April 13, 2017
Holy Thursday
Mass
of the Lord’s Supper
The “Easter triduum” are three days that constitute one single
celebration. Any one of them without the others is incomplete.
The Easter Vigil
celebrates the resurrection of Jesus as the mystery that gives meaning to all
human life and history. But without the celebration of Christ’s sacrificial
death on Good Friday, Easter would be
unintelligible. And without the institution of the Eucharist, celebrated on Holy Thursday, Christ’s death and resurrection would be a
thing of the past — reported, remembered and relied-upon – but present only to
God in the transcendent “Now” of eternity; not present to us in the time and
place of the world we live in. Taken together, they reveal Christian life as an
individual and communal presence to and participation in the ongoing act of
love by which the Father, Son and Spirit redeemed the world. The Liturgy of the Word is to help us
understand this mystery. We listen to the readings as disciples eager to learn.
Exodus 12:
1-14: “This month shall stand at the head of your calendar.” Time
counts, and we should count time, not just numerically by adding hours and
days, but historically, seeing it as a series of events. The events are what
give time meaning. By celebrating events we absorb their meaning into our lives
and pass that meaning on to others.
The readings that are part of the celebration do three things:
they tell the story of the events, remind us to keep them in memory, and explain to us their meaning. Where the
meaning is expressed in symbols, the readings tell us what those symbols say.
Reading God’s word is always part of our celebration. It lets us
understand what we celebrate. Celebration makes what is proclaimed or taught in
the word real and active in our lives — especially our communal lives. Liturgy
unites light to life and us to one another in the “communion of the Holy
Spirit.”
1Corinthians
11:23-26 is an example: the words present the mystery “handed on” to us.
But we proclaim it as a community
every time we “eat this bread and drink this cup.”
In John 13: 1-15 Jesus
teaches us how to participate in Mass. “Do
you realize what I have done?” It is not enough to see and hear; we have to
think, meditate, absorb the meaning
of the words, gestures and symbols. And keep doing it: “You may not realize now
what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Hearing should prompt personal
reflection and communal discussion.
And we have to act on
what we hear: “As I have done, so you must do.” Hearing should lead to decisions. Jesus is both “Teacher” and
“Lord.” His words are not just data; they are directions — to be acted on.
Initiative:
Don’t leave Mass without making a decision
based on what you heard.
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