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Featured Term (selected at random):ANOINTING Literally the pouring of oil on someone or some thing in a religious ceremony. Its biblical purpose was to make sacred the object anointed. Thus kings were anointed (I Samuel 10:1), priests (Exodus 28:41), and prophets (I 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. In the Catholic Church, holy oils are used in the administration...

Featured Term (selected at random):CHRISM A consecrated mixture of olive oil and balsam. Blessed by a bishop, it is used in the public administration of baptism, confirmation, and holy orders; in the blessing of tower bells, baptismal water, and in the consecration of churches, altars, chalices, and patens. (Etym. Middle English chrisom, short for chrism cloth.) See Also: HOLY CHRISM All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Featured Term (selected at random):BALM, BALSAM Aromatic viscous fluid from the terebinth tree and other plants. In cathedral-churches on Holy Thursday blessed balm is mixed with olive oil and then poured into the oil of the holy chrism. In the administration of some sacraments and for other blessings in the church, this holy chrism is used. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.