In His physical resurrection, Jesus Christ redeemed all creation. For the Christian, the material world is good because God made it and then redeemed it. This is why we're a religion of statues and crucifixes, icons and paintings, bread and wine and holy oils. God is sacramental. He uses the physical to channel His grace and pour His Spirit into the familiar world around us, which we see and hear and touch.
Physical reality can be holy.
When Scripture says that God wants a holy people, it means He wants a royal priesthood, a people set apart. In like manner, Holy Week is the week we set apart to commemorate the most important event in history. The Chrism Mass we celebrate today focuses on the blessing of the holy oils and the chrism which we will use throughout the coming year in the celebration of all Baptisms, Confirmations, Anointings of the Sick and Ordinations in our diocese. We do this, at this special time of year, to remind ourselves that all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power from the paschal mystery of our Lord's suffering, death and resurrection. These holy oils seal us to one another in the community of faith we call the Church.