Holy Thursday 2024 - Three Indispensable Gifts

 Knowing that within hours his passion would soon begin, Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples.  Within hours, he would be sweating blood in the garden of gethsemane, and his disciples would abandon him. Within hours, he would be arrested, falsely accused, tortured and mocked, and before long he would be carrying his cross up the hill of Calvary where he would hang in anguish, and die.

Jesus, at his last supper knew he was about to die, and yet,  in the face of indescribable suffering, the Lord in his goodness bestowed upon His Church three precious gifts: the gift of the Eucharist, the Gift of the Priesthood, and the Commandment of Charity. 

These gifts were not arbitrary; they were given with profound purpose—that his mission would continue—the mission of the Church might succeed through the centuries. Together, these three gifts embody the Church's sacramental, hierarchical, and moral dimensions, guiding our mission to evangelize, sanctify, and serve in the name of Christ.

Let’s reflect upon these three gifts. First, the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Lord’s gift of his body and blood—through which the Lord remains with his Church really and sacramentally until his glorious return. Through the Eucharist, Jesus transforms our altars into Calvary from which the blood of salvation flows throughout the whole earth.

The Eucharist is indispensable to the life of the Church. It would be easier for the earth to survive without the sun, than for the Church to survive without the Eucharist. It is indispensable to our identity, our mission, and our spiritual life. Without the Eucharist, the Church would lose its most profound connection to Christ, the source of our unity, and its sanctifying power in the world. On Holy Thursday, we thank God for the gift of his body and blood in the Eucharist.

Secondly, at the Last Supper, the Lord gave us the gift of the priesthood. And the sacramental priesthood is indispensable to the Catholic Church. 

Priests are the only ones who through sacramental orders are capable of consecrating bread and wine so that they may become the Body and Blood of Christ. Similarly, only priests can absolve sins in the name of Christ through the Sacrament of Confession. Priests have also been tasked by the Lord to ensure that the liturgy is celebrated properly and reverently, fostering the active participation of the faithful and enabling them to encounter God in the sacraments.

Priests, too, have the divine mandate to teach the faith. Through the preaching, teaching, and pastoral guidance of priests, the Lord Jesus helps his flock understand the Gospel and the Church's teachings, and to live out the Gospel in daily life. When priests are lax in their duties, the mission, identity, worship, and sanctification of the church suffers.

So on Holy Thursday, the we thank God for the gift of the priesthood, and we pray for our priests.

Thirdly, at the Last Supper, the Lord gave us the commandment of Charity. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" And of course, the commandment of Charity is indispensable for the Church. 

The commandment of charity encapsulates the essence of being a follower of Christ. It defines the Christian identity not by doctrines or rituals alone but by love—a love that is sacrificial, unconditional, and mirrors the love of Christ for humanity. This love is a visible mark of Christian discipleship, as Jesus Himself said, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another"

Charity, as commanded by Christ, is the foundation upon which Christian community is built. It fosters unity, mutual care, and the sharing of goods and burdens within the Church. This love is not merely an ideal but a lived reality that is witnessed in the acts of service, kindness, and generosity among the members of the Church.

The commandment of charity is indispensable to the Church's mission in the world. The witness of love is perhaps the most powerful evangelizing tool, as it reflects the very nature of God, who is Love (1 John 4:8). Through acts of love, especially towards the "least of these" (Matthew 25:40), the Church makes visible the Kingdom of God and draws people towards Christ.

Tthe Lord's commandment of charity is indispensable to the Catholic Church because it animates our life, directs our mission, shapes our community, and witnesses to the reality of God's love for the world. Without this commandment, the Church would lose her distinctive character as the community of love that reflects the very heart of the Gospel.

As we reflect on these gifts, we are called to respond to them and cherish them. To receive the Eucharist is to welcome Jesus into our hearts and to be transformed by His love. To honor the Priesthood is to recognize Christ's presence among us, guiding, sanctifying, and teaching through His ordained ministers. To live the commandment of love is to see Christ in every person and to serve Him in them, especially the least of our brothers and sisters.

Tonight, as we commemorate the Last Supper, let us deepen our appreciation for these divine gifts. Let us pray for the grace to live them out more fully, so that, united with Christ in His sacrifice, we may share in the glory of His Resurrection.

As the Lord rose from supper and began to wash the feet of his disciples as an example to follow, I now invite those who have been chosen to come forward for the washing of their feet. In this beautiful ritual ponder the presence of the Lord in the gifts he has left the Church, in the Eucharist, in the priesthood, and in the command to love one another for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

Holy Thursday 2024 - Morning Prayer - Sanctifying the Hours through the Psalms

 Over the next three days, we will gather for morning prayer. Morning prayer is one of the official prayers of the Church—it is part of the Liturgy of the Hours—official & liturgical prayers recited at fixed hours throughout the day by clergy, religious orders, and some lay Catholics. 

From ancient times the Church has had the custom of celebrating each day the liturgy of the hours. The practice is based on the Jewish tradition of praying at fixed times: morning, afternoon, and evening corresponding to different sacrificial offerings that were offered in the Temple.

Every morning, a burnt offering would be offered in the Temple. Prayers would be offered in gratitude to God: for various aspects of daily life, such as the ability to see, freedom from bondage, and the strength to overcome weakness. Psalms would be offered, particularly Psalms of praise, like Psalm 30: “Sing praise to the LORD, you faithful; give thanks to his holy memory.” The Temple priests offered these prayers and sacrifices on behalf of the whole Jewish people and the world, just as priests today pray the liturgy of the hours on behalf of the Church.

“To the very end of his life, as his passion was approaching, at the last supper, in the agony in the garden, and on the cross, the divine teacher showed that prayer was the soul of his Messianic ministry and paschal death. 

And so it is fitting for us, in these final hours of Lent, as we prepare for the celebration of the Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection, for us to gather to offers prayers, that Jesus himself offered up to God. Psalms of praise, psalms of trust, psalms pleading God’s mercy.

Each of the different prayers and psalms of morning prayer take on special significance during Holy Week. Consider our first Psalm, Psalm 80, how it intertwined themes of redemption, suffering, and restoration.

The psalm opens with the image of God as the shepherd of Israel. During the Triduum, Jesus, the Good Shepherd leads His flock through the cross to the new life of the resurrection, he lays down his life for his sheep.

The Psalms repeated plea, "God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved," is significant. For during the Triduum, we consider how God fulfills this plea. Through Christ’s Paschal mystery—God brings back scattered humanity—humanity scattered due to sin, back into the one flock—that purified of sin—we might come to see the face of God in eternity.

The Psalm’s vivid descriptions of suffering, being fed with "tears for their bread" and being the "taunt of our neighbors," foreshadows the suffering of Jesus during the Passion, but how through Jesus—God unites himself with all those who suffer hunger, thirst, mockery, injustice. 

The final verses of Psalm 80, "May your hand be on the man you have chosen", encapsulates the trust Jesus had during his Passion—trust that His Father was with him, guiding his mission—and how Christians too are to trust in God’s presence with us in our trials—trusting that the cross leads to the resurrection and eternal life. 

I invite you to pray the liturgy of the hours throughout the Triduum, slowly and reflectively. The point isn’t to rush through them, but to consider how these beautiful prophecies are fulfilled by Our Lord, and how God desires to fulfill them in our lives as well, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

Holy Thursday 2023 - Order and Meaning of the Sacred Triduum

 “In the Sacred Triduum, the Church solemnly celebrates the greatest mysteries of our redemption, keeping by means of special celebrations the memorial of her lord, crucified, buried, and risen.

Pastors are given special instruction on their responsibilities during these holy days. The instruction in the Roman missal itself says, “Pastors should not fail to explain to the Christian faithful, as best they can, the meaning and order of the celebrations and to prepare them for active and fruitful participation”

So, let’s take a small overview of the present and future liturgies of the triduum.

This evening we celebrate what is called the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. As normal, this mass includes the liturgy of the word, from which we read from the sacred scriptures, and also the liturgy of the Eucharist, which contains special orations unique to this day, particularly about the Lord’s institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Ordained Priesthood at the Last Supper. Between the two liturgies is a special ritual of the Washing of the Feet, more on that later. After the distribution of Holy Communion, the Eucharistic fragments will be processed through the Church to the altar of repose.

We are encouraged to spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and so the Church will remain open until 10pm this evening.

Tomorrow morning we will celebrate the Church’s official Morning Prayer at 9am tomorrow. Followed by the Good Friday Passion Liturgy at 3pm. It is a particularly solemn liturgy, beginning with the priest laying prostrate in the bare sanctuary. After readings from Isaiah and the letter to the Hebrews, the entirety of St. John’s Passion will be proclaimed. Special solemn intercessions are offered before we have the beautiful once a year ritual of the veneration of the cross. Holy Communion which is confected this even will be distributed tomorrow, and we then depart in silence.

That’s the order of things for Holy Thursday and Good Friday. The Easter Vigil, the Mother of all Vigils, will be celebrated at 8:30pm, and that Liturgy, well, you just have to experience for yourself. 

So that is the Order of the main liturgies. I am also instructed to share your responsibilities. Tomorrow is a day of fasting for all Catholics aged 18-59, so only one major meal tomorrow. Good Friday is also a day of abstinence from meat for all Catholics aged 14 and over. We fast, so that we may feast with great joy with hearts focused on the reason for our feasting.

These are also days of profound prayer. I recommend coming to morning prayer tomorrow and Saturday as a way of formally praying with the Church and sanctifying the day. But make sure you make time for private prayer. Consider praying the seven penitential psalms throughout the day tomorrow leading up to the good Friday service. Shut off electronic distractions especially from noon to three in honor of our Lord’s sacrifice. Pray the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary. Read through the two other Passion narratives, or spend time contemplating the crucifix and the wounds of Our Lord tomorrow.

The instructions make special mention of singing during these sacred days and liturgies. The Lord sang hymns on his way to the Garden of Gethsemane. We have one of the best music programs in the diocese, so join them in song. Song gives expression to faith and is part of active participation.  

Because tomorrow is a particularly penitential day, consider prayerfully the parts of your lives you need to bring to the cross of Jesus to forgive. Consider the sins you have committed over the last year, since last good Friday, and bring them to the cross of Jesus. As I mentioned last Sunday, bring your enemies to the cross, those who have hurt you. Bring to the cross your family members who have fallen away from the Church, who may not even be considering coming to Mass on Easter this year.

Okay. Now that’s what we are doing over the next few days. Now WHY are we doing it?

It’s a good question. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council reminded us of the extraordinary significance of the Triduum. They wrote: "Christ redeemed us all and gave perfect glory to God principally through his paschal mystery: dying he destroyed our death and rising he restored our life. Therefore the Easter Triduum of the passion and resurrection of Christ is the culmination of the entire liturgical year."

These three days are the origin of the most important elements of our faith. Why do we gather week after week, year after year for the celebration of Mass? Why do we hang crucifixes in our homes, and wear them around our necks, and make the sign over our bodies. Why do we seek to serve our follow man in humble service? Why do we forgive our persecutors and enemies and speak truth to kings and emperors and presidents at the risk of our lives? 

“Do this in memory of me”. Three times we heard it already. Twice in St. Paul’s description of what the Lord said at the last supper in our second reading. And thirdly in the Gospel, when the Lord says that we must remember what he has done for us, and do it for others. And during the Triduum, we remember how he washed feet. We remember how he took bread and wine. We remember how he took up the cross. We remember how he spoke words of forgiveness. We remember how he gave his blessed mother to be the mother of all disciples. We remember how he gave up his life as a sacrifice. 

We are here because he told us to. We celebrate and remember because he told us to. We eat his flesh and drink his blood because he told us to. We keep watch in prayer because he told us to. 

In the first reading, we heard how the Lord commanded the Jewish people through Moses to keep the memorial feast of Passover every year, as a way to remember and celebrate what God did for them in delivering from slavery in Egypt. And now we too remember God’s deliverance over a three day period, by gathering in prayer, reading the scriptures, singing hymns, processing, venerating, prostrating. And like the Jews, we keep these days by remembering the blood of the Lamb. Blood, however, which isn’t wiped on the lintels of our homes, but is poured into us through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the Lamb of God broken and shared for us.

The Psalm this evening also focused on remembering. The people of God are told to take up the cup of salvation—we are to eat and drink together to thank the Lord for all the good he has done for us, which is precisely what we do in the Mass.

We do this in memory of the Lord, and we do so joyfully. 

Personally, these are my favorite days of the year. I love being a Catholic because of these Sacred Three days. And I love being a priest because of these Sacred Three Days. For as a priest, not only do I get to speak such beautiful prayers in the name of the Church, I get to witness your faith and devotion as you have your feet washed, and as you venerate the cross, sometimes with tears in your eyes, and to witness your joyful fire on the easter vigil, and the sense of renewal on Easter Sunday. 

Holy Thursday in particular is a special night for priests. For we trace back our priesthood to the Last Supper as well, it is the origin of our mandate to serve the Church, to put the needs of the Church before our own, to life up the worries of the Church and the struggles of the Church in prayer. Please offer special prayer for priests tonight, and me, that we may continue to put service to God and the Church first in our life, always.

And as a beautiful reminder of how priests must always be men of humble service, I now call forward those who have been chosen for the washing of the feet. May they be a reminder for us all, of the need to allow the Lord to wash every part of our lives, our bodies, our minds, our souls, of the filth of sin, and to pour ourselves out in humble service to the Lord always, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Holy Thursday 2021 - As if today were your last

If you knew you had one day left to live, what would you do? If you knew that today was the last day of your earthly life, what would you do?

Some of us might try to fill the day with as many exhilarating activities as possible: sky diving, roller coasters, driving a racecar or a harley davidson at its maximum speed. Some of us might fill the day with fine wines and a sumptuous feast. Others might prefer to spend the day contemplatively on a beach, watching the sun rise and set. Some might tell family that you love them, listen to some beautiful music, make a video recording to offer a message to the future generation. I’d probably like to go to confession, knowing that I’d soon be appearing before the judgment seat of God. 

Well, what does the Lord Jesus do, knowing he has but a day to live? We just heard part of his final hours in the Gospel this evening. The Lord gathers with his friends for a final meal. Many of us would likely do the same. Far fewer of us, however, would likely tie a towel around our waist and begin to wash the dirt and grime off the feet of our friends.

There is something so humanely profound about an intimate meal with friends. We enjoy peace and company with those who understand us. There’s something wonderful about sharing happy or funny memories with friends around a dinner table. No doubt, this time the Lord spent with his friends filled him with warmth and strength as he prepared for his upcoming trial of the cross.

But the Lord didn’t share any old meal with his disciples. He celebrated the Passover meal, the great ritual meal in which the Jews recalled how God freed his people from Egyptian Slavery. This was a meal that looked to not only human accomplishments, but divine accomplishments, and also looked forward to the future—when God would usher in his eternal kingdom of peace.

The gathering with friends for the religious meal, of course, for Catholics, takes place every Sunday; for some of us, every day. Since I entered seminary back in 2001, I’ve tried to attend Mass or celebrate Mass every day. I know I speak for those who attend daily mass, when I say, that it’s the most important part of my day. Because of what Jesus did at the last supper, we are able to receive His Body and Blood every day, if we wish. 

And every time we gather for Mass, celebrate the Passover in its truest sense, recalling not only how God delivered the Jews from Egyptian slavery, but how God delivered all mankind from the slavery of sin through the suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross. And like the Jewish Passover, the Mass also looks forward in time, doesn’t it? As we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again. We look back to his saving death, and look forward to his future return.

And we do so, with our friends, friends in the truest sense, our brothers and sisters in Christ, made one through the blood of the Lamb. And we eat, not ordinary food, do we? Whenever we gather for Mass, we are sharing the Last Supper with Jesus who feeds his friends with his Flesh and Blood. He feeds us because he loves us, and he knows that we need this spiritual nourishment throughout all of life’s joys and challenges. In our greatest joys and greatest sorrows, we can share in this sacred meal with Him, and know that he speaks those words to us, “take and eat, take and drink”.

“O sacred banquet at which Christ is consumed, the memory of his Passion is recalled, our souls are filled with grace, and the pledge of future glory is given to us So says the ancient hymn, “O sacrum convivium” O sacred banquet.

We also recall tonight, how at the Last Supper, Jesus not only fed, he also washed. The teacher took the low role of the servant, and washed the feet of his friends, to teach them, to give them an example of an attitude that must mark the life of every Christian, whether you are a priest, bishop, pope, or lay person. We must wash feet. Christianity is a religion of foot washing. Christians are to put ourselves at the service of others in all places at all times. 

It is humiliating, yes, but it is the way of Christ. As St. Augustine writes: “as [man] was lost by imitating the pride of the deceiver, let him now, when found, imitate the humility of the Redeemer.” This is the humble act of the Christian, set against the pride of the world. Jesus washing the feet of his disciple is a symbolic expression of his entire life-- Jesus lowered himself to serve sinful mankind, clothing himself in our miserable flesh to wash away our sins through his sacrifice. 

And so we must serve. We must serve not only those who will repay us. Not only those who look like us and act like us. We must serve all because Jesus served all.

At this Sacred banquet Christ teaches and feeds and washes and prepares us for the sacred banquet of heaven which will last for all eternity.  When we live according to his teaching and example, in humble service of others, with heaven in mind, we can truly say we are living each day as it should.

As the Lord rose from supper and began to wash the feet of his disciples as an example to follow, I now invite those who have been chosen to come forward for the washing of their feet.  Please pray for your priests and pray for each other, that we may lay our hearts bare to Christ to be washed and fed, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Holy Week 2021 - Holy Thursday Morning Prayer - Preparing for the Paschal Feast

 We’ve come to the final hours of Lent. As the sun sets, Lent concludes and the Paschal Triduum—the most Sacred Three days of the Church year—begins. 

On the evening of Holy Thursday 2000 years ago, the Lord gathered with his closest friends for the Last Supper. In preparation for that meal, around this time of day, Jesus sent his disciples to make preparations for that sacred meal—they were to search for a room, inspect it, and ensure it was furnished for that ritual meal. 

Just as Jesus’ disciples prepared for the Last Supper by ensuring the table and cups and plates and utensils and bowls for the ritual washings were in place for the Passover meal, every Catholic parish prepares today for this evening’s Mass.  We prepare the table of the altar, we decorate the church, we will get our liturgical vessels ready, our candles, the vestments, chairs and bowls for the ritual washing of the feet.

The external preparations for this evening’s ritual mass need to take place, but the internal preparations are also of vital importance. In other words, the more that we prepare our hearts for the Sacred Triduum, the more grace we will derive from their celebration. For the saving effects of these holy days are in direct proportion to our interior disposition of soul, openness to God’s grace, and docility to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.  A fervent practicing prayerful Christian will reap a much more abundant harvest of grace than one who fails to prepare his heart. And that’s true for the Christian life as a whole.

The Church’s morning prayer contains some powerful lessons to ready our hearts for the great Paschal Triduum to come.

The first Psalm today, Psalm 80, speaks of God as Savior. God is invoked as the “God of Hosts”—the leader of a heavenly army who brings victory over the evil in the lives of his people. This Psalm reminds us that the Sacred Triduum is a celebration of God’s great victory over evil and sin. But, that victory comes at a price. If you want less evil in your life, less evil in the world, we must imitate Jesus who conquers evil by the price of the cross. We must renounce sin and selfishness and take up our cross as well. 

The passage from the prophet Isaiah considered the identity of our savior. God indeed is our savior, but he does not save us from a distance. God has taken on the flesh and blood  of humanity in order to open the fountain of salvation to us. Jesus who goes to the cross is God incarnate, and we are to make his name known and exalted among all the nations.

And lastly, we recited the powerful Psalm 81. God not only saves, but feeds his people: with the “finest wheat” he feeds his people. At the Last Supper, tonight, we will celebrate how, on the night before he died—Jesus instituted the Sacrament of His Body and Blood—which is spiritual food—the finest of wheat—for His Church. Jesus says, unless you eat this food and drink this blood you do not have life within you. But he who eats this food will live forever.

In these final Lenten hours, our most important preparations involve preparing our minds and hearts for the upcoming festivities by pondering and emulating God’s great love for us. Don’t waste these precious hours on mere human activities, pray deeply during these upcoming days, that you may drink deeply of the fountain of salvation, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Holy Thursday 2019 - School Prayer Service - Lessons from the Last Supper

We’ve come now to the final hours of Lent. And in just a few hours the Church will gather for the Evening mass of the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, where he turned bread and wine into his body and blood, where he made his apostles the first priests of the Church, and where Jesus prays, for his disciples.
Jesus,  at his last supper knew he was about to die.  Like a man on his deathbed, he will speak the words that he wants his disciples to remember, the lessons, he wants them to learn.  We hear and see at the Last Supper what is most important to him, what he values most—the priorities of his entire life.  And what are they?  I submit to you, they are three.

First of all, he is going to show us the priority of humility and loving service.  This was just proclaimed in the Gospel.  Consider what happens when Jesus washes feet. God, the creator of the universe, washed the dirty, smelly feet of the disciples who walked on those dusty, muddy, manure-ridden streets of Jerusalem.  God washes feet.

And Jesus says, “I have given you a model to follow”.  Jesus mandates that that we are to serve God and our fellow man in all humility.  Not shunning those dirty, hard, humiliating tasks, but performing them out of duty and love.   Here God shows us how we are to live. Not to trample your neighbor, not to hate your neighbor, but to kneel down before him in service.  So lesson number one: loving, humble service.

The second: At the Last Supper, Jesus gives us the eucharist. Jesus knows he is going to die, and so he turns bread and wine into his body and blood. And he makes his apostles priests, so that they can continue to make the Eucharist available for all of time.

Jesus doesn’t want us to simply remember what happened all those 2000 years ago. He wants to be with us now. This is why when we come into a Catholic church we bend the knee to the tabernacle. To acknowledge that we believe that Jesus is here now. And anytime we want. We can come to Church and know that Jesus is here. We can speak to him, we can kneel in his presence and pray to him. We can know that God loves us and cares for us and wants to be part of our lives. He wants to nourish our souls like food nourishes our bodies so that we can become the people he made us to be.

Finally, at the last supper Jesus prayed. Chapter 17 of St. John’s Gospel contains the longest prayer of Jesus to be recorded in Scripture. The prayer he prayed at the Last supper. In this prayer, he lifts his eyes to heaven, as he will hours later on the cross. And he prays: “Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”. Jesus’ mission is to help us know God and believe in God, that we may have eternal life.

He then prays: Father, I am giving up my life, that they may be one, that they may be one. Humans have many reasons to be divided. Different color skin, different parents, our families are from different countries, we have different ideas about how the world should work. But Jesus prayed that we may be one. Unity through him, peace through him, eternal life through Him.

May we use the time we have been given to think about how God is calling each of us to grow in those three lessons of Jesus: how we can grow in humble service, how we can open our hearts to the ways God wishes to feed our souls, and how we are called to be one, to work together to bring about God’s kingdom…for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Holy Week 2018 - Thursday Morning - Passover Preparations

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke each tell us how Jesus sent his disciples to make preparations for the Last Supper: they were to inspect the room in which it was to be celebrated, and to ensure that it was furnished for the ritual meal.

Just as we’ve already begun to prepare for the evening mass of the Lord’s supper, by filling the communion cups, filling the ciboria with hosts, placing the chairs for the washing of the feet, so too the disciples would ensure the cups and plates and utensils and bowls for the ritual washings were in place for the Passover meal.

Part of their inspection was to ensure that the room was swept clean of leaven. Throughout the Scriptures leaven is consistently a symbol for what is sinful, false, and evil. Jesus refers to the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees: their false teaching, their greedy attachments, their spiritual blindness.

Today is a good day to inspect the houses of our hearts, to sweep them clean of leaven: to identify anything that might distract us from truly experiencing the solemnity of the Sacred Triduum, to ensure that we’ve set aside time for plenty of prayer, reflection, gratitude, and repentance over the next three days.

The Psalms of the Church’s Morning Prayer this morning speak of God as Savior. God is invoked as the “God of Hosts”—the leader of a heavenly army who brings victory over the evil in the lives of his people. The Paschal Triduum is a celebration of God’s great victory over sin, but we know that victory comes at a price, the cross. And to share in the victory, we must renounce sin and selfishness and take up our cross as well.

We must, love one another as Christ commands his disciples to do at the Last Supper.
And all this begins by sweeping our house of leaven, sweeping it clean of the smallest little lies that we tell ourselves to justify selfishness, preparing our heart as a vessels for the Lord to fill with the wine of charity.

May we use the time we have given wisely and diligently, to prepare for the high holy days of our faith, in which the Lord will teach us, feed us, cleanse us, and raise us for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Thursday - 4th Week of Easter 2017 - Dirty Jobs and Humble Service

The Gospel passage this morning is a continuation of the passage proclaimed at the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday: these were the words Jesus spoke immediately after washing his disciples’ feet.

Our Easter Faith calls us to follow the Lord’s own example of humility and service.

“As I have done for you, you should also do” Washing the feet of the dinner guests, Jesus, did the job of a lowly servant, doing the dirtiest job there was at a supper. Imagine a CEO at a corporation going to each of their employee’s offices and emptying the garbage and scrubbing the bathrooms. The kids in the school often giggle when I tell them that we need to wash each other’s feet, just as Jesus did. This means doing the jobs for each other that no one wants to do, we need to go out of our way to humbly serve those in need.

One of the spiritual diseases of our modern day is that attitude of entitlement, acting as if others need to bow down and wash my feet because I’m so great.  Rather, the opposite is true, the medicine we need is to consider ourselves the slaves and servants of others.

Every time our egos start to inflate, we do well to remember that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords took the humblest job, the dirtiest job, and so should we.

There is no act of service that any of us is too good for. There is no act of service that is beneath us as Christians because Our God has taken the lowliest position. Just in case any of us his apostles missed this point, Jesus referred to Himself as “I AM” at the Last Supper, as we heard today.’

As we come forward to receive Holy Communion today, we also accept the responsibility it entails, that of becoming humble servants: to be a footwasher today. Through humble service we witness to the power of Christ’s love to transform lives and to make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We raise our prayers of petition to the throne of heaven:
For a genuine spirit of humble service among Christians.
For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life.
For the poor, the hungry, the lonely.
For caregivers and all who comfort the sick.
For people in need of healing.
For our dead.
For our own needs, which we remember now in silence…
Heavenly, we praise and thank you for your goodness. Help us in our needs and hear our prayers, through Christ our Lord. Amen.