Apostolic Nuncio in faraway Kenya has recently lauded Priesthood as “source of all Sacraments. Contrary to our common ephemeral atavistic belief, this prelate has affirmed that Chrism Mass “goes deeper” than Oils’ Blessing.

The Chrism Mass, traditionally celebrated on Holy Thursday, is not just about the blessing of the Oil of Chrism used for Baptism, Confirmation, and Ordination, the Oil of Catechumens, and the Oil of the Anointing of the Sick, the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya has said.

Archbishop Bert van Megen said in his Thursday, April 17, homily during Chrism Mass at the Holy Family Basilica of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi (ADN) that the priesthood is at the heart of the Holy Thursday celebrations in general and Chrism Mass in particular.

“Today’s celebration is more than the blessings of oils only. It goes deeper than that. It is essentially about the gift of the Priesthood and the fullness of the Priesthood in the Episcopacy,” Archbishop van Megen said, adding that the Priesthood is “the source of all Sacraments.”

Drawing from Scripture and his personal experience, including his diplomatic mission in Sudan, where he started his service as Apostolic Nuncio in 2014, Archbishop van Megen underscored the important place of Priests in the life of the Church.

“Without Priests, there is no Church. Through the Priest, Christ is present in the world. The hand and the feet of the Priest, the anointed hands, are the hands and the feet of Christ. And Christ’s sacred heart should beat in the heart of every Priest desiring to be pierced for the salvation of the world,” the Dutch-born Vatican diplomat said.

He continued, “When the last Priest died in the Church of Sudan, that church was deserted, evaporated. It had no access anymore to the heart of Jesus, source of all Sacraments.”

“In the celebration of the Sacraments, the Priest does not represent himself and does not speak expressing himself, but speaks first and foremost for the other, for Christ. And thus, in the Sacraments, the Priest renders visible what actually a Priest means,” he explained.

The representative of the Holy Father in Kenya called upon Priests to consecrate themselves “evermore to Christ the High Priest.”

“We put ourselves at the service of the one who died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves,” he said, emphasizing the need for Priests to emulate the altruism of Jesus that St. Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 5:15.

Referring to Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop van Megen said, “The person of the Priest has to merge into the person of Christ. We are mere servants in that plan of salvation. It is never about the person of the Priest or even of the Bishop, but about the grace that flows through him into the Church.”

In his April 17 homily, the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya reflected on how the people of God, from baptism to death, use the power of the Holy Spirit through various “anointments”.

“Our lives are consecrated to God in a chain of anointments,” he said, adding that the Oils used in the anointings are not used as “mere symbols but as spiritual signs of God’s indwelling presence, especially in moments of weakness, suffering, and transition.”

Archbishop van Megen went on to reflect on the significance of love. “It is not enough to be baptized; it is not enough to have received the Sacrament of Confirmation; it is not enough to be anointed as a Priest; and it is not even enough to be consecrated as a Bishop. If I do not have love, I gain nothing,” he said.

“If I speak in the tongue of men and angels but do not have love, I’m only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal,” the Vatican diplomat said referring to St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1.

Still referring to St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:2, added, “I may have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all my mysteries and all knowledge, and I can have the faith that goes beyond mountains, but if I do not have love, I have nothing.”

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He reiterated the need for altruism that lived through the grace of God achieved in communion with Him in prayer.

“Let us then ask the Lord to drive all darkness from our hearts; to remove from us our feelings of self-sufficiency, our hunger for power, our thirst for money, our evil desires, so as to clothe ourselves with the vestment of love, so that we may be joyfully seated in the splendid light of the festive wedding hall and not in the bitterness of dark evil where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

He expressed his awareness of the challenges Priests face, including “deep” personal crises such as addiction. He said, “Some of us are going through deep crises, even when they’re seated here. Indeed, being a Priest is not an easy vocation. But let’s face it, to be a Christian is not an easy vocation either.”

Amid “deep” personal crises, the Nairobi-based Vatican diplomat cautioned against despair. He urged Catholic Priests to look to Christ crucified, “the one who bore suffering, weakness, and even darkness.”

“If we look at Him, what He did for us and what He went through for us, then all these complaints of ours just fade away,” he said, and continued, “The more we love Christ, the more with Him we become loving people, the lighter becomes His seemingly burdensome yoke.”

“Let us pray to Him to help us to become people who are loving, thereby increasingly experience how beautiful it is to take that yoke upon our shoulders,” Archbishop van Megen said in his April 17 Chrism Mass homily at Holy Family Basilica of ADN.

In his remarks at the Chrism Mass, the Local Ordinary of ADN, Archbishop Philip Subira Anyolo called upon Priests to live their calling to self-giving servants of the Lord.

“Let us go to the mission. Participate in the pastoral ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ by involving the people of God with love, with tender care, knowing that it is Christ who journeys with you,” Archbishop Anyolo said.

He emphasized that the call to serve, rooted in Christ’s own example of humility, requires engagement, self-giving, and personal sacrifice.

“Jesus bent down to wash the feet of His disciples. This is not just a gesture; it is a model for our lives,” the Kenyan Catholic Archbishop said.

Recalling the core teaching of Jesus Christ in John 13:34, he appealed, “Love one another as I have loved you. To do so, we shall have to call upon ourselves to give totally to the service of God with love.”

The Local Ordinary of Nairobi urged Priests in his Metropolitan See to carry the grace of the Chrism Mass into every corner of the Archdiocese, drawing people closer to God in preparation for Easter.

“Take these tools to utilize for the greater glory of God’s presence among the people of God in every perspective, in every area you are going to serve them and especially in these days of our journey towards the Easter Season,” Archbishop Anyolo said on April 17.

Day: April 18, 2025

APOSTOLIC NUNCIO IN KENYA LAUDS PRIESTHOOD IN KENYA

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