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Homily of Pope Francis for the Chrism Mass
in St Peter’s Basilica Holy Thursday, 17 April 2025
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor
Dear Bishops and Priests, Brothers and Sisters!
“The Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev 1:8), is Jesus himself.
That same Jesus whom Luke presents to us in the synagogue of Nazareth, among those who have known him since childhood and who now marvel at him.
Revelation — “apocalypse” — takes place within the limits of time and space: it has at its center the flesh that sustains our hope. The flesh of Jesus is our flesh.
The last book of the Bible speaks of this hope.
It does so in an extraordinary way, by dispelling all apocalyptic fears in the light of a crucified love.
In Jesus, the book of history is opened, and can be read.
We priests have our story.
On Maundy Thursday, when we renew the promises we made at our ordination, we confess that we can read this history only in the light of Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus, “who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Rev 1:5) opens the scroll of our own lives and teaches us to find the passages that reveal its meaning and mission.
If we allow ourselves to be taught, our ministry becomes one of hope, because in each of our stories God opens a jubilee: a time and an oasis of grace.
Let us ask ourselves: Am I learning how to read the story of my life? Or am I afraid to do so?
When the Jubilee begins, the people will find refreshment in our lives: not only once every twenty-five years — we hope! — but in the daily closeness of priests to their people, where the prophecies of justice and peace are fulfilled.
Jesus has “made us to be a kingdom, priests to serve his God and Father” (Rev 1:5-6 – To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his bloodand he made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.): This is the people of God. This kingdom of priests is not the same as a clergy.
The “we” that Jesus is forming is a people whose boundaries we cannot see, where walls and barriers come tumbling down.
The One who tells us, “See, I am making all things new” (Rev 21:5 – 6 He who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end), has torn the veil of the Temple and has prepared for humanity a garden city, the new Jerusalem whose gates are always open (Rev 21:22-25 – I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and the Lamb is its lamp. By its light the nations will walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night there).
This is how Jesus “reads” the ministerial priesthood and teaches us to read it,
as pure service to the priestly people, who will soon inhabit a city that does not need a temple.
For us priests, then, the Jubilee is a special invitation to begin anew on the path of conversion.
As pilgrims of hope, we are called to leave clericalism behind and to become heralds of hope.
Of course, if Jesus is the Alpha and Omega of our lives, we too can encounter the disunity he experienced in Nazareth.
The shepherd who loves his people does not seek consensus and approval at all costs.
But the fidelity of love changes hearts.
The poor are the first to see this, but gradually it unsettles and attracts others too.
“Look! Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and because of him, all the tribes of the earth will mourn. So it must be. Amen” (Rev 1:7).
We are gathered here, dear brothers, to make this ‘Amen” our own and to repeat it
It is the confession of faith of the whole people of God: “Yes, it is so, solid as a rock!”
The passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, which we are about to relive, are the rock on which the Church and, within her, our priestly ministry are founded.
And what kind of soil is that?
What kind of humus allows us not only to survive, but also to thrive?
To understand this, we must return to Nazareth, as St Charles de Foucauld so astutely observed. (see footnote below)
“When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath, as was his custom.
He stood up to read” (Luke 4:16).
Here we see at least two “habits” of Jesus: that of going to the synagogue and reading.
Our lives are sustained by good habits.
They may become routine, but they reveal where our heart is.
Jesus’ heart was in love with the Word of God: it was already clear at the age of twelve, and now, as an adult, the Scriptures are his home.
That is the same soil, the vital humus, that we find, when we become his disciples.
“And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place” (Lk 4:17).
Jesus knew what he was seeking.
The ritual of the synagogue allowed for this: after the reading of the Torah, each rabbi could read prophetic words to apply the message to the lives of those who were listening.
But there is more here: Jesus chose to read the page of his own life.
That is what Luke is telling us: from among the many prophecies, Jesus chooses the one to fulfil.
Dear priests, each of us has a word to fulfill.
Each of us has a long relationship with the Word of God.
We put it at the service of others only when the Bible remains our first home.
Within it, each of us has some pages that touch us more than others.
This is beautiful and important!
We also help others to find the pages that touch their lives: for example newlyweds, when choosing the readings for their wedding; or those who are grieving and looking for passages to entrust a loved one who has died to the mercy of God and the prayers of the community.
There is a page for a vocation, usually at the beginning of each of our journeys.
Whenever we read this page, God is still calling us, if only we cherish it and do not allow our love to grow cold.
For each of us, the page chosen by Jesus has a special meaning.
We are his disciples, and therefore his mission is directly related to us.
“He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
And he rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down” (Lk 4:17-20).
The eyes of all are now fixed on Jesus. He has just proclaimed a Jubilee.
He did it not as one who speaks about others, but about himself.
He said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”, as someone who knows the Spirit of whom he is speaking.
In fact, he adds: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
This is divine: the word becomes reality.
The facts now speak; the words are fulfilled.
Something new and powerful happens.
“See, I am making all things new.”
There is no grace, there is no Messiah, if the promises remain promises, if they do not become reality here below. Everything is changed now.
We now invoke this same Spirit upon our priesthood.
We have received this Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, and he continues to be the silent protagonist of our ministry.
The people feel his breath when our words become a reality in our lives.
The poor before all others, children, young people, women, but also all those who have been wounded in their experience of the Church: all these have a “sense” for the presence of the Holy Spirit; they can distinguish him from worldly spirits, they recognize him in the convergence of what we say and what we do.
We can become a prophecy fulfilled, and that is something beautiful!
The Holy Chrism that we consecrate today seals this mystery of transformation that is at work in the different stages of Christian life.
Take care, then, never to be discouraged, because everything is God’s work. So believe!
Believe that God has not made a mistake with me! God never makes mistakes.
Let us always remember the words spoken at our ordination:
“May God, who has begun the good work in you, bring it to completion.”
He does.
It is God’s work, not ours: to bring good news to the poor, freedom to captives, sight to the blind and liberty to the oppressed.
If Jesus once found this passage in the scroll, he continues to read it today in the life story of each one of us.
First of all, because until our last day, he continues to bring us good news, to set us free from prisons, to open our eyes and to lift the burdens from our shoulders.
But also, because by calling us to share in his mission and sacramentally giving us a share in his life, he sets others free through us, often without our even knowing it.
Our priesthood becomes a jubilee ministry, like his, carried out without fanfare but through a dedication that is unobtrusive, but radical and gratuitous.
It is that of the Kingdom of God, told in the parables, effective and discreet like yeast, silent like seed.
How often have the little ones recognized it in us?
And can we say thank you?
Only God knows how rich the harvest will be.
We workers experience the toil and the joy of the harvest.
We live according to Christ, in the messianic age.
There is no place for despair, but for restitution and forgiveness of debt: the redistribution of responsibilities and resources. This is what God’s people expect.
God’s people want to participate and, by virtue of their baptism, they are a great priestly people.
The oils that we consecrate in this solemn celebration are for their consolation and their messianic joy.
The field is the world.
Our common home, so wounded, and human fraternity, so often denied and indelible, call us to take sides.
God’s harvest is for everyone: a flourishing field that produces a hundred times more than was sown.
May the joy of the Kingdom, which repays all our efforts, inspire us in our mission.
Every farmer knows seasons when nothing seems to grow.
There are such times in our lives.
It is God who gives the growth and who anoints his servants with the oil of gladness.
Dear members of the faithful, people of hope, pray today for the joy of priests.
May you all experience the liberation promised by Scripture and nourished by the sacraments.
Many fears can dwell within us and terrible injustices surround us, but a new world has already been born.
God so loved the world that he gave us his Son, Jesus.
He pours balm on our wounds and wipes away our tears.
“Look! He is coming with the clouds” (Rev 1:7 – Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, everyone who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen).
His is the Kingdom and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Footnote on Charles de Foucault
Charles de Foucauld did not return to Nazareth, but lived there for a time.
He lived as a hermit near a convent of the Poor Clares there as part of his journey to “follow Jesus in his life in Nazareth”.
He later became a Trappist monk and then moved to the Sahara.
Here’s a closer look at his life:
- Early Life and Faith:
Before his life of faith, Charles de Foucauld had a different path. - Nazareth:
He visited Nazareth and felt a strong call to live there, imitating the hidden life of Jesus.
He lived as a hermit near the convent. - Trappist monk and further journey:
He became a Trappist monk and eventually moved to the Sahara Desert to live among the Tuareg people. - “Nazareth” in a broader sense:
Charles de Foucauld saw Nazareth not just as a physical place but as a state of mind, a hidden place where one can find God. He sought to find this “Nazareth” in his life and work.
