Homily of Holy Thursday
Since Palm Sunday, I have been
praying and reminding God that if there had been a coronavirus attack and
social distancing during the time of Jesus, there would not have been a
Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the Last Supper. We pray, Jesus,
for the sake of your Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and the whole world.
May this pandemic come to an end. Amen.
Holy Thursday begins the three
days’ liturgical celebrations of one great festival recounting the last
three days of Jesus' life on earth, the events of his passion, crucifixion,
death, burial, and resurrection. The festival is called the Sacred Paschal
Triduum. Triduum is word formed from two Latin words: 'tri' meaning
‘three’ and 'dies' meaning ‘day.’ A triduum is a three-day period of
prayer.
Yesterday, Holy Wednesday, is
sometimes called ‘Spy Wednesday.’ It is so called because as at Holy Wednesday,
Judas Iscariot was no longer a true disciple. He had resolved to betray Jesus.
He was spying and seeking the opportunity to hand Jesus over to the chief
priests (Matthew 26:14-16).
Two major events took place on
Holy Thursday:
First event, through the Last
Supper, Jesus established the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is,
generally, said that Jesus celebrated the first Mass on Holy Thursday. In the
second reading we read, “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body
that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ 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.’” By Jesus’ proclamation,
“This is my body;” “This is my blood;” we believe in the real presence of Jesus
in the Blessed Sacrament. The Holy Mass is, also, the highest prayer of the
Catholic Church. Quoting Lumen Gentium (No. 11) of Vatican II, the
Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the Eucharist is “the source and
submit of the Christian life” (No. 1324). The Catechism maintains in No. 1327,
“The Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith.”
Second event, on Holy Thursday,
Jesus instituted the priesthood. The two actions of Jesus through which he
instituted the apostles as priests are: (1) He commanded them, “Do this in
remembrance of me.” (2) As we read in the Gospel, “You call me ‘teacher’ and
‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and
teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I
have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should
also do.”
Holy Thursday is also called
“Maundy Thursday” loosely translated as “Command Thursday.” The word
'Maundy' is derived from the Latin word 'mandatum,' or 'mandate.' Jesus
commanded the apostles, “Do this in remembrance of me;” “I have given you a
model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
The first reading narrates the
feast of the Passover of the Lord which symbolized spiritual food for the
Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land. The Eucharist is our spiritual food
for our journey of faith and our journey to eternal life. God commanded the
Israelites to apply the blood of the lamb on the lintel of every house in order
to be saved from the angel of death. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world and has purchased us by his blood. St. Paul states, “In
him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in
accord with the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
Coronavirus Pandemic is a
volcanic eruption of the worst magnitude that has shaken the whole world.
Everything is shaken: life, health, relationship, economy, politics, religion,
organizations, families, faith, priesthood, and so on. We cannot even come
together to celebrate the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith. Many
Catholics are crying, “I miss Mass.” “I miss Holy Communion.” However, we pray
that when the pandemic blows over, we will re-emerge, renewed, and reborn. By
God’s grace and by means of modern technology, we will continue to celebrate
the Eucharist and receive spiritual Holy Communion; and we will continue
various spiritual programs of the parish.
We surrender to Jesus to wash
this horrible virus and its gory impact from us. As Peter requested, may Jesus
wash our feet, our hands and our head. May he wash our whole body with his
Precious Blood. May he heal us, deliver us, protect us and save us. Amen.
Fr. Martin Eke, MSP
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