Holy Thursday

Reflection

He loved His own in the world and He loved them to the end. 

I was honored to be invited to a Seder Service held at the home of Jewish friends a few years ago.  It was not the first time I had participated in this special meal.  However, this time, I got the “feeling” this is a very old ritual, one that gives a special identity to our Jewish sisters and brothers.  It also linked my own religious genealogy with a much longer tradition.  In 1987, Pope John Paul II spoke in a Rome synagogue, praising the Jewish people as “our elder brothers in the faith of Abraham.”  The Seder meal seemed to ground the love of the God the Father we Catholics know in Jesus, in an “eternal timeline.”

In the Gospel reading, St. John testifies to this love of God in the statement that Jesus “loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.”  Jesus is well aware of His imminent fate.  The next sentence bears witness to this fact in speaking of Judas’ plot against Him.  Yet this does not outweigh Jesus’ desire to share a special meal with those He loved as His own.  A lot is made of the fact that the Gospel of St. John has the washing of the disciple’s feet in place but not the institution of the Eucharist found in the other Gospels and in St. Paul.  But, it is notable that the middle reading should be taken from St. Paul’s account.   It is as though the Eucharist—which is the setting for this evening Mass—were looking back at our Old Testament, Exodus, while at the same time, looking forward to the Washing of the Feet, is meant to emphasize that God’s love is present ALWAYS for the one who is able to see God’s love on the journey of life.

For Jesus, the “wasteful” love of the Father for us finds its equivalent in our humble, selfless love of one another.  In the washing of the feet, Jesus signals to us that in God we are family with all peoples, and that the Eucharist is our constant reminder of the love we owe each other.

Prayer

Gracious God, give us Your Holy Spirit, so that in offering our hearts and minds to You this Lent, we may reverence Your presence both in the Eucharist and in our Service to our neighbor. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, Your Son, our risen Lord.  Amen.

Fr. Marcel Rainville, S.S.E. ’67

Scripture

First Reading: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Gospel: John 13:1-15

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website