Cafod’s Jubilee Icon and the Diocesan Jubilee Cross were part of the Celebration.
Source: Diocese of Nottingham
An estimated 700 people-including school children, lay people, musicians, Religious and clergy- gathered for the Jubilee Mass of Chrism at 11.30am on Wednesday morning, which takes place every year, during Holy Week.
This year’s Chrism Mass was slightly different, as both Cafod’s Jubilee Icon and the Diocesan Jubilee Cross were carried in the entrance procession, and displayed, on either side of the cathedral lectern.
In honour of the Jubilee Year, the Chrism Mass was opened with a fanfare of shofars-the ceremonial ram’s horn- to honour the arrival of the Jubilee Icon and Diocesan Cross, in keeping with the Book of Leviticus, which recalls God’s institution of the first Jubilee Year.
Cafod commissioned Ethiopian artist, Mulugeta Araya, to write their icon in recognition that the Jubilee Year is a global celebration, not merely one in England and Wales. Meanwhile, the Diocesan Jubilee Cross was first designed by Augustus Pugin in 1844 and is rarely on public display.
The Chrism Mass is traditionally a celebration of the priesthood, during which all the priests renew their dedication to the priesthood in union with the Bishop.
The Chrism Mass is also a celebration of the blessing of the oils- the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of Catechumens and the consecration of the Sacred Oil of Chrism- which were presented to Bishop Patrick McKinney by representatives from the Diocesan Curia, the Diocesan Education Service and the Diocesan Youth Service.
Schools also played a significant role in the celebration, with a student from All Saints School in Mansfield and Fionuala Boucher, Deputy Director of Education, giving the First and Second Readings, respectively.
Meanwhile, beautiful music was performed by the Cathedral Choir, the Diocesan Choir, Cathedral boys’ choir and Cathedral girls’ choir and the Mansfield Children’s choir.
The Chrism Mass is the first of many Masses and liturgies, over which Bishop McKinney will preside in the days ahead, at St Barnabas Cathedral in Nottingham.
He will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday at 7pm, the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday at 8pm, and Solemn High Mass on Easter Sunday at 11:15am.
On Good Friday, he will begin the day hearing Confessions at the cathedral from 10:30am, before leading the Good Friday Solemn Liturgy at 3pm. Bishop McKinney will also celebrate Mass for prisoners during the weekend, at HMP Nottingham.
ST BARNABAS CATHEDRAL, JUBILEE YEAR 2025
In just a few minutes, the priests of the diocese, and the other priests who minister within it, will renew before God and this congregation the solemn promises they each first made when they were ordained. This annual public renewal of priestly promises is important, because in doing so, we as priests are opening our hearts afresh to the power, the guidance, and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, without whom our priestly ministry would bear no fruit. It’s a most important and very personal moment, and yet one that’s made today in a very public manner. Why?
Because it’s an opportunity for us as priests to publicly acknowledge our utter dependence upon God. We’ve each been called to serve as priests of Christ Jesus, but we know all too well that we can’t minister simply in our own strength, no matter what talents and skills we may each have. Christ Jesus, through his Holy Spirit, is the one who calls us to serve him, is the one who enables us to be ministers of his Word and Sacrament; to minister his love, forgiveness, healing, care and compassion to others. So, we welcome this opportunity to thank God for all the ways in which, through his Holy Spirit, he enables us to do so with joy, hope, gratitude, and a great sense of fulfilment. It’s helpful for this to be done in public, here in the Cathedral at this Mass of Chrism, because it can serve to help correct a negative impression that some people can have of our lives as priests. There can be the impression that the priesthood, while a vital part of the life of the church, is a rather sad, lonely and difficult kind of life. If that were true, but it isn’t, then from the perspective of a parent I could well begin to understand why they might not want that kind of life for their sons.
But, from the perspective of priests, that misunderstanding of our lives can be frustrating because, as priests, we know from our own personal experiences that although the priesthood makes demands upon us, as indeed does any manner of serving God, it is in truth a most joyful, hopeful and very fulfilling life. So, in preparing to renew our priestly promises in Mass today, we recognise that it’s important and helpful that we’re given this opportunity to bear public witness to our need to seek from the Lord, once again for the coming year of ministry, the graces we each need to preach the truth of how fulfilling a life the priesthood really is, and to do so not only with words, but most especially by the witness of our daily lives.
So, if as priests, we’re feeling right now a little tired, which is understandable, we know we can take a moment, before renewing our promises, to pray silently for ourselves and for our brother priests. We know we can ask the Holy Spirit to breath new strength and vigour within each of us, as we know the Spirit gladly wishes to do. As priests, as human beings, who live in a fast-changing world, we all experience, like everyone else, like those we do our best to serve, the highs and lows of daily life. Like everyone else, we’re encouraged when things go well, we’re disappointed when things don’t work out or parish initiatives don’t get the support we would hope for. But what does keep us deeply hopeful and joyful is the truth that we know it’s Christ’s Church, we are His ministers, He the Lord is in charge and, through his gift to us of the Holy Spirit, He is continually working in and through our lives as priests. We know, and we experience it in our ministry, that He is faithful to his promise: ‘I will be with you always, until the end of time.’ So we welcome this opportunity today to bear public witness to this.
If, as priests today, we’re feeling a little overwhelmed, in that there’s a lot coming at us right now, then we know from experience that we can ask the Holy Spirit to breath new strength and vigour within each of us, so as to renew, and deepen still more in us, the gifts of joy and hope to bolster our flagging human spirits and to strengthen us in our ministry. We know from our own experience that joy, hope, and a sense of true fulfilment in our ministry, are indeed some of the benefits of opening our hearts and lives regularly to the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. We also recognise that there’s no better sign of the Holy Spirit being at work in our lives and in our ministry than a face, and especially a heart, that’s transformed by joy and hope. So we welcome this opportunity to publicly acknowledge this, because we know that the witness of a renewed, joyful, hopeful and fulfilled priest is certainly our best way of promoting and encouraging vocations, alongside and in support of the good work of our Vocations team.
The joy of which I speak is of course not some passing superficial emotional state. The same is true of hope. They each find their source deep within our being, bearing witness to the presence of the Holy Spirit there. Sometimes this joy and hope will lie beneath the surface, out of sight of others, but we know it’s always truly there. As a fruit of our asking today as priests, for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit into our lives, we will shortly pray silently, but publicly, that our priestly ministry may be blessed and empowered anew with joy and hope in an ever more visible and attractive way. Because, as we all recognise, there’s no better homily about priesthood than the life and witness of a priest who quietly exudes a sense of joy, hope, fulfilment, and gratitude. We know that the Holy Spirit at work in our ministry is the gift to us of the crucified and risen Christ, whose weak and sinful, but faithful, servants we each, by God’s grace, strive to be, and that’s yet another reason why we welcome this opportunity today to bear witness to this.
My dear people, religious sisters, brothers, and deacons, there isn’t a priest present who isn’t sustained by your prayers, and especially by your lives of faithful witness to the crucified and risen Lord. Indeed we know we must always approach our ministry with humility, because we recognise that so many of those we do our best to serve, and those we work with, are actually closer to the Lord than we often are. We gladly acknowledge today that we so often receive more from those we work with and strive to serve than we are able to give. So may I ask you, while we’re praying silently, to pray for all the priests ministering within our diocese, myself included. Please do also remember in your prayer our seminarians at Oscott, Michael, coming towards the half-way mark of his formation for priesthood, Lukas, coming towards the end of his 1st year in major seminary, and Mark Anthony, who will begin this September at Vallodolid his propaedeutic year of formation, and please do pray for more vocations to the priesthood.
My brother priests, thank you for your faithful and generous ministry, for the care and support you show each other, and for your continuous patience and kindness towards me. I can’t believe that I’m now only a few months short of ten years with you as your bishop. Please forgive me for any ways in which I may have let any of you down or caused you upset over those years. It was not my intention. Let’s now each take a few moments to quietly prepare ourselves to renew the promises of our priesthood; let’s do so relying utterly on, the love and mercy of God, the inspiring help of the Holy Spirit, the brotherly support of each other, and the generous prayers, Christian witness and example of all the people of this diocese. We are indeed well supported!
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