Sandy Curnow Reflection

Sacramental Oils     

Jesus was born a Jew by his birth, and lived and died a Jew in practice in all that He did.

He prayed the Jewish prayer – the Shema – went up to the Temple to worship at Passover, and to Synagogue, and celebrated Jewish festivals.  His disciples who led the earliest Church were also Jewish.  Only gradually were they separated from synagogue prayer.  Christianity gradually adapted to some cultural expectations of the Roman Empire, and grew to incorporate other feasts as well, but some essential elements of early Judaic practices were retained in the developing Church.  Even today they remain with us.  In ancient Judaism the concept of blessing with oil goes back as early as Exodus, the second book of the Bible, when oil – presumably olive oil – was mixed with some aromatic resins, probably myrrh, and herbs to anoint the Tabernacle and all the vessels associated with it, and then Moses anointed Aaron as priest.  This anointing became a key part of the consecration of high priest – and then of others. 

Subsequently the prophet Samuel, on God’s instructions, anointed Saul king and this tradition continued through the kings of Israel.  Thus, priest, prophet and king were anointed with oil, and it is this practice which is carried into Christianity, especially in shaping the sacraments.  In Baptism, the person receives an anointing in which he or she is “incorporated into Christ who is anointed priest, prophet, and king”. 

This act of marking with sacred oil is central to an acknowledgement, and even the names of Jesus:

The term Anointed One in Hebrew gives us the word ‘Messiah’, and 

The naming from the Greek Christos of “Christ” – as a title for Jesus – calls him “the anointed one”.

(As an aside, the glorious musical anthem “Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon king” with words taken from 1 Kings and set to music by Handel has been sung prior to the anointing at every English king’s coronation since 1727.  Regardless of our political inclinations, it is an anthem which still gives us great joy today.  Handel’s music is so frequently filled with deeply prayerful belief.) 

By the late  second century after Christ, Tertullian, a scholar and convert to Christianity who lived in North Africa wrote that there were two sacred oils: Chrism – olive oil mixed with balsam which was solemnly blessed by a bishop – and plainer oil that seemed to be blessed with less solemnity.  The former was used in baptism, confirmation and ordination, and the latter was used for catechumens and the sick.  The Epistle of James confirms that anointing had been carried into early Christian practice; “Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.  And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” 

Gradually the ‘elder’ and the ‘priest’ became synonymous.  Certain individuals were ‘ordained’ – set apart from the laity by a process of laying on of hands and anointing with holy oils and so authorised to say Mass and to administer five of the seven sacraments: baptism, confession, eucharist, anointing of the sick and witnessing marriage.  Confirmation (most often) and ordination to the priesthood are administered by the bishop.  Thus holy oils are part of Christian life from its very first moments to its final ones.  Apart from marriage – which is actually a sacrament which husband and wife bestow on each other, and confession and communion which are frequent practices – anointing with oil marks each significant step of the Christian life’s.

The oils  have a story of their own.

Olive trees and the oil that is made from pressing their fruit are an ancient part of Middle Eastern harvests and culture both.  They were as basic as used for cooking, lighting and even heating.  The oil also has health benefits.  Olive trees were planted in all available ground.  We think of the Mount of Olives where Jesus went after the Last Supper, and where He was arrested.  The trees there are ancient, and their fruit has always been valued – oil has a curative and anti-inflammatory usage.  Think of the story of the good Samaritan who poured oil into the man’s wounds.  

The balsam or myrrh that is mixed with oil to make chrism is taken from sweet smelling resins from the sap or bark of desert trees.  It is most precious because of both its rarity and the difficulty of its harvesting.  Its value is obvious – it is ranked as equal in the gifts of the Three Kings (gold, frankincense and myrrh).

The oils today are blessed annually at what is called the Chrism Mass which is celebrated by the bishop in the Cathedral sometime during Holy Week. 

Today there are three oils used in the church, and at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church they rest, rather obscurely, in the niche behind the tabernacle.  The first is the Oil of the Sick (Oleum Infirmorum) marked in its container as O I. its use is obviously derived from the anointing referred to in the Epistle of James.  Then there is the oil of Catechumens (Oleum Catechumenorum) O C. and finally the Sacred Chrism S C..

The oils of the Sick and of Catechumens are usually fine quality olive oil, blessed, but with less ceremony than Chrism. 

Catechumens’ oil is a curious part of the ceremony of baptism.  Since the latter was originally for adults, it was presumed that those seeking baptism were sinful as they approached the sacrament, so they were first anointed with oil to infer the presence of the Holy Spirit to give them strength before they were baptised with water.

The Sacred Chrism is different again; it is very ancient and likely apostolic in origin.  It is a combination of best olive oil with myrrh which is the scented resin from a prickly Arabian plant.  It may also include elements of sweet smelling barks – cassia and cinnamon.  Today the Church uses sacred chrism in the post-baptismal anointing for infants, in Confirmation, for Holy Orders, the consecration of churches, altars, and even bells.  In Holy Orders, the priest is anointed with it on the hands while the bishop is anointed on the head .

The Chrism Mass is, as I said, held earlier in Holy Week in the Cathedral.  Thereafter it’s the busiest time of the liturgical year behind the scenes in each of our parish churches.  Obviously of greatest importance is the preparing for all the ceremonies from Holy Thursday to the Easter Saturday evening vigil.  Then, rather like the preparations for the first Passover, the churches are cleaned through by the Liturgy Committee.  Candle wax is lifted and washed from the altars.  Chalices re-polished.  Spiderwebs chased.  Candlesticks Brassoed.  It’s a joyous occasion, with as much laughter as hard work, but looking forward to the solemnities to come.

One of our preparations for Easter includes the cleaning out of the vessels that hold the holy oils.  They do become stale.  First they are emptied onto paper and if there is any residue it goes on the Easter Fire that marks the Resurrection celebrations.  Once more there is a sense of renewal as the old oils are burnt, and the cleaned and polished vessels are filled with newly blessed oils which are carried in procession into the church and placed on the altar during the Easter Vigil, to promise new sacramental life fulfilling the old for the year to come.

By Sandy Curnow