also like that on the Cross; his heart attracts everyone to himself: Veronicas, Cyrennes, thieves, centurions. "The term crowd is not scornful.Maybe in the ear of some, a crowd may seem anonymous, undifferentiated mbad.But in the gospel we see that when they interact with the Lord – who enters them as a shepherd in his flock – the crowds are transformed.In the interior of the people is born the desire to follow Jesus, admiration is born, discernment is narrowed.

The grace of monitoring

At the Chrism Mbad, the Holy Father invited us to reflect on these three graces that characterize the relationship between Jesus and the multitude. The first is the grace to follow. Luke says that the multitudes "sought him" (Lk 4,42) and "followed" him (Lk 14,25), "pressed him", "surrounded him" (Lk 8,42-45) and "came" together "listen" (Lk 5,15). The tracking of people goes beyond any calculation, it is an unconditional pursuit, full of affection. This contrasts with the smallness of the disciples whose attitude towards people borders on cruelty when they suggest to the Lord to send them away, so that they can look for something to eat. Here, I believe, clericalism began: in this desire to obtain food and comfort by ignoring people. The Lord cut short this temptation. "Give them something to eat!" (Mk 6,37) was the answer of Jesus; "Take care of people!"

The grace of admiration

The second grace that receives the crowd following Jesus, said the pope, is one of admiration full of joy. The people marveled at Jesus (Lk 11:14), with his miracles, but especially with his person. People loved to greet him on the road, to be blessed and blessed, like the woman who blessed his mother in the middle of the crowd. And the Lord, on the other hand, admired the faith of the people, was happy and did not lose the opportunity to point it out.

The grace of discernment

The third grace that people receive – says the Pontiff – is that of discernment. "The crowd realized (where Jesus went) and followed Him" ​​(Lk 9:11). "They were amazed at his doctrine, for he taught with authority" (Mt 7, 28-29, Lk 5,26). Christ, the Word of God made flesh, awakens in the people this charism of discernment; certainly not a discernment of specialists in controversial issues. When the Pharisees and the teachers of the law quarreled with him, the people then discerned the authority of Jesus: the strength of his doctrine to penetrate into hearts and the fact that evil spirits obeyed him; and also, for a moment, leave without words those who implemented cheat dialogues. People appreciated that.

Evangelical vision of the crowd

The Holy Father deepened even more the Gospel vision of the multitude, said that the Gospel of Luke highlights four main groups privileged recipients of the anointing of the Lord: the poor, the prisoners of war, the blind, the oppressed. He names them in general, but we later see with joy that, throughout the Lord's life, these anointed ones will acquire their own face and their own name. Just as the anointing with oil is applied in one part and its beneficial action extends to the whole body, the Lord, taking the prophecy of Isaiah, names various "multitudes" "to whom the Spirit sends it, following the dynamics of what we may call an" inclusive preferential preference ".

Poor people

The poor (ptochoi), said the pope, are those who are bent, like beggars who tend to ask. But she is also poor (ptochè) the widow, who anointed with her fingers the two coins she had only that day to live. The anointing of this widow to give alms goes unnoticed to all, except those of Jesus, who looks with kindness at his smallness. With this, the Lord can fully fulfill his mission of proclaiming the Gospel to the poor. Paradoxically, the good news that there are such people is heard by the disciples. She, the generous woman, did not even know that she was "out of the Gospel", that is to say that her gesture would be published in the Gospel: l & # 39; 39; joyously announces that his deeds "weigh" in the Kingdom and are worth more than all the riches of the world, she saw it from the inside, like so many "neighbor" saints and saints.

L & # 39; blind

The blind man is represented by one of the most sympathetic faces of the Gospel: that of Bartimaeus (see Mk 10: 46-52), the blind beggar who regained his sight and who, from there, did not have only eyes to follow Jesus the way. The anointing of the look! Our gaze, to which the eyes of Jesus can return, this gleam that only a free love can give, this glare which is stolen daily by the images interested or bbad which the world fills us.

L & # 39; oppressed

To name the oppressed (tethones), said the Holy Father, Luke uses an expression that contains the word "trauma". Just mention the parable, perhaps Luke's favorite, the Good Samaritan who anointed with oil and bandages the wounds (traumata: Lk 10,34) of the man who had been beaten to death and lay on the edge of the road. The anointing of the wounded flesh of Christ! In this anointing, we can remedy all the traumas that have left people, families and entire cities, excluded and left out of history.

Captives are prisoners of war

Finally, the captives are prisoners of war (aichmalotos), those who were taken to the tip of the spear (aichmé). Jesus will use this expression to refer to the captivity and deportation of Jerusalem, his beloved city (Lk 21,24). Today, cities are captivated not at the end of the spear, but through the more subtle means of ideological colonization. Only the anointing of our own culture, mixed with the work and art of our elders, can free our cities from this new slavery.

Priests, we were anointed to anoint

Pope Francis, directing his gaze to the priests, said that we should not forget that our evangelical models are this "people", this crowd with concrete faces, which the Lord's anointing strengthens and invigorates. These are the ones who complete and realize the Spirit's anointing in us, who have been anointed to be anointed. We have been caught among them and we can without fear identify ourselves to these simple people. They are the image of our soul and the image of the Church. Each of them embodies the unique heart of our people. "We priests are poor and we would like to have the heart of the poor widow when we give alms and we touch the hand of the beggar and look into our eyes.We, priests, are Bartimaeus and every morning, we stand up to pray and pray, "Lord, I can see" (Lk 18:41).

We are anointing ourselves with dirtying our hands

Before concluding his homily, the Holy Father confessed that, when he confirmed and ordained, he loved to spread chrism on the forehead and in the hands of the anointed. "By anointing well, we feel that there is a renewed anointing, by which I mean: we are not distributors of bottled oil, we are anointing ourselves distributing, distributing our vocation and our heart. anointing, we are re-anointed by the faith and love of our people.Owe we anoint ourselves by dirtying our hands by touching the wounds, sins and anguish of the people; touch their faith, their hopes, their loyalty and the unconditional generosity of their delivery.

May the Father, with Jesus among our people, renew in us the outpouring of his Spirit of holiness and lead us to unite in order to implore his mercy for the people entrusted to us and for the whole world. Thus, the multitude of people, gathered together in Christ, can become the only faithful people of God, who will have his fullness in the Kingdom.