Thursday 17th April 2025 – The instructions given to the priest for Maundy Thursday indicate what must be preached. It says: ‘The Priest gives a homily in which light is shed on the principal mysteries that are commemorated in the Mass, namely, the institution of the Holy Eucharist and of the Priestly Order, and the commandment of the Lord concerning fraternal charity’. Well that is quite a lot to encompass.
However, this evening we celebrate first and foremost the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the Last Supper of the Lord before his passion, death and resurrection. In this meal Christ has given us a constant memorial and timeless link with those extraordinary events. In the Mass we are united with Jesus and the events of his death and resurrection are made present here and in all Catholic churches. He continues to share his Body and Blood with us in Holy Communion, which is at the very centre of our faith.
Jesus told his apostles: Do this in memory of me. And every time we celebrate the Eucharist we bring him and his message of sacrificial love not only to mind but also made present on the altar as His Body and Blood masked under the form of bread and wine. This connection with Our Lord helps us to keep true to everything he taught us, it helps us to keep faith with him and to constantly rededicate our lives as his present-day disciples.
Priests, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, are granted the great privilege and duty of celebrating the Holy Mass day by day, week by week. We have this privilege for the good of all the faithful – living and dead, thus priests are servants of all the baptised. We therefore have the honour of distributing Christ’s Body and Blood to those who approach to receive the Lord. It is also the duty of the priest to offer the sacraments, to preach and to gather Christ’s faithful, helping all the baptised to find unity in Christ and with each other. It is this unity which will cause us to share in the Resurrection and life everlasting.
At the Last Supper, Jesus showed his disciples how to exercise their ministry. He put on an apron and went around and washed their feet. In this way he provides us with the model for all Christian ministry and shows us that the greatest among us is the one who serves. Getting down on our knees before others, metaphorically and actually, and being of service to others, just as Our Lord did will surely help us make the changes needed in all our lives and open our minds and hearts to the Divine Spirit – the Spirit that changes us from within.
Tonight we also receive the Holy Oils consecrated yesterday in the Cathedral: the oils that are used throughout the year in the various steps from Christian Initiation to the hour of our death. These Holy Oils have their role in opening the way to salvation through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, Holy Orders and in Healing the Sick. They are a sign of the sanctification of those who are anointed. These ministries so anointed are a wonderful expression of Christ’s great Mandate to love one another. This work goes on continually in parishes and may it ever flourish and cause our community of faith to be more perfect sign of Christ’s love for the world.
