Chrismation is the second mystery of Christian Initiation. Through the anointing with Holy Chrism, the newly baptized receives “The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit.” The one anointed by the Chrism receives the coming of the Holy Spirit just as the apostles received it at Pentecost.
Lessons from the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church
“As the Paschal mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Christ finds its completion in the sending of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, so our rebirth in Christ is sealed by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Chrismation is the seal of the gift that we received in Baptism. It manifests that every baptized person receives the coming of the Holy Spirit, as did the apostles at Pentecost. This anointing by the Holy Spirit indicates that every Christian is born to new life in Christ and becomes a child of the Father in order to take part in the royal, priestly, and prophetic ministry of Christ for the salvation of the world. This is emphasized in the prayer of consecration of Holy Chrism on Great and Holy Thursday:
‘Send, O Lord, your Most Holy Spirit upon this Chrism and make of it a royal anointing, a spiritual anointing by which kings, high-priests, and prophets had been anointed, and all of their successors – bishops and presbyters and all who until this day have received rebirth in the font of regeneration…Make this Chrism to be the Descent of the Holy Spirit.'” (424)
Just as after Christ’s baptism in the Jordan the Holy Spirit led Christ in His salvific mission, and just as the Spirit leads the Church community since the descent on the apostles at Pentecost, so also in the Mystery of Chrismation the Holy Spirit grants to every Christian the capacity to discern and realize the foundational calling (vocation) of his or her life for the salvation and transfiguration of the world. (427)
Chrismations at Our Parish
For a newly baptized child or adult, Chrismation immediately follows Baptism. The priest anoints the forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, breast, hands, and feet of the newly baptizes child or adult, using the Chrism consecrated by the Bishop on Great and Holy Thursday. While Chrismating, the priest repeats the words, “The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit.”
For those converting from a Christian tradition in which they were validly baptized, Chrismation is the means by which they become a new member of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. They are chrismated with the Chrism in the same way a newly baptized child or adult is chrismated.