Bishop Niall Coll uses oil imagery to reflect on war and faith at Chrism Mass

The Bishop of Raphoe, Niall Coll, has spoken of the rich symbolism of oil - those in traditional Irish kitchens and the now war-torn lands - in exploring the challenges of the modern world and the Church’s mission.

Bishop Coll presided at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday in St Eunan’s Cathedral, joined by dozens of clerics from across the Raphoe Diocese.

Bishop Coll was celebrating his first Chrism Mass as the Bishop of Raphoe after the St Johnston native was officially installed in January following his appointment by Pope Leo XIV last year. 

In a sometimes humorous, yet deeply reflective Homily, Bishop Coll said his comments were directed to his fellow priests, but would resonate with the congregation.

He recalled how Americans would joke about Irish cooking and how their food would be “boiled to death”.

“Some even jest that in hell, the Irish will do the cooking to complete the punishment,” Bishop Coll said.

“The traditional salad of my childhood, and maybe for many still today, would do little to dissuade that American impression. Surely over more recent generations, we have learned something of flavour, of richness, of the quiet glory of olive oil.”

He sharply turned to the image of the olive trees of the Mediterranean and the Holy Land, which now “lie in the shadow of brutal conflict”.

“The earth that yields oil of a different type, better known as petroleum, also trembles under the weight of war,” he said. 

“Think of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil, so vital to the life of nations, has become a source of anxiety, of rising costs, of uncertain futures. What once spoke simply of abundance, now reminds us how fragile peace and prosperity can be. How interwoven the life of the world truly is.

Towards the end of the service, Bishop Coll blessed the Holy Oils: the Oil of Chrism used in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders; the Oil of Catechumens used in Baptism; and the Oil of the Sick, used in the Anointing of the Sick.

He spoke of how oil runs as a thread through ancient scripture. 

“Every Catholic is anointed through the ministry of the priest and bishop,” he said. “In baptism, the first touch of that sacred oil. In confirmation, it's strengthening seal. In sickness, it's healing tenderness. In ordination, it's consecrating fire upon the hands of the priest.

“The Catholic salad, if you will, is never to be dry. It is rich, gloriously anointed.

“But in all its different manifestations at home, and I include here WD40, at home, on the farm, in factories, is never idle. It strengthens, it heals, it loosens what has grown stiff. It quiets what grinds and strains. It brings movement where there was resistance, life where there was friction.”

Mass was concelebrated by some of the Raphoe Diocese’s most senior clerics including: Bishop Philip Boyce, Bishop Emeritus of Raphoe; Monsignor Kevin Gillespie, the Vicar General of the Raphoe Diocese; Archdeacon Willie McMenamin, Pastor Emeritus in Raphoe; Canon Francis McAteeer, assistant priest in Glencolmcille; Monsignor Dan Carr, Pastor Emeritus in St Johnston; Canon Denis McGettigan, Pastor Emeritus in the Raphoe parish; and Fr Anthony Hartnett of the Cathedral Parish of Conwal and Leck.

Over 40 priests from across the Raphoe Diocese were in attendance to renew the promises made at ordination.

Bishop Coll said that in a time now of war and fear, the human spirit can show cracks. 

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He said: “Without this anointing, the Christian life becomes thin, mechanical, a duty without delight, a journey without fire.

“And priesthood itself risks becoming what Pope Francis warned against: function without unction. But where the Spirit is, there is fragrance, there is sheen, there is movement, there is joy, there is mission. 

“Today, we pray for a deeper awareness of this anointing, baptismal and priestly alike, that it may not remain merely an ideal, but become a living certainty within us.”