During Lent, the Office of Worship can look a little like an Italian restaurant, said Dr. Karen Shadle, director of the archdiocesan office.
A staff member makes an annual shopping trip to purchase 14 to 16 gallons of olive oil in preparation for the Archdiocese of Louisville Chrism Mass, which takes place on the Tuesday of Holy Week. It falls on April 15 this year, and all parishioners are invited to attend it at the Cathedral of the Assumption at 7 p.m.
As the name of the Mass implies, the liturgy includes the consecration of the sacred chrism, as well as the blessing of the oil of the sick and the oil of catechumens.
Each of these sacramental oils begins as simple olive oil.
“If you go and buy 16 gallons of olive oil, people look at you a little weird,” Shadle said with a chuckle. “People always think we’re running an Italian restaurant or something.”
“It’s the same kind of olive oil that you’re cooking your spaghetti with,” said Shadle. “This is, kind of, where they get their origin story, so to speak.”
Through the archbishop’s action and the presence of the concelebrating priests and faithful gathered, “humble oil that started on a shelf at the Costco is going to become the stuff that makes the sacraments happen in our parishes,” she said.
The sacramental oils
Three sacramental oils are created at the Chrism Mass: the oil of the sick, the oil of catechumens and the sacred chrism. These oils are used in parishes throughout the archdiocese for the next year.
The oil of the sick is used in the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. In addition to being distributed to the parishes, this oil is also given to hospital chaplains, said Shadle.
The oil of catechumens is used to anoint individuals preparing for the sacrament of baptism. The oil strengthens them in their journey towards that sacrament, said Shadle.
The oil of the sick and the oil of the catechumens are composed of olive oil.
“Nothing is added to them other than the prayer blessing,” said Shadle.
“That humble oil that started on a shelf at the Costco is going to become the stuff that makes the sacraments happen in our parishes.”
— Karen Shadle
In contrast, the chrism is consecrated by the bishop. Its primary ingredient is olive oil, but it also contains “two special ingredients,” said Shadle.
The first is balsam, a fragrant resin from pine trees, which is poured into the olive oil during the liturgy. The second is the archbishop’s breath.
“He will breathe over” the mixture of oil and balsam and consecrate the chrism, she said, noting, his breath is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
This oil is used for baptisms, confirmations, dedication of altars and the ordination of priests and bishops.
“That’s quite a journey for an olive — to get pressed into oil and to end up on an altar that’s dedicated for a new church or on the hands of a new priest or on the forehead of a baby being baptized or on the hands of a person who’s ill or who’s dying,” said Shadle.
Preparation
The Office of Worship begins planning for the annual Chrism Mass around Christmastime each year, said Shadle. But the preparations intensify a few weeks before the Mass, she said.
Each parish in the archdiocese receives the three oils in glass bottles. Thus, the Office of Worship is tasked with filling about 350 glass bottles, she said.
To aid distribution, the office fills a few hundred bottles with oil before the Mass. This year, the office invited the help of other archdiocesan staff to help label and pre-fill the bottles on April 8.
The pre-filled bottles will be blessed and consecrated alongside three large vessels of oil, which are brought forward in processions during the Mass, Shadle said.
Distribution and disposal
The pre-filled bottles are distributed to the parishes located outside of Jefferson County immediately after the Mass. The oil contained in the vessels is bottled and distributed to parishes in Jefferson County the following day.
Some parishes engage in the optional Order for the Reception of the Holy Oils, which occurs immediately before or during the entrance procession of the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Shadle said. During this formal reception, the oils are placed in an ambry — a special box for their safekeeping.
Oils from the previous year are reverently disposed, said Shadle.
“Reverent disposal of any blessed or consecrated item means burning or burial. … It could simply be poured into the ground,” she said.
Parishes may do this on the parish grounds or may return the oils to the Office of Worship for disposal, said Shadle.
Catholics from every parish in the Archdiocese of Louisville are invited to attend the Chrism Mass.
