“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me”
Anointing is not as prevalent in our current society as it once was. So when Jesus reads that He is the “anointed one” this is profound. We carry on the significance of anointing through our Sacraments and the meaning behind anointing.
Which reading does Jesus use? Why does this matter when it comes to anointing? The passage Jesus read was from Isaiah 61:1-2. In it, the prophet proclaims the coming of the Anointed, who would free his people of their afflictions. “In Christ this prophecy finds its fulfillment, for He is the Anointed, the Messiah whom God has sent to his people in their tribulation. Jesus has been anointed by the Holy Spirit for the mission the Father has entrusted to him.”[i] In the Sunday Gospel’s preceding the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary time, we have seen Jesus’s divinity manifested through the Adoration of the Magi, the Baptism of the Lord, and the Wedding at Cana. His divine nature continues to be revealed and prophecies fulfilled as Jesus reads the text of Isaiah in the synagogue.
Search: Messianic Fulfillment
What is anointing? Anointing means, “Literally the pouring of oil on someone or some thing in a religious ceremony.”[ii] “Anointing, in Biblical and other ancient symbolism, is rich in meaning: oil is a sign of abundance and joy; it cleanses (anointing before and after a bath) and limbers (the anointing of athletes and wrestlers); oil is a sign of healing, since it is soothing to bruises and wounds; and it makes radiant with beauty, health, and strength.”[iii]
What was the biblical purpose of anointing? “Its biblical purpose was to make sacred the object anointed. Thus kings were anointed (1Samuel 10:1), priests (Exodus 28:41), and prophets (1 Kings 19:16). The reference to anointing in the New Testament as a sacred rite pertains to the sacrament of anointing the sick, but the verb here used (James 5:14), aleipho, is unique. It therefore has a different meaning from ‘to make sacred,’ as elsewhere in the Bible.”[iv]
How is anointing used in the Catholic Church? Anointing with oils is still used today in the church. The most common place we find them is in the sacraments. “In the Catholic Church, holy oils are used in the administration of the three sacraments, which impart a permanent character (baptism, confirmation, and holy orders) and with a different purpose, in the anointing of the sick. Oil is used in the blessing of altars, bells, and sacred vessels. There are also a number of blessed oils, e.g., in honor of St. Serapion (fourth century), that are used as sacramental.”[v]
Search: Holy Oils
What does anointing signify in the three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders? “Anointing with oil has all these meanings in the sacramental life. The pre-baptismal anointing with the oil of catechumens signifies cleansing and strengthening; the anointing of the sick expresses healing and comfort. The post-baptismal anointing with sacred chrism in Confirmation and ordination is the sign of consecration. By Confirmation Christians, that is, those who are anointed, share more completely in the mission of Jesus Christ and the fullness of the Holy Spirit with which he is filled, so that their lives may give off ‘the aroma of Christ.’”[vi]
What does anointing with oil symbolize? Anointing of oil signifies the Holy Spirit, “to the point of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit. In Christian initiation, anointing is the sacramental sign of Confirmation, called ‘chrismation’ in the Churches of the East. Its full force can be grasped only in relation to the primary anointing accomplished by the Holy Spirit, that of Jesus. Christ (in Hebrew ‘messiah’) means the one ‘anointed’ by God’s Spirit. There were several anointed ones of the Lord in the Old Covenant, pre-eminently King David. But Jesus is God’s Anointed in a unique way: the humanity the Son assumed was entirely anointed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit established him as ‘Christ.’ The Virgin Mary conceived Christ by the Holy Spirit who, through the angel, proclaimed him the Christ at his birth, and prompted Simeon to come to the temple to see the Christ of the Lord. The spirit filled Christ and the power of the Spirit went out from him in his acts of healing and of saving. Finally, it was the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. Now, fully established as ‘Christ’ in his humanity victorious over death, Jesus pours out the Holy Spirit abundantly until ‘the saints’ constitute – in their union with the humanity of the Son of God – that perfect man ‘to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’: ‘the whole Christ,’ in St. Augustine’s expression.”[vii]
What does “Christ” mean? Christ means, “anointed one”. “The meaning of ‘Christ,’ derived from the Greek Christos, corresponding to the Hebrew Mashijah (Messiah)”[viii] In a deeper way it shows Jesus’ divinity, “for the name ‘Christ’ implies ‘he who anointed,’ ‘he who was anointed’ and ‘the very anointing with which he was anointed.’ The one who anointed is the Father, the one who was anointed is the Son, and he was anointed with the Spirit who is the anointing,”[ix]
What are the effects of anointing? We are sealed by Christ. At our Confirmation the Bishop says, “Be sealed with the Holy Spirit.” “The seal is a symbol close to that of anointing. The Father has set his seal on Christ and also seals us in him. Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, the image of the seal (sphragis) has been used in some theological traditions to express the indelible ‘character’ imprinted by these three unrepeatable sacraments.”[x]
VIDEO – How to make a wax seal
The video shows how to make a modern seal using wax. As the boy shows there are different styles and ways to do this. God seals our souls all the same through the Sacraments, but his imprint is unique and different just as these seals can be.
[i] The Navarre Bible: St. Luke pg. 74
[ii] Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 28
[iii] CCC 1293
[iv] Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 28
[v] Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 28
[vi] CCC1294
[vii] CCC 695
[viii] Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 27
[ix] St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haeres., 3, 18, 3: PG 7/1, 934
[x] CCC 698