‘Drink from it all of you for this is the blood of the covenant which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mt26:26-28). The church, professes that in the celebration of the Eucharist the bread and wine becomes the body and blood of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of consecration prayed by the priest. The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it very explicit that, “the whole Christ is truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity under the appearance of bread and wine.” (N.1374). The church also teaches that Jesus Christ remains present under the appearance of bread and wine until the consecrated bread and wine are consumed.
Moreover, the Eucharist is not only a meal, but it is also a sacrifice. In the first reading of today taken from the Book of Exodus we have a description of what happened during the first Passover. The King of Egypt was not prepared to let the Israelites go from His land in order to live in freedom in the land that God chose for them. The whole economy of Egypt depended to a large extent on the cheap labour of salves. Through Moses, God tried to persuade Pharaoh to let the Israelites depart. But his heart remained hardened. He kept refusing. Because of this Egypt went through many hardships. Ultimately, God sent his angel to kill the first born male of the Egyptians whether it be human or animal. How would the angel know that in that particular house there lived Egyptians and not Israelites. Moses told his people to celebrate the feast of the Passover. Traditionally, this feast was celebrated by eating a lamb. Moses told his people to smear the doorposts with the blood of the lamb that was going to be eaten. In this manner, when the angel of the Lord saw the blood on the doorposts he would know that this house belonged to Israelites and he would Passover that house and not kill the first born male. Literally, the Israelites were spared death by the blood of the lamb.
Through his life, passion, death and resurrection, Jesus Christ offered Himself to the Father, so that we could have a clear understanding of how we can live in order to reach our full potential as people created by God. This means today we can still go to Him with all our anxieties, fears, hurts, wounds and sins. Today I can still tell him, “As I took on the cross, I give all that is worrying me or weighing me down and in return you give me your life, your peace and your touch.” The celebration of the Eucharist makes present again today what Jesus did on the Cross. Just as the Israelites were given life because of the blood of the lamb, I am today given life and hope by the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
In its celebration of the Eucharist Jesus does not sacrifice Himself again and again. Rather by the power of the Holy Spirit his one eternal sacrifice made on the Cross is made present once again today so that we may share in it and be empowered by his life giving presence so that we an continue His mission. Therefore, during the Eucharistic celebration we do not simply remember something that Jesus accomplished a long time ago, but we enjoy and receive today the amazing experience of being one with our God who is so passionately in love with us.
Furthermore, in the Eucharistic re-presentation of Christ’s eternal sacrifice we are not merely spectators. The priest and the worshipping community are in different ways active. The community comes together with the priest in order to give praise and thanksgiving to our God for his never ending love and presence, to be bonded together and to go from the Eucharistic celebration to commit ourselves in reaching out to others. Just as we are nourished by the body and blood of Jesus, we are also called to nourish others materially and spiritually. Just as the body of Jesus is broken up for us we are also called to be broken up for others. The Eucharist reminds us that being united in such a special manner with our God entails that we live according to the example of Jesus. It is true that Jesus had a very special relationship with His Father and He took the necessary time to pray in order to be continually equipped for His Mission. At the same time, Jesus also spent much of his time in helping those who came to Him with different needs. In the same manner, nourished by the Eucharist, we are also invited to make sure that we become more and more of service to others.
This is precisely the reason why we have the washing of the feet during the Mass of Holy Thursday. Washing of the feet is a powerful sign of readiness to be of service to others. It is a powerful sign saying that we are prepared to take seriously the basic commandment of Jesus to love God and our neighbour. Eucharist and service to others go together. We cannot choose one over the other. This is the reason why in the Church today we have so many people in different organizations and institutions who provide so much needed help to so many in such a selfless and generous manner.
This is also the reason, why Robert Galea has chosen this day to receive the minor order of Lector as another step towards his priestly ordination. The essential mission of the priest is to serve the people that God entrust Him with. This is precisely what Jesus did. It is true that every baptized Christian has the right and the duty to continue the mission and the work of Jesus. However, the specific ministry of the priest is to celebrate the Eucharist and the Sacraments and to preach the Word of God. Let us pray for the priests of the Diocese so that our heart will continue to beat with the same beat as the heart of Jesus. Let us also take every opportunity to pray and encourage vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
God Bless
