Holy Thursday, April 6, 2023

Father Rick’s Two-Minute Homily for Holy Thursday, April 6, 2023

John 13: 1-15 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040623-Supper.cfm

Eat, Drink, and Serve

Jesus purposely brought our worship and service to others in one celebration – the Last Supper. First, he washed His disciples’ feet and gave them the Bread of Life to minister to Him in the poor and hungry of the world.

Jesus renews this tremendous grace to live his life through us in every Mass of the Lord’s Supper we celebrate.

We truly enter the Upper Room tonight with Jesus and His disciples. He institutes in this celebration two Sacraments that make Him present to us and feeds us on our journey to eternal life – the priesthood and the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is such a beautiful gift of Jesus to us. Think of the humility of Jesus. He takes a worthless piece of bread into His hands and changes it into His holy Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The very substance changes into His Body and Blood. I would give my life rather than desecrate the Body of Jesus in the consecrated Host.

Jesus is as present to you and me today through His priesthood as He was at that Last Supper, “This is My Body, and this is My Blood.” He told the 11 around the table, “Do this in memory of Me.” We haven’t forgotten for 2000 years.

Then He invites us to do as He did: Wash each other’s feet daily and become the Bread of Life for a hungry world.

Communion with Jesus doesn’t stop with us. We will begin to appreciate our Holy Communion with Jesus in the Holy Mass when we feed Jesus and when we visit Jesus in nursing homes and hospitals.

Others are brought into Communion with Jesus when we call Him as a friend to see how He is doing, and when we listen to Jesus in our family members, when we meet His needs in the various ministries we have in the parish and school.

Our Holy Communion with Jesus in the Holy Mass is just the beginning. It reaches its fulfillment when we walk through the church’s doors and out into the world to encounter Jesus in every face we meet.

Jesus intentionally put eating and drinking with washing each other’s feet in the same meal. We can’t sit at home, bearing this precious treasure for others in our hearts. The last thing Jesus said to us before He ascended into heaven was, “Go out into the world and proclaim the good news.” We are bearers of good news after every Mass.

Bring Jesus in you to all whom you meet. We are not social workers. We are bearers of Jesus to the world. The early Fathers of the Church had a common saying about the Mass, “Become what you eat, the Body of Christ.”

We become food from heaven for a world hungry for God.

Vatican II teaches that the Church, you and me, are the 8th Sacrament. We need Jesus in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood to be His Sacrament for others.

“Take and eat. Take and drink.”

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.”

Brothers and sisters, Jesus is hungry to feed the world. You and I are His Bread of Life.

Fr. Rick Pilger, I.C.

Pastor

Blessed Sacrament Church

11565 66th Ave. N.

Seminole, FL 33772

727-391-4661

pastor

www.bscchurch.com

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