Question: The Bishop is ALWAYS involved in Confirmation by necessity?

[Cathoholic]

Question: The Bishop is ALWAYS involved in Confirmation by necessity?

I understand the Bishops are the ordinary ministers of the Sacrament of Confirmation.

**I understand too, that one of the Presbyters (Priests) may act as the extra ordinary minister **of the Sacrament.

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So three things (it would be great if a clergy can answer this but I’ll take laity (name removed by moderator)ut too):

1-The Bishop’s office (a Bishop) MUST be intrinsically involved with Confirmation directly . . . Or . . . Indirectly (because the Chrism oil can ONLY be consecrated by a Bishop? Is this correct?).

(The priest COULD NOT Confirm someone without Chrism Oil from the Bishop? Is this correct? Not just because of permission issues but because of ontologic reasons as well?)

2- Any references (?) to the answer would be helpful as we are putting together a men’s group study on Confirmation.

3- Is the SAME OIL used for Confirmation as the anointing of the sick?

Thanks in advance and God bless.

Cathoholic

Looking forward to our diocesan Chrism Mass too!

 

[Phemie]

Question: The Bishop is ALWAYS involved in Confirmation by necessity?

I understand the Bishops are the ordinary ministers of the Sacrament of Confirmation.

**I understand too, that one of the Presbyters (Priests) may act as the extra ordinary minister **of the Sacrament.

---

So three things (it would be great if a clergy can answer this but I’ll take laity (name removed by moderator)ut too):

1-The Bishop’s office (a Bishop) MUST be intrinsically involved with Confirmation directly . . . Or . . . Indirectly (because the Chrism oil can ONLY be consecrated by a Bishop? Is this correct?).

(The priest COULD NOT Confirm someone without Chrism Oil from the Bishop? Is this correct? Not just because of permission issues but because of ontologic reasons as well?)

True. Sacred Chrism is necessary for Confirmation. Most of the time the bishop would be involved directly by granting permission for the priest to confirm a Catholic or to receive a non-Catholic adult into the Church. The only exception, in danger of death Canon Law gives the priest the right to confer Confirmation.

3.- Is the SAME OIL used for Confirmation as the anointing of the sick?

No. Three different oils are blessed by the Bishop at the Chrism Mass: the Oil of Catechumen, used to anoint the catechumen before Baptism; the Oil of the Ill, used in the Sacrament of the Sick; and the Sacred Chrism, used in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, as well as during the dedication of a church and consecration of an altar.

 

[tee_eff_em]

2- Any references (?) to the answer would be helpful as we are putting together a men’s group study on Confirmation.

To codify [user]Phemie[/user]'s answer, the catechism states:

1312 The original minister of Confirmation is the bishop. In the East, ordinarily the priest who baptizes also immediately confers Confirmation in one and the same celebration. But he does so with sacred chrism consecrated by the patriarch or the bishop, thus expressing the apostolic unity of the Church whose bonds are strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation. In the Latin Church, the same discipline applies to the Baptism of adults or to the reception into full communion with the Church of a person baptized in another Christian community that does not have valid Confirmation.

1313 In the Latin Rite, the ordinary minister of Confirmation is the bishop. Although the bishop may for grave reasons concede to priests the faculty of administering Confirmation, it is appropriate from the very meaning of the sacrament that he should confer it himself, mindful that the celebration of Confirmation has been temporally separated from Baptism for this reason. Bishops are the successors of the apostles. They have received the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders. the administration of this sacrament by them demonstrates clearly that its effect is to unite those who receive it more closely to the Church, to her apostolic origins, and to her mission of bearing witness to Christ.

1314 If a Christian is in danger of death, any priest should give him Confirmation. Indeed the Church desires that none of her children, even the youngest, should depart this world without having been perfected by the Holy Spirit with the gift of Christ’s fullness.

tee

 

[Cathoholic]

Does the priest have the charism to consecrate Chrism oil, or can ONLY a bishop do that?

If not, are there any exceptions?

Can the priest Confirm a person, even if given permission, WITHOUT using the oil of Chrism?

 

[FrDavid96]

Does the priest have the charism to consecrate Chrism oil, or can ONLY a bishop do that?

If not, are there any exceptions?

Only a bishop can do this.

Can the priest Confirm a person, even if given permission, WITHOUT using the oil of Chrism?

No. Confirmation without Chrism is just not possible.

Although you didn’t ask: a priest can sometimes bless the Oil of the Sick (OI), but not the Chrism.

 

[Cathoholic]

Thanks FrDavid96!

forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=14569993&postcount=5

And you (correctly) anticipated my next question about the oil of the sick.

Since we are putting together a study on this, do you have any sources that I can footnote?

Again many thanks Father.

 

[FrDavid96]

Thanks FrDavid96!

forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=14569993&postcount=5

And you (correctly) anticipated my next question about the oil of the sick.

Since we are putting together a study on this, do you have any sources that I can footnote?

Again many thanks Father.

Well, I won’t do all the research for you but I’ll point you in the direction.

Check the Catechism, naturally.

Also, I would look at the actual prayers used at the blessing and consecration of the oils. The prayers really do tell us the “what” and “why” of the things we do.

Those can be a bit hard to find, since they’re generally only printed in the books used by bishops. However, many diocese make handouts for their Chrism Masses. A few internet searches should lead you to these. Not all of them will contain the prayers, but you’ll be sure to find at least one that does.

The ritual for Anointing the Sick is easier to find. There are optional prayers for the priest to bless the oil, if need be. Since this isn’t done often, it gets skipped in most shorter versions (print or online).

Also, check those diocese handouts. They might have some information there about the Oils that you find useful for the group. One never knows.

 

[Cathoholic]

Thanks again Father. Will do.

 

[Cathoholic]

• Oil of catechumens
• The oil of the sick
• Holy Chrism (oil)

Ok. I’m back with some homework results.

I will include it below for any lurkers or any other interested readers. (All has been implied and stated by other posters here already [thanks FrDavid96, tee_eff_em, and Phemie] but this will give some more details for those that may be interested)

From Zenit (via EWTN) . . . .

. . . First, what oils are we referring to? For the sacraments the Catholic Church blesses three separate oils during the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday.

The oil of catechumens is used for the non-essential complementary rites of baptism.

The oil of the sick constitutes the matter of the sacrament of anointing of the sick.

And then there is chrism, which is the essential matter of the sacrament of confirmation and is also used during the complementary rites of baptism, priestly ordination and some other rites such as the dedication of a Church or altar.

The basic ingredient of the first two oils is olive oil; only the formula of blessing distinguishes one from the other.

Chrism is a mixture of olive oil and balsam.

Of these three, only in the case of the oil of the sick is there foreseen the possibility of another oil being used and of the priest’s blessing the oil in case of emergency.

Pope Paul VI brought about this possibility in the 1972 apostolic constitution Sacram Unctione Infirmorum.

Referring to the matter of the sacrament the Holy Father established:

“Further, since olive oil, which hitherto had been prescribed for the valid administration of the sacrament, is unobtainable or difficult to obtain in some parts of the world, we decreed, at the request of numerous bishops, that in the future, according to the circumstances, oil of another sort could also be used, provided it were obtained from plants, inasmuch as this more closely resembles the matter indicated in Holy Scripture.”

He also permitted that priests could bless this oil in case of emergency. This norm was later incorporated into Canon 999 of the Code of Canon Law which determines who may bless the oil:

"In addition to a bishop, the following can bless the oil to be used in the anointing of the sick: 1) those equivalent to a diocesan bishop by law; 2) any presbyter in a case of necessity, but only in the actual celebration of the sacrament.

“Canon 1000 §1. The anointings with the words, order, and manner prescribed in the liturgical books are to be performed carefully. In a case of necessity, however, a single anointing on the forehead or even on some other part of the body is sufficient, while the entire formula is said.”

In those cases where the priest has blessed the oil himself for a particular situation, No. 22 of the Order for the Pastoral Care of the sick stipulates, “If any of the oil is left after the celebration of the sacrament, it should be absorbed in cotton (cotton wool) and burned.”

Unlike the case of the sacrament of the sick, Canon 880 §2 states,

“The chrism to be used in the sacrament of confirmation must be consecrated by a bishop even if a presbyter administers the sacrament.”

There are less-specific norms regarding the oil of catechumens because this oil is not essential to the sacrament and in an emergency it is sufficient to baptize with water using the Trinitarian formula. At the same time, the ritual foresees the possibility of carrying out all the rites in an abbreviated form. . . .

. . . . Follow-up: Oils in an Emergency [6-5-2012]

In the wake of our comments on blessing of holy oils by a priest (see May 22), an attentive reader called my attention to an oversight on my part regarding the blessing of the oil of catechumens. To wit:

“Regarding the Oil of Catechumens, the general ‘Rite of Blessing of Oils, Rite of Consecrating the Chrism,’ found in an appendix in the previous English Sacramentary, in No. 7 of the introduction does mention the possibility of a priest blessing the Oil of Catechumens for ‘pastoral reasons.’ This permission is also found in the RCIA, at No. 101 in the U.S. English edition (or No. 129 of the Latin original).”

The text of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults says, “The oil used for this rite is to be the oil blessed by the bishop at the chrism Mass, but for pastoral reasons a priest celebrant may bless oil for the rite immediately before the anointing.” . . .

(Some minor format changes in above and emphasis mine)

ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur408.htm