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Oil as a
Symbol
We are all familiar with oil, in one form
or another, in all aspects of our daily lives. We use it for cooking,
heating, lubricating, and in a thousand and one other ways. Without it
there would be no industry, no transport, and we would have to do
without many of the 'plastic' goods we take for granted.
Oil has always
been the 'life-blood' of society, a fact of which the Jewish people of
the Old Testament were very aware. The oil which the Jews knew, and
which is still in use today, is olive oil and it is the same oil which
we use in Church. For the Jews a plentiful supply of oil, along with
corn and wine, was a sign of God's favor. Oil was, and still is, a
sign of God's blessing because it represents all that is best in life,
God's generosity to the people He loves.
Oil in
Church
We use oil in Church in two ways: we
sometimes burn it in votive lamps, and we anoint people with it. In
both cases its use can be traced back to the earliest times, and is
recorded in the Old Testament and the New. The Christian Church
adopted the use of oil from both Jewish and pagan practice very early
in its history.
Anointing with
oil largely fell from favor in the Church of England for several
hundred years. However, its importance in recent times has been
rediscovered there. In the United States, and specifically in the
Anglo-Catholic parishes, it has its proper place in the Sacraments of
Baptism, Confirmation, Unction, or the anointing of the sick, and in
the Ordination of priests.
Sacramental
Oil
Oil as a symbol reminds us of
God's boundless generosity towards us, and of His never-ending love of
us. When we use it to anoint people in Church, it is more than merely
a symbol, or reminder. It becomes one of the channels by which God's
power comes into the world, by which He blesses us with His Holy
Spirit.
The oil is
essentially no different from any other olive oil, but it is made
special by being set aside specially for God's purposes. God takes the
ordinary things of this world, in this case olive oil, and makes them
holy. He works through material things to show Himself to the world
and to bring people back to Himself.
The Three
Oils
The oils used for anointing are specially blessed for this
purpose by the Bishop at the Chrism Mass on Maundy Thursday, so called
because one of the oils used is called 'Chrism.'
 1. The oil of the
sick.
In the letter of St. James (5:14) we read, "Is any among you sick?
Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over
him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the Lord
will raise him up." The rite of anointing the sick in mind or body,
those about to undergo surgery, those nearing death, is one of God's
gifts available to His people through His priests.
This kind of anointing is
itself a Sacrament. Those who receive it can be confident that God
will respond to the prayer of faith.
2. The oil of
catechumens
A 'catechumen' is somebody who is preparing to become a Christian,
and so this oil is used to accompany the Rite of Baptism. Anointing
at Baptism is a symbol which points to the gift of the Holy Spirit,
which comes to the newly baptized person as it did upon Christ at
His Baptism in the Jordan. In Baptism we are "born of water and the
Spirit" (John 3:5), the Holy Spirit which is the gift of Christ to
His Church.
This anointing also
reminds us at Baptism that we are made inheritors of the Kingdom of
God. The head of the person is anointed with the oil of Chrism.
(Kings and Queens are anointed at their coronations.)
3. The Holy Chrism
Holy Chrism is the oil used to anoint people at their Confirmation,
and is also used to anoint priests at their ordination. It is also
used in the consecration of altars and Church buildings. In
Anglo-Catholic parishes it is additionally used by bishops when they
consecrate chalices and patens. 'Consecration' means making holy or
setting apart for God's purposes. It differs from the other two oils
in that it alone is not pure olive oil. A scented balsam is mixed
with the oil to make the Chrism.
How the Oil
is Used
The oil is almost always applied using the right thumb, or
occasionally is poured on. When applied with the thumb, it is usually
applied in the form of a cross. This is to remind us that all blessing
come from the crucified Christ, the source of all healing and life for
the world.
When anointing
accompanies Baptism, the cross is marked in oil on the baptized
person's forehead. In this way they are 'sealed' with the Holy Spirit
as a reminder of Revelation 7:3 in which the servants of God are
"sealed . . . upon their foreheads." In Baptism we are made servants
of God.
Confirmation
candidates and the sick are anointed in the same way on their
foreheads, and for the same reasons. The sick are also anointed, as
the need arises, on the infected part of their bodies. In this way
their prayer is acted out.
In the
Sacraments of Confirmation and Ordination the anointing is in addition
to the action of "Laying-on of Hands'. In the Sacrament of Unction the
anointing with prayer is at the heart of the rite, and although
accompanied by the 'Laying-on of Hands', is itself the essential
element.
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