Homily Holy Thursday 2013
Many of our separated Christian
brethren refer to today’s celebration
as “Maundy
Thursday,”
a
name derived ultimately from the Latin word “mandatum,”
meaning
command or mandate.
The word is part of a longer verse in
the Gospels:
Mandatum
novum do vobis…I give you a new commandment
Love
one another as I have loved you.
This sacred day, the beginning of
the special season of three days known as the
Paschal
Triduum
and
the day on which Christ instituted the Eucharist and the Priesthood
is
the Thursday of the Mandate to Love
manifested
in two clear and meaningful commandments of Jesus.
These significant directives,
couched in
the Passover meal on the eve of the Passion,
are
cornerstones of Christian discipleship.
Of the Eucharist, Jesus says: “Do
this in memory of me.”
Upon washing the disciples’ feet,
he says “As I have done, so you must do.”
Eucharist and service are both
mandated for the disciple.
Jesus anticipates the following day’s
agony
in
which He will be broken open, spent and poured out
for
the salvation of the world
and
in a desire to leave a memorial and a living experience of Himself
for
all who would be joined to His Body, the Church.
And so He took ordinary bread and wine
and
substantially transformed them into His very Body and Blood.
He then made clear that this
memorial meal and sacrifice should be perpetuated
in
and through His Church.
We know what “is” is. “Do this” is an unequivocal statement.
This is my Body. This is my Blood.
Do this in memory of me.
Far from a mere symbol, the
Eucharist is the very substance of the Son of God.
He who emptied Himself in becoming
man, humbled Himself in accepting death,
surely
would not hesitate to make Himself continually available to us
in
the Holy Mass.
Far from an optional or incidental
aspect of our faith,
the
Eucharist is the very source of grace for all we do
and
the summit of the Church’s activity.
A Catholic who struggles with believing
the Eucharist is really Christ
should
take on sincere soul-searching, penance and reparation.
Life without
the Eucharist is like pistons without oil, a radiator without coolant,
a cactus without sun, a fish without
water.
Without the
life-giving food of the Eucharist there is no Church, no lifeline to Jesus,
only dryness and darkness for the
souls of mankind.
Yet, through the Eucharist we are filled
with the presence of Jesus,
given
new hope and a glimpse of eternal glory.
Today we celebrate the unveiling of
God’s perfect plan
for the
unity and holiness of humanity.
He allows us to feast on His Son
and become one with Him and each other.
Jesus furthermore desires that the relationship
we have with Him
overflow
in the love we have for our fellow men and women.
Thus, He stoops to the ground to
wash the feet of His disciples,
giving
them an example of the kind of love
Christians
are to possess and display to one another.
Christ-like love is expressed in
humility, in binding the wounds of others,
in
washing clean what has become soiled by sin and evil,
in
stooping low in order to raise another up to new hope.
This kind of love has been clearly displayed
by our new pope,
who,
as a Jesuit experienced in his formation as a seminarian
an
assignment working with the poor and the sick
and
who today in Rome chose to celebrate Mass at a juvenile prison
and
wash the feet of 12 struggling young men.
Whenever we dive in to do our best
at home, at school, at work
to
meet the needs of others without concern for the cost to us,
we
become a living image of Jesus to others
and
live out the command of Jesus in the Gospel of this Mass.
In the Church’s recent past, there
have been strains of theological conjecture
that
sought to put Jesus’ two commandments at the Last Supper
in
opposition to each other
as if the
service to the poor and working for justice
meant
ignoring what takes place in the sanctuary
and instead
building a utopian kingdom of justice in this world
with no foresight
toward eternity.
In reality, however, the very fact
that Jesus issues the commands to
celebrate
the Eucharist and offer ourselves in loving service to others
in
the context of the same gathering with the Apostles
shows
that they go hand in hand.
Mother Theresa, known and beloved
for her outreach to the poor,
had
tremendous devotion to the Eucharistic Christ
and
made sure her sisters spent an hour each day in quiet prayer
before
the Tabernacle.
The Passover celebrates the
deliverance from slavery in Egypt
and God’s
love for His chosen people.
It is celebrated devoutly by Jews
in remembrance of God’s care for them.
The blood of the lamb marked the
door posts of the Israelites,
saved
from the destroying hand of God’s messenger.
The Passover Jesus celebrates with
the Apostles anticipates the shedding of blood
by the Lamb
of God, Jesus Himself,
the Blood
which marks the lintels of His servants
as it passes
our lips and enters our bodies.
It is the moment in which He leaves
us a lasting experience of His love
and
a living example of how we are to love one another.
The Eucharist elevates our service
from mere social work
to
sharing the love of God we have received into our bodies and souls.
Embrace the Eucharist.
Never forsake an opportunity to spend
time with Jesus in prayer
and
give honor to His Eucharistic presence.
Let Him who comes to us in the Mass
shine in you
as you continue to be a servant of
those in need – the least of His people.
Do this. As I have done, so you must do.
These mandates: Eucharist and
service: celebrating with reverence the Holy Mass
and devoutly
praying before the Blessed Sacrament,
and turning
with the heart and hands of Jesus to love our brothers and sisters
form a
perfect pattern of life for the disciple
and are the
legacy left behind for us but Jesus in today’s Last Supper story.
