"We are not distributors of bottled oil, we distribute ourselves"

Pope Francis presided this morning of Thursday the 18th of April, the Chrism Mbad in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Before a large representation of the priests and religious of the diocese of Rome, the pope renewed with the priestly promises and blessed the holy chrism, catechumen oil and oil for the anointing of the sick.

The pontiff praised Jesus' ability for "direct contact with people" as a model of the nearness of the priests of today, a Jesus whose "heart attracts everyone: Veronicas, Cyrenees, thieves, centurions …" For this reason, Francis wanted to show three "graces" of Jesus by transforming the crowd. "Inside the people, the desire to "follow" Jesus awakens, "admiration" is emerging, discernment is consistent& # 39; "

Follow-up, admiration and discernment

For Francisco, "tracking people goes beyond any calculation, is unconditional follow-up, full of affection "in front of the attitude of the disciples say goodbye to the people in the story of the multiplication of the loaves proclaimed in the liturgy of the day, a form – says the pope – of "Clericalism" "wanting to ensure food and comfort regardless of people. "

After the follow-up is the admiration of the people for Jesus and vice versa: "The Lord, for his part, He admired the faith of the people, he was happy and did not miss any opportunity to point it out. ". And from there, we move on to the discernment that leads them to see in Jesus their "authority", that is to say "the strength of their doctrine to enter hearts" and how it leaves "without words those who have set up deceptive dialogues ".

The "preferential preference" of Jesus

In accordance with Luke's gospel, Bergolgio also emphasized the "inclusive preferential preference" of the Lord through four major groups: "The poor, the prisoners of war, the blind, the oppressed". Among the poor, Francis recalled the example of the widow of the Gospel for whom alms to God is "more than all the riches of the world, she saw her from the inside, like so many saints and saints next door ". In the healing of the blind Bartimaeus, Francisco pointed out "the anointing of the gaze", that "look, to which the eyes of Jesus can render, that brilliancy which only a gratuitous love can give, that brilliancy which is stolen every day from the interested or bbad images of which the world fills us".

To the oppressed and the captives, Francisco proposes "The anointing of the wounded flesh of Christ" and "The anointing of our own culture, mixed with the work and art of our elders, can liberate our cities from these new slaves. "" They are the ones who complete and the anointing of the Spirit in us becomes real, that we were anointed to anoint, "he said, referring directly to the priestly consecration.

Remedy against pettiness and abuse

Referring to the liturgical use of holy oils, the pope pointed out that "By anointing well, we feel that there is a renewed anointing". "We are not bottled oil distributors. to distribute, to distribute our vocation and our heart ".

For the pontiff, "in the anointing, we are united by the faith and love of our people. dirty your hands by touching the wounds, sins and anguish of the people; we onions perfume hands to touch their faith, their hopes, their fidelity and the unconditional generosity of their delivery. "Whoever learns to anoint and bless is cured of smallness, of abuse and cruelty, "he concluded.