Holy Thursday: Eucharist and service are inextricably linked
The Coronavirus exposes all the trivialities we have surrounded ourselves with and which we previously had the illusion of needing to live. The most essential need is eating. Holy Thursday, the day on which Jesus instituted the Eucharist, has no other purpose than to bring us back to the essential. (Guy Delage, SJ)
Saint Paul wrote to the Christians of Corinth:
I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
And then, the essential is
also in what follows the meal, once we have gained strength: to serve. On Holy
Thursday, the gospel does not focus on the institution of the Eucharist itself,
but rather on the narrative of the washing of the feet in John’s gospel. This
symbolic gesture is only the other side of the Eucharist, which is a gift, a
free service, a sign of perfect love that carries the others, loving them ‘to
the end’. Jesus becomes a servant and reveals to us his model of leadership: to
be attentive to what is lacking, to be available, to be stripped down and to be
prompt for serving. (Norbert Kabukapua, SJ)
Related Posts:
As Pope Francis invites us this month to pray especially for those living on the margins of society, let us pray to St Peter Claver, who dedicated his whole life to this evangelical service.
Let us pray for those people on the margins of society in subhuman living conditions, that they may not be neglected by institutions and never be cast out.
Let us pray that the World Youth Day in Lisbon will help us young people to set out on the journey, witnessing to the Gospel with our own lives.
From 1 to 6 August, young people from all over the world will gather in Lisbon, Portugal, to express and sing their faith during the 37th World Youth Day (WYD).
Let us pray that Catholics place at the centre of their lives the Eucharistic Celebration, which transforms human relationships profoundly and opens up an encounter with God and their brothers and sisters.
Throughout the world, men and women inspired by Ignatian spirituality are placing their talents and resources at the service of those in need, but rarely has a group developed the level of presence and commitment in a city as it has in Medellín, Colombia.
