On Holy Wednesday at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, more than two hundred priests, permanent deacons with their wives, consecrated virgins, hundreds of faithful and a number of catechumens gathered around bishop Olivier de Germay the archbishop of Lyon to celebrate Chrism Mass. During the celebration, the holy oils used throughout the coming year for sacraments and rituals were blessed and consecrated.
In his opening remarks, the Primate of Gauls stressed on the importance of Chrism Mass. (Crédit photo : tekoaphotos)
He said it “manifests the unity of the presbyterium, and more widely the unity of all the pastoral actors, of all the people of God around the bishop and more precisely around Christ.”
The youth choir, dressed in white and red colors, had their voices blend together like honey and cream filling the magnificent Cathedral that prides of handsome mix of Roman and Gothic architecture rich in history and art.
Celebrating his third Chrism Mass since his appointment in Lyon on 22 October 2020, in the homily of the 63-year-old prelate, the 209 catechumens of the archdiocese of Lyon took center stage. "Today is fulfilled this passage of the scripture that you have just heard,” (Luke 4:21) he commenced.
Considered a classical and honest man by certain clergy, bishop Olivier was particularly moved by the letters addressed to him by the catechumens. "I entered the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist saying to myself, although I don't really know how to pray, I will try. I'll see what happens,” testified one catechumen who had experienced a painful bereavement, adding, “I came out of the church with a heart full of peace. Words will never be enough to express that peace and immeasurable love felt that day."
Seated on the front rows are people with disabilities and on the right side facing the alter, through sign language the deaf participate in the liturgy. Even though the works of the gospels were “written 2000 years ago, they are still relevant today,” said the Primate of Gauls, and the word of God is a “living word.”
Another catechumen, a student explains in her letter that she grew up in an atheist, anti-clerical and now divided family. The reading of the scriptures was suggested to her and one day she wrote: "I beg the Lord to come and help me. At that moment, an immense love went through me. That night I met the greatest love of my life." Fulfilling his priestly duties, of teaching, sanctifying and governing, “the Word of God is being fulfilled today, the Lord is at work, showing us his love,” said the archbishop.
In the Catholic Church, the sacraments are considered “a point of contact between heaven and earth”. Through the sacraments, “the Lord comes to give us life, heal us, forgive us and strengthen us”. But the Lord does not act simply through the sacraments, “but also through each one of us, who are baptized,” said the prelate who alluded to the trials and suffering of many people in the world today. This is testified by the letters of the catechumens. “Brothers and sisters, this is where the Lord is sent and this is precisely where the Lord sends us,” he said.
"The catechumenate completely changed my life. I had never experienced this love. I am still moved as I write this to you. Jesus today is with me and I let myself be guided despite some resistance,” read the letter of another catechumenate.
What struck Cardinal Philippe Barbarin's successor most about the letters from the catechumens was that many of them, even those who are still young, have had eventful lives. "Many have experienced trials, struggles, abandonment, incest, divorce, illness. Others have not experienced these trials, but they have experienced the vanity of a life without doubt. The experience of life from the inside that we can feel when our life is centered on ourselves," he revealed. Others have fallen into the trap of addiction. Somehow, their hearts cracked and a rift appeared. A happy crack through which the Lord visited them.
"The catechumenate completely changed my life. I had never known this love. I am still moved as I write these lines to you. Jesus is with me today, and I have allowed myself to be guided despite some resistance," reads the letter of another catechumen. Although life changes can be dramatic, the preacher suggested that one should be cautious and know that challenges don't just magically disappear.
Another letter said, "The Lord has calmed my heart. He has taken away all the anger in me. The Lord has done an amazing work in my life, he has saved my life. He has brought me out of all the darkness, he has put me in his light.”
Obviously, for all those who have been visited by the Lord, the prelate did not hesitate to point out the elephant in the room by saying that "trials do not necessarily disappear like a wave of a magic wand. Another catechumen wrote: "The end of the year was hard. My daughter is using drugs again. But I am holding on, thanks to God who is my support. I could not face so much suffering without Jesus Christ who is at my side.”
All the testimonies of these catechumens confirm that many in the assembly could testify to the work of the Lord in their lives. "Yes, brothers and sisters, today the Lord comforts, soothes, heals, opens eyes, liberates, forgives, strengthens through his Church and through all of us," concluded the bishop.
The celebration, which saw the clergy of the Archdiocese of Lyon and the faithful renew their vows of obedience to their bishop, inaugurated the Triduum and the Easter celebrations. On the occasion of Easter, the Catholic Church in France welcomed 5463 newly baptized adults, 1000 more than the previous year.
Whether the gradual increase in the number of catechumens over the past three years is a sign of healing from the sex scandals that have ravaged the Church in France or not, is a matter of wait and see.
By Dominic Wabwireh
