Remembering the Last Supper

The Lord’s Supper 2008
St. Andrew’s Parish
April 9, 2007, 7:30pm

Welcome to the beginning of the Easter Triduum. On this evening of Holy Thursday we enter into a somber and dramatic atmosphere of the final days of our Lord, filled with the remembrance of his passion, death and his glorious resurrection on Easter Day.

There are three principal mysteries we solemnly commemorate on this evening Mass of Holy Thursday: First is the institution of the Holy Eucharist; Secondly, the institution of the ministerial priesthood; and lastly, the New commandment of Christ to love one another.

The Eucharist
The first reading from the book of Exodus and the second reading from the letter of St Paul to the Corinthians are linked together to illustrate for us how our Lord transformed the Jewish Passover Meal into his own Paschal Sacrifice, (and the Eucharistic celebration as we have today).

The first reading narrates that the blood of the animal marked outside the door post of the houses of the Chosen People saved their first born sons from the plague of death. In the second reading, St Paul shows us that through the coming of Jesus, we were also saved from the plague of death, not through the blood of an animal but through His very own flesh and blood.

Until the Lord comes, St Paul says, therefore, every time you eat this bread of Life and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.

The Eucharist therefore gives us assurance that our Lord will never abandon us. The celebration of the Mass is a celebration of His loving presence and divine security.

Our Lord’s body and blood is our food for the soul, so that as long as we live, his body and blood is the source of our comfort and strength.

So tonight let us deepen our love and devotion to the Eucharist. Let us not take the celebration of the Mass for granted.

The Priesthood
After our Lord instituted the Eucharist, he then followed by the institution of the priesthood with his command, Do this in memory of me.

The priests as ministers of the Sacraments and the Eucharist, are called to represent Christ in the community. They act in persona Christi to keep the command of Jesus fulfilled for you, the people of God, so that the presence of Christ’s paschal mystery pervades in your daily lives today and until the end of time.

Priests are ordinary people, human and weak, chosen to perform extra-ordinary works.

The priesthood is a difficult life. It is no joke to live a good priesthood… Sometimes priests have to hide from people their tears under a whitened made-up face because they do not wish to add to their flock’s burden. They have to dance and jump at their beck and call, even if their legs feel broken and bruised.

After each busy day in the church, the priest goes to his room alone, fondly remembering the children who can’t be his own. He returns to his room, alone, with no one to listen to his happy story, with no one to whom to bare his aching soul.

The priest’s life is way of the cross. It is the duty of the priests to pray for the people and to sacrifice for them. Priests are called to imitate Jesus, to love Jesus and to share Jesus.

So this evening please pray for us priests that we may always be faithful to Jesus, that we may always be faithful messengers of his love, courageous enough to carry our crosses, and joyful enough to bring God’s hope.

Commandment of Love
Lastly this evening we call to mind the new commandment of Christ, to love one another as He loves us. This love is much deeper than feeling or emotion, but it’s a kind of love that can bear trials, endure sacrifices, and face the horror of death.

In the Gospel, Jesus demonstrated a unique picture of love and humility — he stoops down to wash his disciples' feet. His purpose wasn't to clean up their feet; but his purpose was to give us a genuine example what our relationships should be as brothers and sisters.

He washed his disciples’ feet to remind us of his undying affection and a silent plea for us to do the same for each other. We are called to love and take care of one another, as he loves and takes care of us.

If God so humbled himself, how much more us? If really want to welcome Jesus in our life, we are required to imitate him, we must wash one another’s feet, serve one another, and revere His divine presence in every person.

Conclusion
Let us pray tonight as we celebrate the Last Supper, we may not only relive the memory of our Lord’s paschal mystery but sincerely bring its true message in our actions.

We thank the Lord for the Eucharist that sustains us.

We thank the Lord for the priesthood.

We thank the Lord showing us how to love genuinely.

Amen.





Readings: Jesus Our Light by Bishop Socrates Villegas pp 73-74