HOLY THURSDAY

“I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” – John 13:15

       “Hello, Anna,” the voice on the phone said, “this is Pope Francis.”

       Earlier, Anna Romano had written to the Pope, describing her turmoil when her pregnancy led her to discover that her fiancé was already married. She broke off their relationship and decided to keep the baby.

       Anna recalled that the Pope talked to her like a dear old friend and said, “The baby is a gift from God, a sign of providence.” When she got worried that no one would agree to baptize her baby, Pope Francis assured her she’d find a willing priest. “But if not,” he said, “you know there’s always me.”

       Pope Francis teaches us by example that the best way to bring people back to God is to love them first. He said, “The ministers of the Gospel must be people who can warm the hearts of the people, who walk through the dark night with them, who know how to dialogue and to descend themselves into their people’s night, but without getting lost.”

       He’s talking about you and me, and how we can bring the light of the Gospel to those who need it most. Cecil Lim  (cez_lim@yahoo.com)

Reflection: “The ministers of the Church must be ministers of mercy above all. In pastoral ministry we must accompany people, and we must heal their wounds.” (Pope Francis)

Lord, help us fast from criticism and condescension. Purify our memories and our hearts that we may look upon each person with love and compassion.

St. Francis of Paola, hermit, pray for us.

The Passover is the Jewish equivalent of the Christian Easter. It defines for the Jews the action of God who freed them from slavery in Egypt. It defines them as a people under God. Easter is a celebration of God’s intervention in human history from a Christian perspective. It is greater than the Jewish experience as it represents our being freed from slavery to sin, not just an oppressive nation.

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall stand at the head of your calendar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household. 4 If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it. 5 The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. 6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. 7 They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. 8 That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 11 “This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the Lord. 12 For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every firstborn of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt — I, the Lord! 13 But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you. Thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. 14 This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the Lord, as a perpetual institution.”

Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18

R: Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.

12How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me? 13The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. (R) 15Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones. 16I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. (R) 17To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. 18My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people. (R)

Jesus shares a final meal with His disciples. You eat a meal with friends, not enemies. Perhaps this is why the traitor, Judas, had to leave early. The Eucharist was instituted in the context of a meal and a celebration. We celebrate sacramentally the wonder of God’s presence in our midst both 2,000 years ago and today. Jesus is about to die for us and every Eucharist is also a celebration of His death and resurrection.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

23 Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, 24and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

Jesus takes a final opportunity to demonstrate that leadership in the Church is all about service to God and neighbor. In washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus makes clear what spirit He wants to instill in the communities under His name. His whole ministry has spoken of service to those who saw Him. Now it is the turn of the Church to witness to the world the real meaning of the Gospel. We should never expect the world to give us an easy time. We must win over the world to the Gospel mindset and way of thinking. Let us live the Gospel fully and instill it in the generations to come.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

I give you a new commandment, says the Lord: love one another as I have loved you.

John 13:1-15

1 Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, 3 fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, 4 he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” 11 For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? 13 You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. 14 If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

think: Let us live the Gospel fully and instill it in the generations to come.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Exodus 28-30

A PEOPLE OF THE MEMORIAL,

A COMMUNITY OF CHARITY

We call to mind events in our lives that either make or break us. We relive past experiences that stand out through rituals and storytelling. For the most part, though, we just remember the past. We call them anniversaries, and society has invented a slew of terms to mark them: paper, bronze, silver, golden anniversaries, etc.

       The readings today refer to more than just a commemoration, something that demands more than just a celebration. Biblical people called it a memorial.

       The Book of Exodus recounts the first time it happened. It tells us how to do it over again, not merely to call to mind, but to make something concrete, real and present once again.

       This is what we priests do when we meet up with former seminary companions. We relive events and tell each other endless stories even if we have heard and told them before. The focus is not on the mental recall, but on the reliving of the fun, even if it’s only us who find them truly amusing.

       The story of the lamb in Exodus is not just a memorable bedside story or a childish fairy tale. It has everything to do with sacrifice, love, salvific pain, and eternal salvation — becoming real, here and now. This is the same story that Paul recounts and relives — the story of the One who, “before he was handed over, took bread and wine” and did a memorial — the very same story of love that the Lamb of God showed, first by washing the feet of the Apostles, and then by offering His life so that we might live.

       We are grateful to be Catholic. We are a people of the memorial. We celebrate and make present the Lord’s act of total self-giving on the night He was betrayed. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What story in your life do you like to relive over and over again? Why?

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the memorial You have left us. It serves as a real connection to Your presence in our lives.