In my 12 years as a seminary formator I have given and received countless talks on the identity and mission of the diocesan priest. Over those years I have found that, more than information, it is moments of shared experience as a presbyterate, especially during liturgical celebrations like the Chrism Mass, that provide the greatest insights into the unique calling and ministry of the sacramental priesthood.

The Chrism Mass reminds the diocesan priest of his oneness in Christ through the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Orders, and the unity he shares with his bishop and the presbyterate. The renewal of priestly promises that occurs during the liturgy points to a relationship that transcends the altar and generational differences among priests while offering a core identity and mission that invite priests and their bishop to gather in joyful fraternity.

Though priests are frequently reminded that they are not lone rangers, the reality of ministry today often suggests otherwise. The prevailing trends toward all-consuming parochial responsibilities, divisions between priests and their bishop, and disunity among presbyterates conflict with the promises priests make at their ordination and contrast with the “intimate sacramental brotherhood” that priests are called to live (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1568).

Renewal of one’s priestly relationships, identity and mission are essential for a flourishing and healthy ministerial life. This can begin by taking time during the season of Lent to prepare for the Chrism Mass, reflecting on the promises that recall the words and postures of ordination, and recommitting to a deepening relationship with the Holy Trinity, one’s bishop and one’s presbyterate.

Within the Holy Trinity

The Second Vatican Council states that formation for priesthood is an integral journey of discipleship which “should be oriented to the formation of true shepherds of souls after the model of our Lord Jesus Christ, teacher, priest and shepherd” (Optatam Totius, No. 4). Pope St. John Paul II, building upon this teaching in his 1992 post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis (“I Will Give You Shepherds”), established the humanity of the priest to be the foundation of this integral formation: “Indeed, the priest, by virtue of the consecration which he receives in the sacrament of orders, is sent forth by the Father through the mediatorship of Jesus Christ, to whom he is configured in a special way as head and shepherd of his people, in order to live and work by the power of the Holy Spirit in service of the Church and for the salvation of the world. … Consequently, the nature and mission of the ministerial priesthood cannot be defined except through this multiple and rich interconnection of relationships which arise from the Blessed Trinity and are prolonged in the communion of the Church, as a sign and instrument of Christ, of communion with God and of the unity of all humanity” (No. 12).

As the most recent Program of Priestly Formation summarizes, “the mission of the priest flows from his identity. The identity of the priest … is fundamentally rooted in a relationship with the Trinity” (Sixth Edition, No. 24). Pope St. John Paul II and the Program of Priestly Formation point to a relationship in Christ as the starting point for renewal in the priesthood. The core relationship of the priest as a beloved brother and son leads to a healthy expression of that relationship with his bishop and the wider presbyterate.

Renewing one’s priestly identity and mission does not begin with an intellectual ascent, but with a humble descent found in reflection on the words and postures of priestly ordination, and on how those movements point to a right relationship with God and the Church.

Renewal of Promises

The renewal of priestly promises that occurs during the Chrism Mass offers both a theological and lived experience of this reality. It is therefore helpful to prayerfully reflect upon these promises as a guide to greater renewal and unity of mission. Following the proclamation of the Gospel and the preaching of the homily, the bishop speaks to his priests in these or similar words: “Beloved sons, on the anniversary of that day when Christ our Lord conferred his priesthood on his apostles and on us, are you resolved to renew, in the presence of your Bishop and God’s holy people, the promises you once made?

“Are you resolved to be more united with the Lord Jesus and more closely conformed to him, denying yourselves and confirming those promises about sacred duties towards Christ’s Church which, prompted by love of him, you willingly and joyfully pledged on the day of your priestly ordination?

“Are you resolved to be faithful stewards of the mysteries of God in the Holy Eucharist and the other liturgical rites and to discharge faithfully the sacred office of teaching, following Christ the head and shepherd, not seeking any gain, but moved only by zeal for souls?” (USCCB, the Chrism Mass, Roman Missal, 2011).

These three questions ask the priest to resolve to be a faithful steward of the mysteries of God, especially in the celebration of the holy Eucharist; to commit to teaching, preaching and shepherding the faithful; to be more conformed to the Lord by denying himself out of love for him; and to renew the promises that he joyfully pledged on the day of his priestly ordination.

Recognizing that it may be several years since their ordination, priests should return to the rite and reflect briefly on the words, the postures and, especially, the promises. The six promises made during ordination to the priesthood (with the seventh promise of celibacy made during diaconate ordination) invite a greater fidelity to the Gospel and the Church, a commitment to faithfulness to God, service of the Body of Christ and, most especially, a more profound respect and obedience to the bishop. It is this last promise that is at the heart of priestly renewal and at the core of priestly relationships.

While the first five promises are made while standing (and spoken collectively if several men are being ordained together), the sixth promise, the most solemn, is uniquely set apart by the posture in which it is made. The bishop asks each man being ordained, “Do you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors?” As he makes this final promise, each ordinand kneels alone before the bishop, who is seated, and places his hands between the bishop’s hands, a physical reminder and pledge to obey the bishop and his successors. The gesture is an ancient symbol and recalls the biblical imagery of a potter holding a piece of clay that is ready to be molded and shaped according to his will (Jer 18:4-6). The kneeling posture and position of hands signify the priest’s docility to being guided by the Holy Trinity and the bishop’s active role in shaping the priest’s life.

Recalling the words and postures of the ordination rite can be a help when facing the division and disunity that can exist among priests, their bishop and their presbyterate. As Pope St. John Paul II stated during his first Chrism Mass homily after election to the papacy: “Today we feel the warmest desire to be present at the altar for this Eucharistic concelebration and to render thanks for the particular gift which the Lord has conferred on us. Conscious of the greatness of this grace, we further wish to renew the vows which each one of us, on the day of his own ordination, made to Christ and to the Church, depositing them in the hands of the bishop. In renewing them, we ask for the grace of fidelity and perseverance. …Today, bishops in their cathedrals throughout the world do likewise, as is required of them. Together with priests they renew the vows made on the day of their ordination. Let us join with them with yet more ardor through brotherhood in the faith and in the vocation that we attained at the Supper table as the particular legacy bequeathed us by the apostles. Let us persevere in this great priestly community, as servants of the People of God, and as disciples and lovers of him who was made obedient unto death, and who came into the world not to be served, but to serve! (cf. Mt 20:28)” (Chrism Mass Homily, April 12, 1979).

Strengthened by the Eucharist, Pope St. John Paul II calls priests to a greater fidelity and perseverance in priestly community. Echoing this need for community, and the essential relationship among Christ, the priest and his bishop, Pope Benedict XVI, during his first Chrism Mass homily referenced his own ordination to priesthood by stating: “At the center is the very ancient rite of the imposition of hands, with which he [the Lord] took possession of me, saying to me, “You belong to me.” However, in saying this he also said: “You are under the protection of my hands. You are under the protection of my heart. You are kept safely in the palm of my hands, and this is precisely how you find yourself in the immensity of my love. Stay in my hands and give me yours” (Chrism Mass Homily, April 13, 2006).

The multivalent image of the imposition of hands during priestly ordination, recalled during the Chrism Mass, points to the priest’s relationship with the Lord, with his bishop and with the wider presbyterate. The priest is reminded that he “cannot act by himself[, but rather] within the presbyterate [as] a brother” (Directory of the Life and Ministry of Priests, No. 25). Renewing these essential relationships should naturally lead a priest to a greater love in his ministry and a focus on the importance of joyful fraternity with his brother priests.

Joyful Fraternity

Pope Francis addressed the assembly gathered in the Basilica of St. Peter for his first Chrism Mass and especially reminded the priests of their need to go forth and share the love that they received from the altar: “It is not in soul-searching or constant introspection that we encounter the Lord: Self-help courses can be useful in life, but to live our priestly life going from one course to another, from one method to another, leads us to become Pelagians and to minimize the power of grace, which comes alive and flourishes to the extent that we, in faith, go out and give ourselves and the Gospel to others, giving what little ointment we have to those who have nothing, nothing at all” (Chrism Mass Homily, March 28, 2013). 

Pope Francis touches on how easy it is to get caught up in the many responsibilities of daily ministry and to reduce the priestly life to a functionalism. The power of God’s grace pulls the priest out of the tendency toward isolation and enhances the need for giving and receiving empathy, friendship, affectionate help and, at times, fraternal correction.

The renewal of priestly promises at the Chrism Mass should be a joyful reminder of the need to pray for healing and forgiveness, and a recommitment of the respect and obedience that were promised from the beginning. A healthy priesthood and presbyteral identity flow from a healthy relationship in Christ that is lived out in service to others.

In the end, the Chrism Mass celebrates the sacramental brotherhood of priesthood, which binds together each priest through a spirit of common purpose and joyful collaboration within the mission and ministries of his bishop. An end to divisions and growth in union with the bishop and with the presbyterate is bound up in the prayer of Christ (Jn 17:21-23). The renewal of the priesthood serves as a renewing sacramental sign for the whole world to be drawn into the very life of the Trinity.

FATHER ANDREW TURNER is a priest of the Diocese of Cleveland and rector of Borromeo Seminary and St. Mary Seminary in Wickliffe, Ohio.