The Archbishop of
the Metropolitan See of Bamenda, North West Region, Cameroon, has celebrated
Chrism Mass for the first time since after taking canonical possession of the
Archdiocese. The Chrism Mass of May 27, 2020, like elsewhere in the universal church
made history. It marked the first time in the history of the Catholic Church
that Chrism Mass got celebrated towards the end of the Easter season and not
within the Holy Week as is supposed to be.
For the very first
time too, only a selected few, from clergy to laity were privileged to be part
of the Chrism Mass. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the church house was sparsely
populated since social distancing had to be respected. The faithful sat three
per pew after every vacant pew. These were mostly parish representatives. Also due
to the ongoing Anglophone crisis, not all the parishes were represented. Roadblocks mounted by armed separatist fighters held back some Priests and laity of
some very remote parishes. So the church house that usually will contain almost
a thousand faithful, had just about two hundred persons in attendance.
It was equally the first time that the Archbishop Emeritus, His Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua was concelebrating a Eucharistic celebration with his successor, His Grace Andrew Nkea. Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea took possession of the Archdiocese of Bamenda since Saturday, February 22, 2020. Shortly after that great event, the COVID-19 pandemic set in causing the suspension of church activities and limiting the celebration of Holy Masses to just a few.
In his homily,
Archbishop Andrew Nkea talked principally on two key issues. First the blessing
of the oils and their usage by priests to signify the union between the priests
and their bishop. He wondered who a priest who is not in communion with his
bishop would be representing while using the oil of catechumen or that of the
sick. To buttress his point on the unity of the bishop and his priests,
Archbishop Nkea cited the Catechism of the Catholic Church numbers 1562 and
1567. He went on to explain the significance of the renewal of priestly ordination
vows and urged the lay faithful to pray for their bishops and priests. The
prayers he said are much needed especially during this period of the COVID-19
pandemic and even the existing Anglophone crisis in Cameroon which make work so
difficult for the priests. He then stressed that as regards the duties of
priests, they are never to be seen as political activists but rather as people who
are bound to speak the truth in and out of season, irrespective of whether what
they say is accepted or rejected.
Another issue he
elaborated on in his sermon concerned the Cathedriaticum which is the material
and financial support to the local ordinary by the laity. Here he stressed the
need for all to put hands on deck for the development of the diocese. He urged particularly
the elites of the diocese who are residents out of the diocese to always
contribute to their diocese of origin. According to him, the development of the
diocese should be done from within and not from without.
Straight after the
sermon, there was the rite of renewal of priestly ordination vows. The
Archbishop presided at this brief albeit very important ritual which takes
place once every year during the Chrism Mass. Everything being equal the Mass
would have been celebrated on Holy/Maundy Thursday, the day Catholics believe
Christ instituted the Eucharist/Priesthood.
At the end of the
renewal of vows, there was a procession on to the foot of the sanctuary with
the oils to be blessed. The blessing of the oils began with that of the sick,
then next the prelate blessed the oil of catechumens, and lastly, he blessed that
of chrism. There was at the end a prayer on all the oils which the prelate led
while all the concelebrating priests joined in with outstretched hands over the
oils.
It was then the
traditional offertory time, the moment for the cathedriaticum. In normal times
this activity alone could go on for close to three hours. It is a period of
joyful offering to God as deanery after deanery and parish after parish,
Christians competed in who would offer the highest gift to the local ordinary
to assist him in his pastoral duties. It was very low-keyed this time around
and rounded off just within thirty minutes. Widikum deanery opened the
procession by just walking straight to offer what they had put together. In
reaction, the Archbishop sent them back to the back of the church, ordering
them to process in dancing. So it was for the rest of the deanery and parish
representatives which danced to some renditions of the oldest choir of the
Mankon Cathedral Parish, the St. Cecilia’s Choir that led the liturgy of the
Chrism Mass.
The scare of the COVID-19 made it that the Chrism
Mass be organized in strict respect of preventive measures prescribed by the
state and by the church. Nurses were stationed at the lone entrance to the
church who made sure everyone washed their hands, had their temperatures taken , and wore face masks before getting into the church house. The two Archbishops
and about sixty concelebrating priests equally did the same.
Life the world
over, came to a halt when the COVID-19 pandemic took center stage. So the
Archdiocese of Bamenda is just having her fair share. Not only was the Chrism
Mass put on hold but several other important events in the life of the local church.
Of prime importance are the Priestly ordinations that were supposed to have
taken place within the first week of Easter, but which are still pending. The
archdiocese is also in the golden jubilee year of her erection yet no activity
is being organized to that effect.
By Jude Abanseka
Comments
Post a Comment