Homily of S.E.R. Cardinal Juan García at the Chrism Mass

Dear all: anointed ones, prophets, priests, pastors, kings, teachers, witnesses, ministers, servants through the sacraments of baptism and priestly orders.

We thank God who knew us before being in the womb and separated and consecrated us to give good news, to announce to the captives freedom and the year of favor of the Lord.

We give thanks to our mother and father because, in the womb, without our knowledge, and our parents having an amazing intuition, they sprinkled us with a priestly drizzle. To you, dear mothers and fathers, we want to thank you. And we sing to God for you: We thank you, Lord.

We give thanks to the Holy Spirit, who through the priest who baptized us, the bishop who confirmed us, the father who gave us first communion, the one who confesses us, the one who has been close to our family in joys and sorrows, the one who proposed us to go to the seminary, this same Spirit was modeling our priestly being.

Thank God for the community in which we were born to the faith, we were educated in the faith, we grew in the faith, we lived the faith. It is well-born to be grateful.

He who appreciates nothing, deserves any evil.

He who does not appreciate a rose will not appreciate anything.

Grace requested, candles lit, grace achieved, no candles or anything.

Thanks to so many people for whom, in one way or another, we are priests.

We ask everyone, especially our family members and the entire Church, to pray so that we never say: I have to celebrate, baptize, evangelize. But to say: I want to celebrate, baptize, evangelize.

When I want there is no fatigue that stops me. When I have to, the mission can become a heavy burden.

We pray that what was dreamed of in the seminary, what was promised on the day of ordination, the formulated purposes, the publicly announced surrender, the religious vows, will not disappear due to time, negligence, routine, lack of prayer.

They told us on ordination day: Imitate what you commemorate. Let us imitate the Lamb, the walker, the evangelizer, the Samaritan, the prayer, the sower, the Crucified, the Risen One.

We hope to be holier this Holy Week. It will be very easy if this dear Church gathered here prays every morning, every afternoon, every night and especially this Holy Thursday for its priests. It would be very good if you told your priest, your priest son, your priest friend.