Holy Thursday Mass @ St. Cyril Bannister

HOMILY - EVENING MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

APRIL 1, 2021

The past thirteen months of the Corona Virus have turned our world on its head. Thirteen months ago, we shook hands, hugged, kissed, shared utensils, drank out of the same glass, and … gasp! … even breathed on each other. Imagine that!

Now we live in a world of vaccines, hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, surgical masks, vitamins, and social distancing. 

It would seem that nothing – anymore – is clean enough.

Today is Holy Thursday. And our Gospel is from the beginning of Chapter 13 of St. John’s Gospel … the washing of the Disciples’ feet.

We hear at first what Our Lord knew: (1) His hour had come, (2) the devil had induced Judas, and (3) God the Father had given everything into Jesus’s power, and that He had come from the God and was returning to God.

We even hear that beautiful line: 

He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.

The word, “end” here means having reached a goal or a purpose.

And after telling us what Jesus “knew,” St. John tells us what Jesus “did.” 

He washes His disciples’ feet. 

Weird.

After His Transfiguration, where a select group of disciples have seen His glory, he now takes on the lowest role – that of a servant or slave. 

Certainly not something one would associate with glory. 

Certainly not an elevated position.

Certainly not what a “master,” “teacher,” or “Lord” would – or should – do.

Jesus’s purpose is to remind the disciples – and to remind us – of humility.

On Palm Sunday, I spoke of the humility of Christ … and the hymn found in the second reading from the second chapter of St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. 

though he was in the form of God … 

he emptied himself,
     

taking the form of a slave … 

he humbled himself …

And in this humble role, Jesus proceeds to make His disciples “clean” – the word here means both “clean” as well as “pure” – in a physical sense, in a ritual sense, in an ethical sense – and in a spiritual sense.

And Our Lord calls what He is doing a “model” … an “example” … a “thing to be imitated.”

What are we imitating? 

Humility. 

Holiness. 

And in the verses just following what we heard read this evening, our Lord promises “blessedness” … in the Greek, makarios … “Happiness.”

The world tells us to pursue happiness – for its own sake. Yet starting there it is very easy to get lost, and we see that in the world – many people are lost. Because to start there is backwards … it turns the reality up-side-down.

Our Lord teaches us to be humble – as He is humble. He teaches us to be holy – as He is holy. And with that as a foundation … imitating His humility and His holiness … only then can we be truly happy … blessed in His grace, in His mercy, and in His love.

As we approach this altar to receive Him – Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity – Christ Jesus our “master” … our “teacher” … our “Lord and God” – let us do what He has done for us … for one another … to one another … so that we might indeed be blessed in Him.

May our imitation of Christ’s humility lead us to holiness … and ultimately eternal happiness with Him for ever.

Holy Thursday @ St. Apollinaris Parish

HOMILY - HOLY THURSDAY EVENING MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER
MARCH 29, 2018
7:00 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS



For human beings, memory is the faculty of the mind by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved.



While in the 21st century, we may joke about having a “hard drive” or “flash drive” up there, the actual neuroanatomy of human memory involves the hippocampus (a seahorse shaped section of the brain located under the cerebral cortex), the amygdala (almond shaped sections of the brain located behind the eyes), the striatum (located in the subcortical basal ganglia of the forebrain), and the mammillary bodies (a pair of small round bodies, located on the undersurface of the brain).
Together these assist in short term memory, long term memory, emotional memory, and sensory memory.

Of course, the complex physiological basis for human memory remains theoretical. For now, downloading your thoughts or uploading your memories remains in the realm of science fiction.



Today is Holy Thursday and we are here to celebrate the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper.



In the first reading, we hear about the Passover, which the Lord instructed the Israelites would “be a memorial feast for [them], which all … generations would celebrate with … as a perpetual institution.”



St. Paul speaks of the Last Supper, and Jesus’ own words: “Do this in remembrance of me.”
Yet this is more than a "Hail fellow well met,” or a passing thought of “Good old Jesus. He was quite the guy, wasn’t He?”

The remembrance we celebrate is an “anamnesis” – an act of higher remembering within the Eucharistic sacrifice. In the Mass, we pray the Eucharistic Prayer which remembers Jesus through an “anaphora” – a carrying back to that point in time when in the upper room, these events took place.



But this is more than a memory … this liturgical action is a re-presentation of the sacrificial self-offering of the Son of God to God the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit … which collapses space and time … bringing us not only to the upper room, but to Calvary, and the tomb … and to all points of Salvation History – those places and times where God has intervened to save sinful humanity.

On Sunday, I spoke about that first part of today’s Gospel: “Jesus … loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” And how John’s Greek language word play connects Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper … with His final words from the Cross, “It is finished.” And finally in his old age John reveals to the early Christians how “perfect love casts out fear.”



And so, we see in Christ’s life, death, and Resurrection … the playing out of a perfect sacrificial total gift of God’s self … wiping away sin and fear and punishment.

At the end of the Last Supper – in the mandate of Christ (which is why today is sometimes called “Maundy Thursday” Jesus tells the Apostles … and us as well: “I give you a new commandment … love one another as I have loved you.”



What is new is that this love is total, complete, and perfect … a total gift of self, a complete sharing in the mysteries of the Most Holy Trinity, and a perfect sacrifice to bring about the redemption of humanity, or creation, and of the entire universe.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ: let us remember … let us be carried back … let us be raised up … through Him, and with Him, and in Him … through the perfect love of God … shown forth in this divine action.



Let us pause with the whole of creation … which stands still in this sacred moment … as the divine drama of reconciliation commences … and with bated breath awaits its consummation.

Holy Thursday @ St. Apollinaris Church

HOMILY - HOLY THURSDAY EVENING MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER
APRIL 13, 2017
7:00 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS



A mnemonic is a memory device, sometimes a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that help to remember something.

For example, the colors of the rainbow: “ROY G. BIV” gives us: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet … which also helps to remember the color code on component resistors in electronics.



Musicians use mnemonics to remember the strings on their instruments. To remember the lines on the treble clef, there is “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” or if they have a sweet tooth, perhaps, “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge.” Violinists know that “Good Dogs Always Eat,” which I’m sure Toby will be glad to know. But as any guitarist will remind even the rectory dog: “Every Animal Does Grace Before Eating.”



Mnemonics can be great fun, and can contribute to not only passing a test on any given subject but also tend to stick in our minds for many years.



The word “mnemonic” comes from the Greek meaning  “to remember” or “be mindful.” And tonight, on this Holy Thursday, we have gathered here to remember.

In today’s first reading from the Book of Exodus, we hear about the first Passover and how it was to be a “memorial feast” and a “perpetual institution.”



Building on this memorial at the Last Supper, Jesus establishes the new covenant, which is to be done “in remembrance of [Him]”.

In this remembering … that is, this looking backwards we are to “proclaim his death”; St. Paul then tells us to look forward “until he comes”; and in the next verse after today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us to look within … saying we “should examine [ourselves]” to eat and drink the Body and Blood of Our Lord “worthily”.

This creates a sort of “active remembering,” not only looking back; but also looking forward, as well as looking within.



In today’s Gospel from John chapter 13, we hear about Jesus washing His disciples’ feet at the Last Supper. Something that we will commemorate in action following the homily.

Jesus shows us 3 steps to form ourselves as His disciples through this process of “active remembering.”



The first step is humility. Humility comes from remembering where we’ve come from, understanding where we are going, and realizing who we are before almighty God. Jesus, despite being God, takes on the nature of a slave, and washes His disciples’ feet.

The Gospel is silent on what the first eleven disciples might have said or done. Perhaps they said nothing. Perhaps they didn’t even notice Who it was Who was washing their feet. But Peter notices. And Peter objects!

Which brings us to the next step, which is holiness.

In order to aspire to holiness, it is imperative that we allow Jesus to wash us “all over”. While this is an allusion to Baptism, there is more.

In many situations, we do things our way, objecting to allowing God’s grace into areas of our lives that are … well … like feet: stinky, sweaty, dirty … maybe peeling, calloused, scarred. But it is those places where we most need the healing power of Christ … the saving power of Jesus … to redeem us … indeed, from sin; but also from ourselves.



We forget that we are weak and sinful. We forget that we do not always know the way. We forget that we have a Savior Who suffered and died to save us.

Two chapters further in John’s Gospel, Jesus tells us to “remain in [Him] … because without [Him] [we] can do nothing.”

Let that sink in. Nothing. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zip.



Without Jesus. We. Can. Do. Nothing.

And so, we must remember that we are weak … to remember that we need to be saved … to remember that we need a Savior ... and remember that we, indeed, do have a Savior.



And the third and last step, which comes two verses after our Gospel ends is happiness. The missing verse is:

If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.

Or to vary the translation slightly:

If you understand this, [happy] are you if you do it.

And so, today we commence the Sacred Pascal Triduum.



And we remember. Looking back 2,000 or so years ago to the days and events surrounding His passion, death, and resurrection. We look forward to our own future glory united to Him in His resurrection and when He comes. We look within to examine our hearts next to His Most Sacred Heart. Asking for the graces to follow Him in humility, in holiness, and in happiness.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us engage in “active remembering” … looking back, looking forward, and looking within ourselves. To follow Christ all the way to the Cross … through humility, with holiness, and in happiness.

For indeed,

[Jesus] loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.[And,] [i]f you understand this, blessed are you if you do it."

Photos from Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) at St. Apollinaris, Napa, CA