By Renée St. Martin Wizeman

While the Chrism Mass always is a special time in the life of the diocesan Church, this year’s celebration was particularly noteworthy. From the 80-member Diocesan Choir to composer Father Michael Joncas’ return to the diocese and the first-ever proclamation of the Word of God in Salish at the Cathedral of St. Helena, it was an evening of historic proportions.

“This is a day of celebration,” Bishop George Leo Thomas said, noting that the Chrism Mass, with the renewal of ministry shared by the baptized, religious, parish pastoral ministers, deacons and priests, punctuates that “we are a Church Universal and that around the altar our mission begins.”

Before the Mass on March 25, Bishop Thomas welcomed priests, pastoral administrators, deacons and other key lay collaborators to the Chrism Day presentation. He introduced Father Joncas, an accomplished composer, a liturgist and a professor. Father Joncas composed the song “Exultate, Justi” for the Diocese of Helena’s Millennium celebration.

During the Chrism Day presentation, he shared information from the 2007-08 study, by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, about the four cohorts of Catholics. He explained that the cohort model was preferable to a strictly generational understanding, as it is development-based, rather than predicated only on a time period of predetermined length. Weaving between events in the world and nation, as well as those specific to the Catholic Church, Father Joncas explained how four major cohorts now find themselves attempting to coexist while holding sometimes dramatically different notions of Catholic identity.

The first session provided a foundation for understanding how the forthcoming translation of the Roman Missal will be received by the cohorts.

Father Joncas also discussed the Eucharistic Prayer in the original Latin, in the 1973 translation now in use and the proposed translation.

Resurrection Parish choir member Joe May, a Montana State University-Bozeman student, said he found the cohort information useful, given that “it’s one thing to experience these differences, but not know the why behind it.”

Mary Ruth Fallon of Risen Christ Parish in Kalispell said the information helps explain how different configurations of cohorts affect a parish’s life and identity. She directs the parish choir in Kalispell.

“I was deeply gratified by the presentation of Father Michael Joncas, which punctuated our diocesan commitment to the Second Vatican Council’s vision for full, active, conscious participation of the laity,” Bishop Thomas said. “Father Joncas is a highly gifted scholar, composer and teacher with deep roots in the pastoral life of the Church. It was a very successful endeavor!”

Father Ed Hislop of Blessed Trinity Parish in Missoula said that Chrism Day presenters in the past three years all have been “liturgically significant,” and were chosen to assist in achieving the full, active and conscious participation of the people in the liturgy.

Following the Chrism Day presentation, members of the Diocesan Choir gathered in the Cathedral for their only full rehearsal for the Chrism Mass. Sister Mary Jo Quinn directed. Directors in Bozeman, Butte, Helena, Kalispell and Missoula each had conducted rehearsals earlier.

During the Mass, three of Father Joncas’ compositions were sung, including “Exultate, Justi.”

“The very special thing was to be singing (this song) again in his presence,” Sister Mary Jo said. “He said himself that as he was walking down the aisle he thought ‘that song still worked,’ and he was amazed at how much more the people had taken on ownership of the song.”

Father Hislop said the diocesan Liturgical Commission, which he chairs, has focused on increasing the level and breadth of participation and “this year we went even beyond last year, in terms of the variety of people participating and the enthusiasm that generates. There was a very important historical moment in the diocese, in that for the first time in the history of our Cathedral parish to have the Word of God proclaimed in Salish, to have that happen was significant, especially since the Salish people have been part of our diocese longer than we have.”

Last year, a reading was in Spanish. This year, Adrian Soto, a cantor at Resurrection Parish, sang the responsorial psalm in Spanish and English.

“Father Val Zdilla, who is on the Liturgical Commission, said he knew someone who could cantor in Spanish,” Sister Mary Jo said. Another commission member, Charles Tellier of St. Ignatius Mission Parish, offered to pursue Salish translation of the second reading, and made arrangements with Shirley Trahan. She then worked with Josephine Quequesuh, also of St. Ignatius Mission Parish, who proclaimed the second reading in Salish at the Chrism Mass.

Father Joncas delivered the homily, during which he connected the three oils to three images of Jesus.

“So in a sense, with this first oil, the Oil for Catechumens, this is for ‘spiritual athletes,’ marked as dedicating themselves to following the way of Jesus Christ,” he said. In addressing the oil for the sacred chrism, he turned his attention to the confirmandi and said, “Get ready for the experience of another holy order… The sweet smell (of the basalm) will give you just a slight foretaste of what the beauty of life will be…You will experience the truth of God.”

And for the Oil for the Sick, Father Joncas shared his own experience of falling gravely ill and being paralyzed for three months. He related how Father Michael Driscoll, a priest of the Diocese of Helena and fellow faculty member at the University of Notre Dame, anointed him with the Oil for the Sick. “I touched God in the touch of Michael’s hand in the prayers of the sick,” he said.

After the homily, the baptized, religious and parish pastoral minister, the deacons and the priests participated in the renewal of ministry, followed by Bishop Thomas’ renewing his commitment as Bishop of the Diocese of Helena.

Oil bearers from across the diocese then presented the oils to the Bishop Thomas and he consecrated the Sacred Chrism. The Liturgy of the Eucharist followed.

“The success (of the Chrism Mass) is an affirmation of the baptismal ministry that we all share and celebrate at Easter,” Father Hislop said. “It is also a true affirmation of the ministry that goes on in our diocese and the spirit that Bishop Thomas brings to our diocese.”

Father Hislop commended Michael Vreeburg of the Cathedral parish for his help in coordinating the liturgy, as well as the Cathedral parish staff’s hospitality and preparations for the Mass.

“The Chrism Mass 2010 was a deeply exhilarating experience for me as the local bishop,” Bishop Thomas said. “The sheer numbers of people who participated, the high quality of liturgy and music and the dynamic sense of prayer made this an overwhelmingly positive experience. I’m grateful for everyone who helped make this so prayerful and beautiful.”


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 4, April 16, 2010.