Christians have been urged to pray for their priests and help them carry out their Priestly Ministry with ease. This call was made by Rev. Fr. Fidel Ndagijimana, Pastoral Coordinator for Kabale Diocese while preaching during Chrism Mass held on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at Our Lady of Good Shepherd Rushoroza Cathedral.
Fr. Ndagijimana cautioned those Christians who work hard for the downfall of priests and make them forget their priestly call. He urged them to stop misleading or tempting them but rather pray for them and help them serve the people of God better.
Chrism Mass, principally celebrated of Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) morning brings together all priests in a particular Diocese and together with their Bishop, renew their priestly vows and commitment. In Kabale Diocese however, this Chrism Mass is celebrated on Holy Tuesday because of pastoral needs and long distances traveled by priests; for they cannot make it to Rushoroza Cathedral on Thursday morning and then be in their parishes on Thursday afternoon to celebrate Lord’s supper.
It’s good for all of us to be here to celebrate the gift of priesthood which Christ instituted in the upper room 2000 years ago and which he willed that this celebration should continue as he commanded: do this in memory of me – Fr. Fidel Ndagijimana.
Fr. Ndagijimana said that Christians should thank God for the gift of priests for they are the ones that make them Christians through the sacrament of baptism which they administer so that they become children of God. When Christians fall short of God’s grace by signing, we go to God through the priest to reconcile us with him in the sacrament of penance. Christians are spiritually nourished with the heavenly bread in the sacrament of Eucharist which the priest alone celebrates where bread and wine become body and blood of Christ as their spiritual food.
He reminded the priests and the people of God that there are times of joy but also times of sorrow, for there is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday. However, we should not despair, but remember that we are Pilgrims of Hope.
A priest is not his own, but a priest is a fulfilment of Christ presence in the world. Always look up to him in prayer, in adoration so that he continues to guiding us in his work. A priest as an anointed one of God. This Mass is called Chrism Mass, where oil of the sick and oil of catechumens are blessed and sacred chrism is consecrated.
St. James in his letter says: “Any one of you who is ill should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint the sick person with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him. The prayer of faith will save the sick person and the Lord will raise him up again; and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven (James 5:14-15).
Sacred Chrism is used in sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation where the candidate is annointed on the forehead. It is also used in the Sacrament of Holy Orders where a priest’s hands are anointed and for the Bishop, he is annointed in head. This sacred chrism imprints an indelible marks, a sign of ownership by Christ.
Kings, priests and prophets of old were annointed with oil as a sign of being set aside for God’s work. Jesus launched his mission with the anointing: the spirit of the Lord is upon me for he has annointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, set captives free and announce the year of the lords favor.
With you Iam a Christian, for you am a priest. pray for me that what Iam should not make me forget what Iam with you – St. Augustine.
In his remarks, Bishop Callist Rubaramira thanked the priests for their dedication and pastoral work thru are doing among the people of God. He requested them to stay faithful to their priestly vows having time for personal prayer and meditation on scripture and seeking intercession of Blessed Virgin Mary through recitation of the rosary.
He also advised them to always take some time for holiday in order to regain strength to serve better and also have medical checkup especially for the non communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, prostate among others. This is because when one hits 40 years of age, he is a candidate to these diseases especially prostate cancer. He also requested them to pay a visit to their brother priests who are sick and give them comfort.
He also reminded Parish Priests that they should set targets for their Bishop’s Annual Appeal Fund (BAAF) projects for their respective parishes by the end of the first week of May. He said they should link up with the district BAAF coordinators and draw up a roadmap for their BAAF activities. This year’s BAAF is dedicated to establishment of projects in each parish.