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ANOINTING
"To anoint" is to touch someone or something with a substance to bring about some effect---either within the person or thing or in the way others perceive that thing or person.
The practice of anointing is a very ancient one. It did not originate with Judaism or Christianity. Anointing with oil, especially with olive oil, can be traced back to certain customs in the Near East. Anointing was a way of giving meaning to human situations such as dryness or illness, or of dealing with difficulties such as suffering, sickness or death, or of setting someone apart such as a priest or ruler.
Anointing as mentioned in the Bible has both religious and secular purposes. In a land characterized by dryness, it was only natural that anointing with oil would have cosmetic and therapeutic use. Thus, we find in Ezekiel 16:9 where it is mentioned as the completion of the bathing process. Again in II Samuel 14:2 it indicates that the lack of anointing oneself is a sign of mourning and grief. In the Gospel of Matthew 26:7 the anointing of the head of a visitor is a sign of respect. In Luke 7:46 it is noted that the anointing of the feet of visitors was expected when they arrived. And in Mark 16:1 it states that anointing of the dead was part of the preparation for burial.
Regarding its religious significance in the Bible, to anoint a person or thing was to bless that person or thing, and to set them apart for religious purposes. Thus, Exodus 30:22-29 states that furniture and vessels were anointed for use in temple ceremonies. Exodus 28:40-42 describes how priests were consecrated for the Lord's service by being anointed. In I Kings 19:16 we see that kings were anointed as a sign that they were selected to rule by God. In the New Testament in the Gospel of Mark 6:13 "they anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them." Of course, James 5:13-16 states: "Are there among you who are ill? Let him send for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."
The very title "Messiah" in Hebrew, "Christus" in Greek and Latin, means "the anointed one". This title refers to Isaiah the Prophet and signaled the Mission given to Jesus as Jesus Himself read at the synagogue in Nazareth. "Isaiah 6:11: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me." During Jesus' baptism by His cousin John the Baptizer, the descending of the Spirit upon Jesus is seen as the anointing by God the Father of Jesus as the "Anointed One," the "Christ."
The use of oil in the celebration of Christian Initiation is very old, dating from the 2nd century. Oil symbolized the inner transformation of new life in Christ that initiation signals. Two distinct oils are used: the Oil of Catechumens and the Sacred Chrism (with its wonderful perfume of balsam).
The first anointing uses the Oil of Catechumens and is done before Baptism. Our "Elect" will be anointed Holy Saturday morning. It expresses the care of the community of faith for those who have renounced Satan and the forces of evil. We pray with them that they will be strong in professing their
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faith and turning away from sin to believe the Gospel. The prayer Archbishop Roger Cardinal Mahony says each Holy Week when he blesses the Oil of Catechumens states: "Grant them your wisdom to understand the Gospel more deeply and your strength to accept the challenge of Christian life. Enable them to rejoice in Baptism and to partake of a new life in the Church as true children of your Family."
The second anointing uses the Sacred Chrism and is done immediately after Baptism when babies are baptized. Any who are six years of age and older immediately receive the Sacrament of Confirmation and are also anointed with the Sacred Chrism. The priest or deacon says while anointing an infant: "May you be anointed with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so may you live always as a member of His Body, sharing everlasting life." This last anointing indicates that the person baptized is now sealed by the Holy Spirit and is marked as Christ's own.
All six and older immediately after being baptized, receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. They are anointed with Sacred Chrism as the Presider says: "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit." This anointing indicates that the Holy Spirit has been fully given to the person anointed.
As is true in all anointings, the oil used needs to be applied generously. A stingy sign of the cross on the forehead does not express well that the person anointed is marked with Christ, that the "Anointed One" now lives in him/her, that the one just anointed now lives out of the Gift of the Spirit and belongs to a new covenant established in the death and the resurrection of Jesus. Thus, it is fitting that the anointing be done with the sign of the cross since the person is "signed and sealed in Christ."
Initiation is "one process" with three parts: Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist. Both Baptism and Confirmation initiate one into the single Mystery of Christ, and the anointings in both Sacraments sing one with the same sign of death and resurrection in Christ Jesus
Let us pray for those to be anointed with the Oil of Exorcism and the Sacred Chrism:
Called to Reception into the Church
Angela Butler Nicole Preston
Jan Campanile Chiani Restuccio
Zak Lakhani Tia Shah
Bill Treece
Called to Completion of Sacraments
Thorvald English Theresa Feuling
Scott Wooden
"Father of Love, bless our Elect and Candidates
as they prepare for the Sacraments of Initiation at
the Easter Vigil. Amen."
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