Bishop Anthony B. Taylor encouraged the priests of the diocese to strengthen their relationship with Jesus this spring and summer in preparation for the beginning of the Year of Faith Oct. 11.
Addressing 88 priests in English and Spanish during the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock April 2, he recommended the clergy attend retreats and remain committed to their daily holy hour.
“The main purpose of this Year of Faith is to foster in us an ongoing, life-changing encounter with Jesus, in which he renews us personally, feeds us spiritually and empowers us to give credible witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ in today’s world,” he said. “The reason I have chosen to speak about this at this Chrism Mass in which we renew our priestly promises is that we ourselves, the priests of Arkansas, need to open our own hearts to a deeper, more personal relationship with Jesus first, taking full advantage of all the spiritual opportunities available to us, especially retreats and our daily holy hour — now and throughout the summer — so that come October we will be credible as we invite our people to do the same.”
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Bishop Taylor said the three goals of the Year of Faith are for Catholics to get to know Jesus better through time in prayer, to embrace Jesus’ teachings through the study of the Vatican Council II documents and to address today’s issues in light of the council.
“Can you imagine what a different world we would be — indeed, what a different Church we would be — if all Catholics (not to mention all priests) had a deep, personal relationship with Jesus, embraced his teachings fully and then drew on their faith to address contemporary problems?” the bishop said.
“Let us thank the Lord for his desire to enter into a deeper, more personal relationship with us,” he said. “Let us also thank him for his great gift to us of Vatican II, which helps us to understand his teachings better. And let us ask him to show us how best to give witness to him in the concrete realities of today’s world.”
During the Chrism Mass, the bishop blessed the holy oils used during the administration of the sacraments around the diocese. The Oil of the Catechumens is used during baptisms. The Oil of the Sick is used during the anointing of the sick. The Chrism Oil is used during baptisms, confirmations and ordinations and during dedications of new altars and churches.
Bishop Taylor’s Homily for Chrism Mass 2012
Click here to read the bishop’s complete homily from the Chrism Mass.
Click here to listen to the bishop’s homily.