Matthew 17: 1-9

The Hebrew word ‘Messiah' means ‘anointed one'. It is translated as ‘Christos' in Greek. Christ means ‘anointed one' and Christians are the ‘anointed ones' who share in the messianic mission of Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we who are reborn in the waters of baptism are anointed to proclaim the kingdom of God. The anointing ‘Christifies' those who receive it as it bestows the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Anointing with oil is a very ancient and important ritual in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Jews anointed three categories of people: priests, prophets and kings. Christians, by contrast, anoint everyone in baptism.

Baptism gives all a shared, if differentiated, responsibility for the life and mission of the Church, and calls baptised and ordained to work together. All baptised members of the Church participate together in the prophetic or teaching office, in the priestly or sanctifying office, and in the kingly or governing office of Christ.

This participation in the threefold mission of Christ is not delegated from the ordained ministry but ‘finds its source in the anointing of baptism, its further development in confirmation and its realization and dynamic sustenance in the Holy Eucharist' (Christifideles Laici 14)