Holy Thursday of the Lord's Supper
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What you are about to witness tonight explains why we are here. In a short while, we will reenact ritually what Jesus did for His disciples at the Last Supper ... washing the feet of His disciples and commanding them and us to do the same. Today, we remember the night when Jesus instituted not only the Eucharist, but the Priesthood as well. We come together tonight to obey the commandment of Jesus – to unite our self-giving to the Eucharistic sacrifice of Jesus ... to receive Jesus in Holy Communion … to spend time in Adoration ... and to reflect with Jesus on the meaning of His Eucharistic gift. It is important to try to understand the meaning of these actions, so that we will realize what we are doing tonight and throughout the sacred three days ahead.
Entrance: Gal 6:14 – “We should glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom is our salvation, life, and resurrection, through whom we are saved and delivered.”
First Reading: Ex 12:1-8, 11-14 – “The law regarding the Passover meal.”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18 – “Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.”
Second Reading: 1 Cor 11:23-26 – “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord.”
Gospel: Jn 13:1-15 – “Jesus loved them to the end.”
Communion: 1 Cor 11:24-25 – “‘This is the Body that will be given up for you; this is the Chalice of the new covenant in My Blood,’ says the Lord; ‘do this, whenever you receive it, in memory of Me.’”
Saint John tells us that Jesus loved His own to the end (Jn 13:1). He performed the chore of a servant because He wanted to show that love. He also wanted to illustrate beforehand the great act of love He was about to perform. He would pass over to the Father by offering His life on the altar of the cross. Saint John sees Jesus as the Passover Lamb by whose blood God’s people are saved. He is a willing victim, freely giving Himself out of love for us. The first thing we do, then, tonight is to celebrate Jesus’ great love. This is God’s own love. We can never fully fathom it. It was hard enough for Peter as it still is for many of us today to understand the human love we see in Jesus ... as He washes the feet of the disciples ... and then goes on to die for us. The divine love is beyond our grasp entirely. We can only marvel at it, rejoice in it, and hope to reflect it in our lives.
Jesus commanded: “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you and example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (Jn 13:12-15). Saint Paul recounts Jesus’ other words, which would have followed the washing of the feet: “‘This is My body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way also the chalice, after supper, saying, ‘This chalice is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’” (1 Cor 11:24-25).
As you reflect on tonight’s readings, consider everything that flows to you through the ministry of the Priest. Think of the many times that you have been absolved from your sins and reconciled to God through the ministry of a Priest. Through the many Masses you have attended, think of all of the graces you have received as the Priest has celebrated them ... grace to strengthen and to purify ... grace to comfort and to guide ... grace to affirm God’s love for you again and again and again.
On Tuesday, I was graced to attend the Chrism Mass. Traditionally, in smaller, more geographically compact Dioceses, the Chrism Mass is offered on Holy Thursday morning … the Institution of the Priesthood and the Institution of the Eucharist are celebrated on the same day, Holy Thursday. As I prayed for you on Tuesday, I pray with you tonight as we begin the Triduum.
And as an aside and with all that being said, tonight, I also ask your forgiveness if I have done something to offend or if I have done something out of ignorance. Something people often forget, Priests are individuals and are just as human as you are. Even at 62, I am still learning and growing and I hope as we begin this most sacred Triduum, you can forgive me as we all continue to grow and to learn … especially in our love of the Lord.
As we continue this celebration of the Lord’s Supper, the Last Supper, all of us, are called to imitate the humility of Jesus the Servant. And if we can do that, we are ready to celebrate the memorial of His Passover ... rightly disposed to say “Amen” to His sacrifice. We are ready to eat His flesh and to drink His blood. If we do not recognize Christ in one another, in His Mystical Body, I don’t think we can really recognize what is contained in the consecrated bread and wine. I believe that this is what Jesus was trying to teach us when He washed His disciples’ feet and commanded us to do the same.
Jesus tells objecting Peter: “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with Me.” In Saint John’s theology, this can be seen as a reference to Baptism. It can also mean: “If you do not allow Me to do this menial act ... and accept the meaning of what ‘Master loving servant’ implies for your own conduct ... you just don’t get what Jesus and God are all about – or what the Eucharist is all about.” When Jesus said: “Do this in remembrance of Me,” He was not only prescribing a ritual. He was telling us how to live. He was telling us how to carry out the new commandment He would give later in the evening: “Love one another, as I have loved you.” He was telling us to wash one another’s feet and taught us not by simply saying it, but by actually doing it.
At the end of Mass tonight, there is also a procession to bring the Holy Eucharist to the Altar of Repose. I ask that as that procession happens and as you leave church this evening, you do so in silence. We will have the opportunity to spend time reflecting on the mystery we have celebrated. We will be able to honestly ask ourselves if we really accept Christ and if we accept His command. The questions remain ... Do we have other priorities in our lives that we place above God and above our faith and above that command? Do we find God’s command too scandalous, as Peter did at first?
As we proceed through these holiest of days and as we grow in faith and love of the Lord, may each of us have the courage to respond with Peter’s final enthusiasm ... an enthusiasm which would lead him one day, after a life of service, to death on a cross like His Master’s.
Tonight’s service is a summary of the Christian life: our roots in the story of the Passover, the Eucharist as both sacrifice and meal ... servant leadership. The readings and the acts that follow – washing feet and Communion – form a kind of examination of conscience, summed up in the Mandatum ... the commandment of the Lord ... “Love one another as I have loved you.” As we move now to celebrate this feast of Christ’s love, let us open our hearts and our lives to that love. It is my hope and my prayer that we all have the courage to say “Amen!” ... “So be it!”
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