Holy Thursday Reflection 2007: " We must have faith, hope, and love in accompanying Christ to Calvary"

HOLY THURSDAY REFLECTION

April 5, 2007 Holy Thursday – Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper (C) - White

First Reading: Exodus 12:1-8,11-14
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 116 "Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ"
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Gospel: John 13:1-15

We must have faith, hope, and love in accompanying Christ to Calvary

“This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the Lord, as a perpetual institution.”

This very night the Lord Jesus Christ started his paschal mystery. Brothers and sisters, welcome to the Paschal Triduum of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the memorial feast that the Lord has instituted upon us, his Church. This is the very night when Christ offered himself as a ransom for our sins. This is the very night when Christ had to endure all pains and malicious vulgarity that his people imposed upon him. This is the very night when Christ had to undergo the greatest betrayal the world has ever seen. In short, this is the very night when Christ humbly accepted his glorious suffering. Welcome to the Paschal Triduum of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

The Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper brings to our attention three things that Christ instituted on the night he was betrayed. On the Last Supper table, Christ broke bread and poured wine for all of his disciples - hence, the institution of the Holy Eucharist. After which Christ rose from the supper table, took off his cloak and washed his disciples’ feet – hence, the institution of Priesthood and Service. After the washing of the disciples’ feet, Christ discussed and taught about Christian Love – hence, the institution of brotherly love. These three foundational institutions are essential to this evening’s celebration and are the keys to understanding Christ’s eventual death on the cross.

The Holy Eucharist is the memorial of Christ’s everlasting gift of himself. The bread we break is symbolic of our breaking of Christ’s body. The wine we drink is symbolic of Christ’s blood which flowed out for the salvation of the world. Our second reading (1 Cor 11:23-26) recounts to us in a vivid way the very words Christ uttered during the institution of the Eucharist in the Last Supper. “Do this in remembrance of me.” The Holy Eucharist is a symbol of our faith. In the Holy Eucharist, we celebrate our lives as Christ’s disciples, accompanying him on the road to Calvary.

The institution of Priesthood and Service is discussed in detail in our gospel (Jn 13:1-15). Jesus got up from supper, removed his garments, and took a pitcher and basin and started washing his disciples’ feet. Priesthood is not limited to the clergy alone. Priesthood is open for all. We can be priests in our own little way. We, too, are invited by Christ to get up from our comfort zones, to divest ourselves of our earthliness, and start serving our brothers and sisters in need. All of us, by virtue of our baptism, are priests. We are called to service. “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” We are called to have in us the virtue of hope that through our service of others, we will be in full communion with Christ, accompanying him on the road to Calvary.

Brotherly Love or Christian Love seems to be the hardest of all love the world has known. In order for one to love, he must give up what he has and offer it for his brother or sister in need. Not really. Christian Love means to love as Christ did – selfless love. As long as we live a life of love and service for others, we love like Christ. It does not mean that we should be slaves. It means that we should serve others in need. By the simple offering of a bus seat to an elderly person who is sick, we love like Christ. It is like offering our simple joys to the less fortunate. Hence, we show our symbol of love for others. Through this love, we accompany Christ on the road to Calvary.

These three institutions we celebrate tonight make us understand this evening’s celebration in a vivid way. This night is not a simple gathering. This night is the night when Christ prepared us, through these symbols, for his passion and death. In order for us to have a greater understanding of Christ’s Paschal Mystery, we must have faith, hope and love. With these three virtues, we will surely accompany him on the road to Calvary. And with great appreciation, we will be able to celebrate with acknowledging hearts and minds this perpetual institution he gave us.

Welcome, once again, to the Paschal Triduum of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

-E.J. Segovia
March 24, 2007