On the morning of Maundy Thursday, on the feast of the institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood (Holy Orders), Bishop Ferenc Palánki of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza concelebrated Mass with Bishop Emeritus Nándor Bosák of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza and the priests of the diocese in the Co-Cathedral of Our Lady of Hungary in Nyíregyháza. During the Holy Mass, the clergy renewed the promises made at their ordination.
The Chrism Mass introduces the faithful to the celebration of the Holy Triduum. During the liturgy, the Oil of Catechumens and the Oil of the Sick were blessed, and the Chrism – used in the administration of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, and for the consecration of churches – was consecrated.
On Maundy Thursday evening, from 18:00, the Bishop will celebrate Holy Mass in St. Anne's Cathedral in Debrecen, commemorating the Last Supper, the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist, and Holy Orders.
Below you can read the homily delivered by Bishop Ferenc Palánki at the Chrism Mass.
How much we have to be grateful for! When one is grateful, one pauses, because one knows to look upwards and knows where to hold on when facing difficulties. C. S. Lewis, writer, literary historian, and theologian, writes:
“My faith was strongest at those moments in my life when God was at the centre of my thoughts. If I believed in Him, I could also believe in heaven, as a consequence.”
So often, we, priests and faithful alike, are tempted by disbelief and by the thought that God should not be at the centre of our lives and thoughts.
One of our brother priests, when he left his vocation, said he was not happy enough.
We must not be happy enough, but happy.
God makes us happy. Let us pray for this, and for those who have changed their minds during their service, as well as for our existing priests, that we may transcend this world and show forth the Kingdom of God with our lives and our ministry.
In preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year, Pope Francis has declared 2024 as the Year of Prayer. The Holy Father says that we must rediscover the value of prayer. We must know that prayer is not merely reciting texts – though there is a great need for that too – but much more. Prayer is a relationship with the living God.
We do not speak into a void, but to God, who exists, loves, and answers.
A priest friend of mine said that it was often difficult for him to solve the tasks his bishop entrusted to him. Then he participated in a spiritual retreat, where he seemed to hear God addressing him, telling him to send his problems up to Him. The next time he found himself in a difficult situation, he "threw" his problem to God, and experienced that the solution came within a few seconds.
Prayer is clearly not an automatism, but truly a living relationship, one that must be nurtured. The relationship we dedicate time and energy to is important.
If God is at the centre of our lives, our thoughts, our hearts, then our faith will be alive.
God wants to give us everything, and this everything is Himself. He gives Himself in the Eucharist, in our calling. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us; He has anointed us, He has taken hold of our hands. Pope Benedict XVI writes in his meditative book, Servants of Your Joy – which contains his speeches delivered at priestly ordinations – that in olden times, a priest's hands were bound to the chalice at ordination.
We are set apart. Our hands are set apart to lift the Lord's chalice, and to call upon the Lord's name, to do good, to help others, and to point to the living God, to the presence of heaven.
Our vocation is to bear witness to the miracle. The miracle is the presence of the supernatural here, in the natural environment. Every priest is a bearer of a miracle, for we possess such special abilities that if we pronounce these words to someone: “I absolve you”, that person is completely freed from their sins. When we say: “Take and eat”, Christ will be present. This is a true miracle! The miracle of faith. “Behold, the mystery of faith!”, we say at every Holy Mass.
What a sublime vocation and mission we have! We can serve the Eucharist, which nourishes our faith, helps us overcome temptations, enables us to move forward in difficult points of our lives, shows the way, and builds, sustains, and enriches our relationship with God and with one another.
I am grateful that we could pray together with a large part of the diocese's clergy who were able to attend. Let us pray for our sick priests, and also for those who feel a calling to the priesthood, that they may be servants and witnesses to the miracle in our diocese as well.
May the Good Lord guide and help us to give thanks for all that we have received, and to experience the Holy Triduum of Easter and every day of our priestly ministry with renewed vigour! – concluded Bishop Ferenc Palánki in his homily.
Joyful News Press Office/Diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza