Oil of rejoicing grace your head

On Monday evening, I had the great pleasure of accompanying two dozen or so members of our church parish to the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, Virginia. We joined with seemingly thousands (the Cathedral was standing room only) to celebrate the Chrism Mass. During this once-a-year mass, the Bishop blesses the sacramental oils each church in the diocese will use during the coming year. The many priests of the diocese are also present and they are given a chance to reaffirm their vows.

I had never attended a Chrism mass and was eager to introduce both myself and my candidate Kayla to the experience. During the RCIA classes, the Chrism Mass purposes are explained and the candidates are encouraged to attend, especially since the oils will be used directly on them during the Easter Vigil Mass. It's at this most significant Mass of the Catholic calendar that the candidates become fully embodied in the Church.

Kayla was enamored by the grandeur of the Cathedral. We took time before Mass to visit the museum in the basement, as well as tour the individual side chapels.

The Museum of Virginia Catholic History

During Mass, we listened to the wonderful Diocesian Choir and snapped a picture of my good friend Eileen.  I knew she'd love to see herself in print  :)

Following Mass, the Bishop stood at the rear graciously greeting and chatting with his congregation as we filed out of the building.  He was willing to take pictures and Kayla wanted to meet him.  We waited patiently until our turn and the gentleman in line behind us offered to snap the picture.  It's a bit out of focus, but we had our moment in the sun:

When we reached Bishop DiLorenzo, I thanked him for his awesome homily (it was really good!) and introduced Kayla as a wonderful young woman entering our Church.  He was so excited to see a young person excited about joining and demanded that we bring chairs over so that we could sit and talk!  The young deacon waiting to escort the Bishop to the next event was horrified - sitting wasn't on his schedule.  But sit, we did.  And rejoice!

Today's post title from Stephen Dean's Into the Family of God